AP Precalculus vs Honors Precalculus
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Anonymous
| I don't know what my kid should do. Our family does not care about college credit. I just want them to have a strong foundation for AP Calculus AB (he is not skipping to BC). He has an A in Algebra 2 Honors, but I don't want him pushed into AP Precalc if it won't prepare him for AP Calc AB. He wants to major in CS. I wish someone could break down what is best for strong STEM kids who will go on to AP Calculus AB or BC or both. |
Anonymous
| Question - I have a kid who was on track to take Honors Algebra II in 9th but decided that because Algebra I happened during remote learning that they wanted to go at a slower pace and take regular Algebra II this year. Guess what - they love math for the first time ever and will have an A for the first semester. They are still above grade level in terms of course selection but will the fact that they stepped off the honors track in math have a big impact on their college options? |
Anonymous
|
Opinion essay from. A high school:
https://saratogafalcon.org/content/precalculus-honors-classes-should-not-transform-curriculum-to-conform-to-ap-precalculus/ |
Anonymous
Excellent essay, thanks for posting. One interesting portion: "A good deal of the curriculum in AP Precalculus, such as inverses of functions, polynomials, exponential, and logarithms are covered in Algebra II Honors, and so are quickly glossed over in the first couple units of Precalculus Honors." This is a major weakness of using AP Precalculus for stronger math students. The AP Precalculus Framework lists expected prior knowledge & skills. No where do logs appear as a prerequisite; this is a standard concept covered in honors Algebra 2. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-precalculus/course-framework Also, the College Board said any Algebra 2 class qualifies a student for AP Precalculus which appears to say non-honors Algebra 2 is fine preparation. "AP Precalculus is for any student seeking a third- or fourth-year mathematics course following completion of both Geometry and Algebra 2, or Integrated Math 3. Students who’ve taken these courses at any level have covered all the content necessary for AP Precalculus." (emphasis added) https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-precalculus/about-ap-precalculus What is the net of these points? AP Precalculus's content was watered down so that students taking non-honors Algebra 2 and who have never seen logs could nonetheless take AP Precalculus. That is why the course emphasizes Algebra 2 concepts so heavily at the expense of other concepts useful in preparing students for calculus. Furthermore, the course appears to recommend use of inquiry learning through real world applications, which will slow course pacing down even further. It is baffling why a watered down Precalculus course designed for students taking non-honors Algebra 2 is being used as a replacement for honors Precalculus. |
Anonymous
| Since we're already in Jan and MCPS has not mentioned anything about it yet. I strongly doubt that AP precalculus will be offered in 2023-2024. |
Anonymous
FCPS and APS are offering AP Precalculus next year. FCPS has eliminated in-person honors Precalc in a number of high schools. APS has eliminated honors Precalc altogether. That raises the odds that MCPS follows suit, as districts often like to make major changes in concert with other districts. There's a thread in the FCPS forum that is also discussing AP Precalculus. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1098664.page |
Anonymous
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If MCPS adopts this, it should be in place of regular pre calc, not honors.
This is just the college board looking to get more money from people and watering down standards. |
Anonymous
Close. Since school systems all over the country are watering down courses, it's the College Board attempting to hold up at least a decent minimum standard. |
Anonymous
A third view. Reform math is very popular with education schools and its graduates. There have been numerous efforts across the US to water down Algebra 2 content as this course is seen as a barrier to upper level math for disadvantaged kids. Districts are moving tough math content out of Algebra 2 and putting it into Precalculus. But that squeezes harder topics out of Precalculus. AP Precalculus institutionalizes this existing reform movement and makes it easier for districts to eliminate honors Precalc; if districts eliminate honors Precalc outright, there would be parent outcry. If they eliminate it but say they are replacing it with a rigorous AP alternative, parent response will likely be more muted. |
Anonymous
| The AP still wasn’t an option when DD went over course selections with her counselor, and I don’t see it on the MCPS website to compare prerequisites, etc. DD does want to continue with higher math and I’m annoyed that this is not being rolled out with enough information for us to know what to pick. |
Anonymous
Hmmm. I just looked at DD’s high school’s course list and AP and Honors share one entry, with one course number. Maybe Honors is just being rebranded AP? |
Anonymous
And diversifying the population who take APs. |
Anonymous
Or they are swapping honors for AP and saying that AP is the new honors. That's what other districts are doing. |
Anonymous
Can you share which school this is, and which course number? |
Anonymous
| Bumping this thread to see if MCPS is offering this course in any schools this year as a pilot, and if so how it is different from honors precalc. |