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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In Loudoun, 9th grade has Math Analysis, unless you are at Academies of Loudoun.

They are introducing AP PreCalculus, but will not let you take Calculus BC after AP PreCalc.[/quote]
That makes sense. [b]AP PreCalculus is not rigorous;[/b] the exam itself is majority Algebra 2 concepts. The course was not designed solely to prepare kids for calculus and the College Board said that most students will likely take AP PreCalculus as seniors. It is not sufficient preparation for BC. And if taught as intended via modeling and applications, it might not be ideal prep for AB either.[/quote]

You have no idea if this is true. It’s an untested course. For next year, our school said they will be teaching beyond the AP precalc curriculum. [/quote]
Schools could adjust their AP PreCalc offering to make it more rigorous. But the underlying course, as designed, is not. 1) The exam does not cover the more challenging precalc concepts, placing some of them in an optional section, while concepts like series and sigma notation are omitted altogether. So if schools teach to the test, that will delay coverage of key concepts until the short period post-exam. Schools could adjust by covering more difficult concepts earlier and adding in more challenging content if they don't teach to the test. 2) The course does not assume prior knowledge of logs and spends a lot of time covering that. Again, schools could navigate around and compensate by shortening the Algebra 2 review. 3) The AP course is designed to be taught through modeling and applications which is time-consuming and limits the amount of content that can be covered. AP Precalc also has kids do regressions which are not needed for AP Calculus but presumably would need to be covered in AP PreCalc for kids planning to take the AP PreCalc exam. Again, schools could ignore this guidance and teach the regular (non-modeling) approach and cover more content. But at some point, if schools have to make so many modifications to make AP Precalc fit calculus-bound students, why bother with all this adjustment? Just have kids take honors precalc as before. Calculus-bound kids don't need an AP Precalc credit as they have the opportunity to get one the next year in AP Calculus. LCPS appears to have come to this conclusion which is why they say Math Analysis is needed for BC Calculus, not AP Precalc.[/quote]

My point is LCPS should not let students take AB Calculus either after just AP Precalc.  They should give the higher credit for the non AP and make it clear AP is intended as a 12th grade course.[/quote]

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