<p>I am wondering as to why the College Board doesn't add Mutivariable Calculus to its list of AP exams. I know, on the surface, this question appears to have the obvious answer that AP curricula cover first-year, introductory college courses, and this topic would be referred to as Calculus III in most college, a typical second- or third-year course. However, looking at it practically, I notice that a majority of the AB/BC test-takers are juniors (or in my case, sophomores) - a fact that indicates that these students are gifted in mathematics, and calculus must interest them. The only other AP math course is Statistics, a topic hardly comparable to calculus. Therefore, to add to this path, a Multivariable Calculus exam seems logical.</p>
<p>My school offers a Multivariable Calculus course (which I will take next year as a junior) which the school weighs as AP, and I would really like to get college credit for this course instead of taking it again.</p>
<p>Because that would not be a good idea. Sometimes AP doesn’t cover everything that a normal college student would. A lot of people even take Calculus in college even if they did good on the AP test just because they know they will be prepared for the next sequence.</p>
<p>22% of the 55,481 total BC test takers is 12205. Since 79% of students receive at least a 3 on the BC exam, then we can reasonably say (with the data we have) that 9641 of the test takers who took the exam in their junior year are qualified to move up to the next level. However, even if every single one of these 9641 students decided to move on to the next level, the AP multivariable calculus exam would still be one of the least popular AP exams.</p>
<p>With the College Board having to discontinue a few AP exams this year, I’m not sure if they’re ready to add on exams that would be taken by very few students, and would be unlikely to grow very quickly in popularity (due to all the prerequisites needed). If the number of students taking calculus BC as juniors starts to rise, I could see such a course being created, but the ~20% number has remained steady over the past few years, so right now it probably isn’t an issue.</p>
<p>I could see them trying to add additional material to BC calculus, though, as the test has a rather high success rate when compared to other exams. This could be leveled out with the addition of new material.</p>
<p>@absent: You’re making an assumption that grade level and AP test performance are independent variables, and that accordingly, the probabilities can be multiplied. I’m not sure that’s a fair assumption: in my observations, the non-seniors I’ve had in my AP Calculus classes have disproportionately done better on the AP Exams than their senior counterparts. There are a number of reasonable explanations for why this might be the case: seniors consider themselves to already be done for all intents and purposes by the time AP Exams roll around (aka senioritis), students who are a year advanced compared to their fellow students tend to have a higher aptitude for learning mathematics, among others.</p>
<p>Also, even assuming the independence, the computations are only looking at BC students. If we assumed the same independence among the ~175,000 AB test takers and the ~20% of the non-senior population at a pass rate of ~60%, you would be adding approximately 21,000 potential Multivariable Test takers to the pool. Given the doubt cast on the independence of these variables, it may very well be more than that. Combine that with the BC students mentioned above, and this would be a test-taking pool of approximately the size of the Physics C exams (combined).</p>
<p>As to the offering of the multivariable calculus class goes, I wonder if there are enough qualified teachers around to truly offer such a course. I also wonder if there’s any kind of universal agreement as to what it means to have such a course. As it is, I’m not sure that agreement even exists fully with Calculus AB and BC.</p>
<p>The problem I see with this is that it’s basically pushing everyone else who wants to get into a top college (for engineering/ Science/ Math, of course) to take it as well. The thing is, if you don’t take the exam, you’re at a disadvantage if you’re applying to a top college. So if such an exam existed, it’s basically forcing everyone else to take the course instead of spending their time on other stuff. </p>
<p>I know you like to be pround and show-off that you took BC as a sophomore, but really, it’s just going to make everyone else’s life harder.</p>
<p>When CollegeBoard makes an AP exam, the exam has to be profitable. They discontinued Comp Sci AB because not enough people take it each year. If CB added AP Multivariable Calculus, it would probably be in the same situation–only a handful of students will take it.</p>
<p>@ttyl: I honestly am not trying to show off - I was just talking about how I saw the exam</p>
<p>Anyway, I find myself incorrect in assuming that most test-takers are juniors - I had been going by my school’s conditions, and assumed that the same pattern transpired across the nation. I did know about the AP Report to the Nation.</p>
<p>Yea - bad idea. You CANNOT decide through one test. I don’t care how high you score. People can cheat, be nervous, merely cram it all in a few months before the test. Multivariate Calculus is very important especially for engineers. Itll just screw you over in the end. Besides, if you really want credit, take it at a community college or something!</p>
<p>Why not AP Linear Algebra as well while we’re at it? Because at my former HS, linear algebra is taken 2nd semester (after MV calc 1st semester). </p>
<p>And, inspired by some previous logic on here, I can assume that since 15/750 people at my former HS take linear algebra every year, that means 20% of the nation takes linear algebra as well in high school. Hence it would be a profitable test, no?</p>
<p>I agree. It is a very important subject and high schools should not be the ones offering this sort of level. Try a community college like the above quote says.</p>
<p>My school offers up to AP Calc BC (we do have an internet math program though where you can take an online math class at a university if you took AP Calc junior year). Most schools I imagine do not even offer Mult. Calc. or Linear Algebra.</p>
<p>Well mine is "regular"and offers 1 semester of MC and then the 2nd semester with Linear Algebra</p>
<p>But I guess you’re all right, AP currciulum only covers a narrow portion, but exempts the test-taker from the entire course in college, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to skip all that</p>
<p>According to the AP Report to the Nation, we can expect about 80,000 Calculus BC test-takers this year (2014). We can expect about a quarter of that, or 20,000 students, to be juniors or below. Even if only a quarter of those (though I expect it would be much higher) go on to take Multivariable Calculus AP, that’s 5,000 students. That’s still over the rate of students who take the AP Latin or German exams, and blows the AP Studio Art: 3-D Design exam out of the water, yet the CB has these exams. And anyway, having such a course would increase the number of juniors in BC, because students would be more motivated to take BC without taking AB. Therefore, there would be plenty of students to justify the administration of such an exam.
And I disagree completely with the arguments that Multivariable Calculus shouldn’t be offered in high school. We need engineers, scientists, etc. to be the students who strive to take such a course in high school, and thus should make it easy for them to do so. Taking a course at a local community college is a hassle to most students, and many don’t have any reasonable nearby college. An AP Multivariable Calculus course would level the playing field somewhat, giving disadvantaged or rural students the same opportunities as privileged ones.</p>
:(</p>