Anonymous
Post 07/12/2025 22:52     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Halliday Resnick Krane is a good calc based physics book
Anonymous
Post 07/12/2025 22:51     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no value to taking AP Pre-Calc, OP, if your kid is moving on to better things in math. College admissions officers know it's just an exam for those who max out at that level. One less thing to do off your list.

Your kid needs a tutor for AP Calc BC, and a center who can allow them to test. So get going on those two things.

After AP Calc BC, does your kid have a plan? He needs to show he can take post-AP math courses every year after that, otherwise all this acceleration comes to naught.


AP/DE Precalc is not a choice, it's the prescribed course (and the only offered course) on the track. There's no more Precalculus Honor or similar. She has to take it or else she wouldn't be on the "most rigorous track" of what's offered at her school.

She also doesn't need a tutor for Calc BC. With where she's currently at, and if she gets to sit through a school year full of practice in 10th grade, she'll be (more than) fine. I did both the AB and BC material on Khan myself, along with some example FRQs and multi-choice tests, and the material (like all school math we've encountered in the US school system so far) is rather shallow. Put differently, I didn't see a single question that rose to the level of what I would consider problem solving. It's nearly all plug-and-chug, and the rest are maybe one or rarely two-step problems. So we're going to have to supplement in any event like we've been doing all along since kindergarten.

After Calc BC we'll see. Governor's school is maybe an option, or else external courses at local colleges. It's not ideal. But right now the question is how to properly plan to avoid having to sit for 2 years in a Calc AB/BC course sequence that appears to unnecessarily stretch material over that time frame. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, and I don't think it'll be for naught. There's a world of math and science calculus opens up.

The AoPS calc book has some good problems, and you only need the very basic notions of what a derivative is and what an integral is to be able to benefit from calc based physics
Anonymous
Post 07/09/2025 15:29     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:There is no value to taking AP Pre-Calc, OP, if your kid is moving on to better things in math. College admissions officers know it's just an exam for those who max out at that level. One less thing to do off your list.

Your kid needs a tutor for AP Calc BC, and a center who can allow them to test. So get going on those two things.

After AP Calc BC, does your kid have a plan? He needs to show he can take post-AP math courses every year after that, otherwise all this acceleration comes to naught.


AP/DE Precalc is not a choice, it's the prescribed course (and the only offered course) on the track. There's no more Precalculus Honor or similar. She has to take it or else she wouldn't be on the "most rigorous track" of what's offered at her school.

She also doesn't need a tutor for Calc BC. With where she's currently at, and if she gets to sit through a school year full of practice in 10th grade, she'll be (more than) fine. I did both the AB and BC material on Khan myself, along with some example FRQs and multi-choice tests, and the material (like all school math we've encountered in the US school system so far) is rather shallow. Put differently, I didn't see a single question that rose to the level of what I would consider problem solving. It's nearly all plug-and-chug, and the rest are maybe one or rarely two-step problems. So we're going to have to supplement in any event like we've been doing all along since kindergarten.

After Calc BC we'll see. Governor's school is maybe an option, or else external courses at local colleges. It's not ideal. But right now the question is how to properly plan to avoid having to sit for 2 years in a Calc AB/BC course sequence that appears to unnecessarily stretch material over that time frame. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, and I don't think it'll be for naught. There's a world of math and science calculus opens up.
Anonymous
Post 07/09/2025 01:34     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:^ I said he, but maybe it's a she, of course. I have a DD taking AP Calc BC in 10th.
What will they take senior year?


11th is Multivariable Calculus / Differential Equations
12th is either a course at UMD (we're in MD), or community college, or AP Stats at her own school.
If she wants to be a math major, check out math 340/341 at UMD
Anonymous
Post 07/08/2025 19:42     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:^ I said he, but maybe it's a she, of course. I have a DD taking AP Calc BC in 10th.
What will they take senior year?


11th is Multivariable Calculus / Differential Equations
12th is either a course at UMD (we're in MD), or community college, or AP Stats at her own school.
Anonymous
Post 07/08/2025 19:31     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:At our school they require calc AB as a prerequisite before students can take BC. Even though our child took Algebra 1 in sixth, this would mean they couldn't take BC until junior year. Since they are already fluent with basic calculus, this would be a shame and also a very inefficient use of their mandatory time in school.

We're thinking of simply letting them "test out" by taking the AP Calc AB exam in 9th so that the school then couldn't refuse enrollment in the Calc BC course in 10th. We're thinking of doing this, if necessary, over any objections the school may have and, if necessary going to an external testing center.

Does anyone have any experience with this - the college board site seems to indicate they support self study/home school takers, but they also say test centers may impose restrictions.


if they take BC in 10th, what can they take junior and senior year?
Anonymous
Post 07/08/2025 19:30     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:^ I said he, but maybe it's a she, of course. I have a DD taking AP Calc BC in 10th.
What will they take senior year?
Anonymous
Post 07/08/2025 18:45     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
^ I said he, but maybe it's a she, of course. I have a DD taking AP Calc BC in 10th.
Anonymous
Post 07/08/2025 18:43     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
There is no value to taking AP Pre-Calc, OP, if your kid is moving on to better things in math. College admissions officers know it's just an exam for those who max out at that level. One less thing to do off your list.

Your kid needs a tutor for AP Calc BC, and a center who can allow them to test. So get going on those two things.

After AP Calc BC, does your kid have a plan? He needs to show he can take post-AP math courses every year after that, otherwise all this acceleration comes to naught.

Anonymous
Post 07/08/2025 18:28     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
The base school can (and do) refuse to allow self-study students to sit for the exam. This is a question for your school’s AP coordinator.
Anonymous
Post 07/08/2025 00:09     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP, which county are you in, or is this a private school?

A RoVA county. Public school.

Anonymous wrote:If it's DE, then do precalc in the fall and calc 1 in the spring.

Unfortunately, they're moving away from 4+4 block schedules and towards A/B yearlong schedules (with the exception of the catch-up AB/BC for seniors) - so what you're proposing won't work anymore.

Anonymous wrote:For a real challenge look at AMC 8 or 10

Don't worry, DC's school math engagement won't take away from their contest prep.

Anonymous wrote:Or take the precalculus CLEP now and start with calc in the fall

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't even heard of CLEP before. Will check it out.
Many schools with yearlong schedules can accommodate two DE courses in different semesters.
Anonymous
Post 07/07/2025 21:46     Subject: Any experience with self studying AP calc AB?
Anonymous wrote:Maybe look for an Intro Calc course online to provide structure, then sit the Calc AB exam next May. Maybe RSM, Kumon, or Mathnasium would be alternatives that provided structure to the learning.

So yes - Khan Academy has what appears to be an excellent AP Calculus AB course, with numerous videos by Sal himself (Grant Sanderson of 3b1b fame recorded some additional videos for their multivar calc course), as well as with numerous mastery assessments. They even provide "college board math" assumptions, like assuming that the maximum of a sin/cos function is always 1 when estimating the Lagrange error bound (regardless of actual interval). And they break it down by AB and BC. They also have testimonials by some private school teachers who have adopted that course at their schools.

It's really well done and if you try it yourself, you soon get addicted to their little success jingles and confetti. Now it doesn't have a human in the loop, and there are no writing assignments, which is of course a drawback.