Honors Calc or AP Calc AB

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[Post New]12/12/2018 20:03
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Anonymous
Can anyone share what they know about the difference between these two classes? This would be for senior year. My child is a junior and taking regular precalc, but took Honors Geometry and Honors Algebra 2 previously. How are they different? How are they alike?
[Post New]12/12/2018 21:16
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Anonymous
Never heard of honors calc...either dalc ab or calc bc
[Post New]12/12/2018 21:22
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Never heard of honors calc...either dalc ab or calc bc


I think it might be called Calc with Applications.
[Post New]12/12/2018 21:26
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Anonymous
Honors calc is a bit easier. It will obviously not get you credit at the college level because it’s not AP but a good option nonetheless, especially if there is a risk of getting a B in the AP course versus an A in the honors. I always say go for the “less hard” class where you can get an A and keep that GPA up. If strong in math, definitely go for it.
[Post New]12/13/2018 08:21
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Anonymous
"I always say go for the “less hard” class where you can get an A and keep that GPA up."

Just to balance this out, I always say if you don't challenge yourself, you will never know what you can do, take the "harder class".

But most likely we are both wrong 50% of the time. To truly answer the question we need to know lots more about the student.

Obviously, being in regular precalc as a junior, math has not been a really easy subject.

But we need to know more about why. What does she think she wants to study in college? Why?

Does she have a hugely busy schedule and doesn't really put any time into subjects she has deemed less worthy?

Has she learned how to study math or is she still stumbling along thinking if she pays attention in class, does the homework and reviews for an hour or two before a test that's all there is to it?
[Post New]12/15/2018 17:02
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magrathean
Member Offline
AP Calc AB will be more rigorous, with the potential for getting a semester's worth of college credit if one scores high enough on the Calc AB Test given in May.
I am sure there is a correlation between the grade the teacher gives (A, B, C, etc) and one's score on the national test (5/4/3/2), but I bet it is reasonably weak. Better to get a "5" on the AP test and a "C" in the class than an "A" in the class and a "2" on the AP Test.

Whether one gets college credit depends on two things; the given college, and the test score. A 5 on the test will get you a waived semester of calculus (but no credit) at a top tier school, while a 3 may get you credit for a year of math at a lower tier school.

If your student feels prepared for the AP Calc, I'd recommend it over Honors Calc. I wouldn't be too worried about the Honors vs Regular PreCalc. As I understand it, Honors covers a bit more early on with limits, which would be a help. The other differences I am familiar with (Honors PreCalc supposedly covers polar coordinates and complex numbers) are not critical for the fundamentals of calculus in either AP or Honors Calculus
[Post New]12/15/2018 18:35
quote
Anonymous
magrathean wrote:AP Calc AB will be more rigorous, with the potential for getting a semester's worth of college credit if one scores high enough on the Calc AB Test given in May.
I am sure there is a correlation between the grade the teacher gives (A, B, C, etc) and one's score on the national test (5/4/3/2), but I bet it is reasonably weak. Better to get a "5" on the AP test and a "C" in the class than an "A" in the class and a "2" on the AP Test.

Whether one gets college credit depends on two things; the given college, and the test score. A 5 on the test will get you a waived semester of calculus (but no credit) at a top tier school, while a 3 may get you credit for a year of math at a lower tier school.

If your student feels prepared for the AP Calc, I'd recommend it over Honors Calc. I wouldn't be too worried about the Honors vs Regular PreCalc. As I understand it, Honors covers a bit more early on with limits, which would be a help. The other differences I am familiar with (Honors PreCalc supposedly covers polar coordinates and complex numbers) are not critical for the fundamentals of calculus in either AP or Honors Calculus


Thanks for your feedback. Actually, I’m not really concerned about my child doing well on the AP test. I would have her take the AP calc class so she could have an AP class on her transcript - a rigor indicator to the colleges. I actually would rather have her ger an A in class than a 5 on the test.

