Getting a B in AP Calculus

[Anonymous]

I'm curious what school / system this is that allowed the skip. When MCPS up-places middle schoolers and transfers, they require test scores that show the student is already (barely) passing the class they want to skip *into*. An the further above grade level they go, the higher the expectations are for qualifying for the target class.

My guess is that OP has a smart kid in a low performing school, or a not top kid, but charming or rigid, in a high performing school. We had a kid Iike that in my school -- desperate to fit in with the top crowd, took classes way above his level, and got Ds and Fs (B/C/D in the modern system). The school kept letting him do it for reasons I don't understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is a sophomore who decided to skip pre calculus and go straight to taking AP calculus this year. Now he tells me it’s his goal to get a B in the calculus class.

I have not said anything to him about this because he is a motivated student and is taking charge of his own education. Also, he is extremely strong willed. His school counselor advised him against it, but left the final decision up to him.

I am wondering how getting a B in this class will affect his college applications. Is it no big deal? Or will it hurt him?

I don’t want to put pressure on him. But I don’t want him to be making bad decisions. He is an only child, so I don’t have experience with today’s application process.

My kid got his only B in BC. Went to an average public school and somehow still made it to a T10.

OP’s kid is in AB, not BC. And can’t even hang in September. And has two much harder years of Calc after this. It may not B a B. It could be lower. And if it is, next year and the year after will also be Bs, at best.

Or he may get a tutor and turn it around and do well from here on out. He's obviously a good math student or he wouldn't have been able to skip Precalc. Simmer down and stop trying to worry OP. OP, get a good tutor for him and he will be fine. We found a great one on Wyzant - a college professor who taught Calculus.

Can you pls share the name of the tutor on Wyzant. TIA!

[Anonymous]

We are in MCPS where pre-Calc is usually a challenging course.

[Anonymous]

To reiterate what others are saying, the concern is not that op’s son might get one B. The concern is that he does not have the foundational knowledge for the AP math sequence and will struggle for the next three years if he doesn’t get it. The fact that he is already lowered his predicted grade for the class to a B a few weeks into the school year when much of the work is likely review suggests this very well may be the case.

[Anonymous]

Let go of the goal of perfection, it is not healthy.

That is hard class, and your son sounds like he has his head on straight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will be life-altering based on my experience.

You need therapy, and I have no doubt your kid will too.

Get a grip.

[Anonymous]

The tutor suggestions are absurd. Take the pre calculus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wondering why op started this thread if she is unwilling to do anything about the situation. Also wondering how he managed to skip a class without getting parental consent.

This. What is OP actually asking, or is this just a humblebrag?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To reiterate what others are saying, the concern is not that op’s son might get one B. The concern is that he does not have the foundational knowledge for the AP math sequence and will struggle for the next three years if he doesn’t get it. The fact that he is already lowered his predicted grade for the class to a B a few weeks into the school year when much of the work is likely review suggests this very well may be the case.

+1
OP - what is your son’s math goal for HS and college? If he’s in AP AB Calculus now in 10th, he’ll take AP BC Calculus in 11th, then MVC in 12th, but he’s on a shaky foundation. He can be on the same pathway by switching to Honors Precalculus now, get a solid A, and then going into BC Calculus next year with a much better foundation.

He may have thought he was getting ahead of his previous pathway, but he’s actually not.

[Anonymous]

Pre-calculus is a foundation as others have said - it should not be skipped except by a true prodigy.

OP can have the conversation with the student but if they resist, our job as parents is sometimes to let them sink or sometimes tell them the way it will be. I would do the latter here and tell them to go back to pre-calculus if they will not decide for themselves.

Signed,
A parent who had a student consider this route (though not out of ego) and luckily went with pre-calc. They nailed it, felt great, and went to BC the next year and still doing well. Pre-calc is the foundation!

[Anonymous]

Mcps should not allow this except in rare circumstances for a truly exceptional math student. This seems more ego driven. H Precalc is generally considered a challenging class.

[Anonymous]

Do not push the envelope in math! Rookie mistake! There is absolutely no reason

[Anonymous]

Are there HSs that still offer Calc AB > Calc BC?

The college board site shows that they are virtually the same, with Calc BC having 2 additional units. Maybe I'm missing something though. Does anyone know the difference between the 2 classes other than the 2 additional units?

[Anonymous]

This sequence doesn't make sense. It's common for students to go from honors pre-calc to BC (skipping AB). It's not common or advisable to skip pre calc and then do AB->BC. You end up the same place junior year, so why do it the 'wrong' way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised the school even allowed him to do this.

Skipping pre-calc altogether?

This. And ai say thing as the parent of a former TJ kid. That’s not a flex. It’s establishing I’ve been in a culture of self study and skipping math classes. It often ends badly. Math and foreign language are two subjects I would never commend skipping. The problem isn’t the B in Calc. Although that won’t help a male applicant to top engineering schools, if that’s the goal. When VT came to TJ, they said they wanted to see As in Calculus (TJ calculus, mind you, which is AP on steroids) to know the kid had the foundation to succeed in the program.

It’s that it only gets harder from here, and your kid is looking at multivariable, linear, plus another year after that. And low Calc AP scores means your kid is retaking the class in college anyway. IME, skipping pre-Calc was a bad call. But it’s only September. Your kid can probably talk to the counselor, admit AP was a mistake, and ask to be moved to pre-Calc. I had a kid do this, and their grade started over. And they were no responsible for making up past chapters. But, they needed to review them because midterms and finals. A surprising plus of this plan is that once the bad math placement was off my kids plate, all the other grades went up. Because all the time and energy wasn’t going to keeping her head above water in math.

Get the foundation. Not having it is like pulling out rods in Jenna. Your kids who math understanding is less stable. BC Calc as a junior with an A plus linear/MV is fine for almost any college, even the strong engineering/CD. And your kid isn’t getting into MIT with a math B anyway. And the B in M-V/ linear, because they are probably missing concepts and don’t fully understand Calc BC.

As a former math major I agree!!! Math builds on itself. Your kid needs a strong foundation. Skipping precalc and struggling with calc is not the recipe for success.