Reply to MCPS is cuttting compacted math and cohorted literacy enrichment

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A lot of folks don't seem to understand the difference between AP Calc AB and AP Calc BC.  There isn't just overlap of the "B" portion -- the naming convention is to blame for that misunderstanding.  From the College Board, which runs the AP program:

"How AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC are similar

The two courses cover content and skills that are introduced in a first-semester calculus course at the college level. [b]All topics in the eight units of AP Calculus AB are included in AP Calculus BC.[/b]

These are the topics taught in both courses:

Limits and continuity (Unit 1)
Differentiation: Definition and fundamental properties (Unit 2)
Differentiation: Composite, implicit, and inverse functions (Unit 3)
Contextual applications of differentiation (Unit 4)
Analytical applications of differentiation (Unit 5)
Integration and accumulation of change (Unit 6)
Differential equations (Unit 7)
Applications of integration (Unit 8)

Because both courses and exams cover many of the same topics, the prerequisites needed for both courses and exams are comparable. Recommended mathematics courses to take before either AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC include those in which you study algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry, and elementary functions.

How AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC are different

[b]AP Calculus AB focuses on topics that are taught in the college-equivalent first-semester calculus class. AP Calculus BC focuses on topics covered in [i]both[/i] first- and second-semester calculus classes.[/b]

All topics in the eight units of AP Calculus AB are also included in AP Calculus BC. However, AP Calculus BC contains two additional units (Units 9 and 10), plus some extra topics in Units 6─8.

These topics are only taught in AP Calculus BC:

Additional techniques of integration (Unit 6)
Euler's method and logistic models with differential equations (Unit 7)
Arc length and distance traveled along a smooth curve (Unit 8)
Parametric equations, polar coordinates, and vector-valued functions (Unit 9)
Infinite sequences and series (Unit 10)"

No MCPS school should not be telling students successfully having completed the PreCalc prerequisite that they need to take Calc AB (as a Junior or prior) before Calc BC.  They might suggest to students that they might take that path if they [i]wanted to take it easy[/i] (i.e., of their own volition).  Or Calc AB followed by AP Stats if they were more interested in Statistics and had no plan to pursue the second semester college Calc content within Calc BC.

For similar reasons, they could suggest Calc AB alone for a rising Senior.  Or AP Stats alone for the same.

But they [i]absolutely, positively[/i] should not be holding Math-interested students back by [i]encouraging[/i] (much less [i]requiring[/i]) Calc AB before Calc BC -- that is totally unnecessary and artificially limiting.[/quote]

It does not suprise me at all that MCPS put this in the slides. The AP/IB coordinator does not know the difference between AB and BC, and she doesn't understand that AP Precalculus is less challenging than Honors Precalclulus. This is the leadership we have in central office. [/quote]

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