I’m just trying to figure out how different these two classes are and how much harder the AP class is.
[Post New]12/15/2018 18:37
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
magrathean wrote:AP Calc AB will be more rigorous, with the potential for getting a semester's worth of college credit if one scores high enough on the Calc AB Test given in May.
I am sure there is a correlation between the grade the teacher gives (A, B, C, etc) and one's score on the national test (5/4/3/2), but I bet it is reasonably weak. Better to get a "5" on the AP test and a "C" in the class than an "A" in the class and a "2" on the AP Test.

Whether one gets college credit depends on two things; the given college, and the test score. A 5 on the test will get you a waived semester of calculus (but no credit) at a top tier school, while a 3 may get you credit for a year of math at a lower tier school.

If your student feels prepared for the AP Calc, I'd recommend it over Honors Calc. I wouldn't be too worried about the Honors vs Regular PreCalc. As I understand it, Honors covers a bit more early on with limits, which would be a help. The other differences I am familiar with (Honors PreCalc supposedly covers polar coordinates and complex numbers) are not critical for the fundamentals of calculus in either AP or Honors Calculus


Thanks for your feedback. Actually, I’m not really concerned about my child doing well on the AP test. I would have her take the AP calc class so she could have an AP class on her transcript - a rigor indicator to the colleges. I actually would rather have her ger an A in class than a 5 on the test.

I’m just trying to figure out how different these two classes are and how much harder the AP class is.


And if being in regular precalc this year would make AP Calc AB too challenging. Thanks for your thoughts on this
[Post New]12/16/2018 12:09
quote
Anonymous
magrathean wrote:AP Calc AB will be more rigorous, with the potential for getting a semester's worth of college credit if one scores high enough on the Calc AB Test given in May.
I am sure there is a correlation between the grade the teacher gives (A, B, C, etc) and one's score on the national test (5/4/3/2), but I bet it is reasonably weak. Better to get a "5" on the AP test and a "C" in the class than an "A" in the class and a "2" on the AP Test.

Whether one gets college credit depends on two things; the given college, and the test score. A 5 on the test will get you a waived semester of calculus (but no credit) at a top tier school, while a 3 may get you credit for a year of math at a lower tier school.

If your student feels prepared for the AP Calc, I'd recommend it over Honors Calc. I wouldn't be too worried about the Honors vs Regular PreCalc. As I understand it, Honors covers a bit more early on with limits, which would be a help. The other differences I am familiar with (Honors PreCalc supposedly covers polar coordinates and complex numbers) are not critical for the fundamentals of calculus in either AP or Honors Calculus


I disagree with the "Better to get a 5 on the test with a C in the class vs. a 2 on the test and an A in the class." I was a math major, but no AP classes were offered at my high school. I only had teh fundamentals from my teacher. I took Calc 1-3 in college in my first 3 semesters. Calc 1 was a review of everything I knew from high school and was an easy A. It helped my transition into college not stressing over new material, which Calc 2-3 were. Of course, YMMV.
[Post New]12/16/2018 12:26
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
magrathean wrote:AP Calc AB will be more rigorous, with the potential for getting a semester's worth of college credit if one scores high enough on the Calc AB Test given in May.
I am sure there is a correlation between the grade the teacher gives (A, B, C, etc) and one's score on the national test (5/4/3/2), but I bet it is reasonably weak. Better to get a "5" on the AP test and a "C" in the class than an "A" in the class and a "2" on the AP Test.

Whether one gets college credit depends on two things; the given college, and the test score. A 5 on the test will get you a waived semester of calculus (but no credit) at a top tier school, while a 3 may get you credit for a year of math at a lower tier school.

If your student feels prepared for the AP Calc, I'd recommend it over Honors Calc. I wouldn't be too worried about the Honors vs Regular PreCalc. As I understand it, Honors covers a bit more early on with limits, which would be a help. The other differences I am familiar with (Honors PreCalc supposedly covers polar coordinates and complex numbers) are not critical for the fundamentals of calculus in either AP or Honors Calculus


I disagree with the "Better to get a 5 on the test with a C in the class vs. a 2 on the test and an A in the class." I was a math major, but no AP classes were offered at my high school. I only had teh fundamentals from my teacher. I took Calc 1-3 in college in my first 3 semesters. Calc 1 was a review of everything I knew from high school and was an easy A. It helped my transition into college not stressing over new material, which Calc 2-3 were. Of course, YMMV.


