Sophomore DD is considering bio field. Currently doing ok in Pre-Calc and would like to take AP Calculus in Jr year, though she better prepared for a Honors Calc.
Looking for advice on math sequence? Is it ok to take Honors Calc in junior year and AP Calc in senior year? If she takes AP Calc AB junior year is she expected to take AP Calc BC senior year? Or would AP Stats be ok?
FYI: other Junior year classes AP Lang, AP Chem (currently taking AP Bio), Honors foreign lang & US History
What does “doing ok in Pre-Calc” mean? Also, if she is in precalculus in 10th grade, that is two grade levels ahead, presumably where the strongest math students are.
AP calculus AB is a slower paced version of calculus compared to college, so it should be a gentler introduction to calculus compared to waiting to take it in college. AP calculus BC (starting from completion of precalculus, if that is offered by the high school) is college-speed coverage of the material.
A high school calculus course less rigorous than AP calculus AB may not be a good fit for a student strong enough in math to be two grade levels ahead, unless the student was pushed further ahead than appropriate back in middle school.
Thanks for the input. She has a B+ in pre-calc. She was accelerated in middle school (common in our district), but geometry in 8th grade was tough. She remained on accelerated track, but not honors-level. HS offers both AP Calc AB & BC
It can depend on the teacher and what the kid likes. My kid got B on Honors pre-calc, because she didn’t click with the teacher, but got A the next year in AP Calc BC, but she worked hard and have an excellent teacher. So I think that a B+ on pre-calc means that she ready to go to AP, and I would also recommend AP Calc AB rather than Honors Calc.
Go with Calculus AB then. Doing well will allow your daughter to place into Calculus 2 (BC equivalent) in college and most college Biology programs want their students to complete math up to Calculus 2.
My dd’s HS recommended accelerated students take AP stats junior year and keep AP calc for senior year. They especially urged that of prospective STEM majors so calculus was fresher before hitting college.
My DS is a very strong math student, considering majoring in math, and was recommended to take Calculus AB in junior year and then BC in senior year + AP stats. He was also given the option to jump to Calculus BC in Jr and then multivariate calculus or linear algebra in Sr. but we felt that was too big a work load on top of other AP classes. His teacher felt it would give a more solid foundation in calculus and he wouldn’t need to retake the initial calculus classes when he gets to college.
Wouldn’t a “very strong math student” who is two grade levels ahead in math find calculus BC to be an easy A in the class and easy 5 on the AP test? Seems like taking calculus the slow way over two years may be less interesting for such a student.
Yes, I agree, he’ll probably find AB pretty easy. But he’s also going to be taking AP English and APUSH and Honors Physics so opted to not take the math class his teacher said would be 1 hr of homework per night. I was surprised that he opted for AP English since that has not previously been his strong suit but he stepped up to Honors English this year and is doing well. I’d rather he have the time to devote to his writing/reading skills since that’s so important for college, no matter your major.
And, when he takes BC in Senior year will also take AP Stats and AP Computer Science. He’ll be getting plenty of math!