I don't understand you POV. How is it better to get an A in a weak, watered down course and a 2 on the test than it would be to get a C in a rigorous course and a 5 on the AP exam?

GPA only tells so much.
[Post New]12/16/2018 14:32
quote
Anonymous
PP, that was magrathean's logic. I assumed both scenarios were for the AP same class You don't take AP test with just the "honors" calculus.
[Post New]12/18/2018 09:47
quote
Anonymous
Just to be clear, the grade in the class does not necessarily reflect the score on the AP. When I took AP Calc AB in 11th grade and AP Calc BC 12th grades (granted, it was >20 years ago in Baltimore County and we had to do both APs), I got a B each year, but got 5s on both APs and got the college credit. The teacher was excellent at preparing us for the AP exam, but the actual class was harder than the test. Also, I was terrible at completing homework (too busy with extracurriculars and didn't feel like it), but very good at taking tests.
[Post New]12/18/2018 10:25
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the grade in the class does not necessarily reflect the score on the AP. When I took AP Calc AB in 11th grade and AP Calc BC 12th grades (granted, it was >20 years ago in Baltimore County and we had to do both APs), I got a B each year, but got 5s on both APs and got the college credit. The teacher was excellent at preparing us for the AP exam, but the actual class was harder than the test. Also, I was terrible at completing homework (too busy with extracurriculars and didn't feel like it), but very good at taking tests.


I don't think this is very pertinent to the question asked, but yes, the AP calc test has one of the steepest curves. A score of 5 usually only requires 60% accuracy, so a B with a rigorous teacher should translate to full credit. Regardless a bad grade during the school year isn't much mitigated by an AP score. I also was a good tester but a bit lazy, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get into my college behaving that way today.

OP, if she can get an A or B in the harder class, it should look like a stronger schedule to colleges, but if there's any risk of getting something lower first quarter, she might as well take honors and focus her energy somewhere else.
[Post New]12/18/2018 21:13
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, the grade in the class does not necessarily reflect the score on the AP. When I took AP Calc AB in 11th grade and AP Calc BC 12th grades (granted, it was >20 years ago in Baltimore County and we had to do both APs), I got a B each year, but got 5s on both APs and got the college credit. The teacher was excellent at preparing us for the AP exam, but the actual class was harder than the test. Also, I was terrible at completing homework (too busy with extracurriculars and didn't feel like it), but very good at taking tests.


I don't think this is very pertinent to the question asked, but yes, the AP calc test has one of the steepest curves. A score of 5 usually only requires 60% accuracy, so a B with a rigorous teacher should translate to full credit. Regardless a bad grade during the school year isn't much mitigated by an AP score. I also was a good tester but a bit lazy, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get into my college behaving that way today.

OP, if she can get an A or B in the harder class, it should look like a stronger schedule to colleges, but if there's any risk of getting something lower first quarter, she might as well take honors and focus her energy somewhere else.


Thanks, PP. That's what I'm trying to figure out. How much harder is the AP Calc class? It's really hard to find information. I do like AP Calc as it has an actual non-MCPS curriculum. We've had some issues with the math classes in terms of how the school interprets and teaches the curriculum. I also don't want her to take the Honors Calc if the AP version is just a little more rigorous - why not get the AP instead of the H designation?
[Post New]12/22/2018 14:12
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magrathean
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:PP, that was magrathean's logic. I assumed both scenarios were for the AP same class You don't take AP test with just the "honors" calculus.

Exactly. An advantage of the AP, even if one doesn't care about the potential college level credit, is that college admissions knows that a 5 is a 5 is a 5 on the AP no matter what high school taken at, while an "A" in one "honors" class may be mean less understanding than a "C" in some other "regular" class depending on the rigor, district, school, teacher, etc.
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