Do kids that are very good/advanced at math and have done well in math competitions often struggle with Calculus BC? For this purpose, assume the kid continues to like math, is not distracted, etc.
I did a lot of math competitions (e.g. AMC, AIME) and didn’t find BC too difficult. Several of my classmates who did those math contests felt the same and also got 5s on BC.
DS is a strong math student and always did well in math- this was the first math class he got a B in, though he did get a 5 on AP test.
If you’ve taken AB, then BC should be cake. It’s rare for a strong math student to do poorly in an AP Calculus BC course unless the teacher under-prepares the student for their own assignments are even introduces content far beyond what is necessary for BC. It depends on the student, but with nearly 50% of test takers receiving a 5, I’m sure any advanced math student could potentially earn a 5.
I was a very good math student in HS but not the best in my year in that subject(two kids out of 20 in BC were clearly better), I did what we all did then–Precalc then BC, and certainly it was a leap, but I did fine. I got A’s all year (class avg a B) and got a 5 on the BC exam. Now Duke was a different story—I used the AP credits and did Calc 3 as a starting freshman. It was almost ALL genius-y types, and many upperclassmen, and I did my very best to stay close to the mean: it was the first time I truly had to work hard in math and still had no chance of an A. The value I got from that type of learning in that group of amazing kids was really helpful–I learned how to think and analyze better. In my opinion, I would say if that challenging learning leap comes in BC calc, then that is ok and will benefit academic skills in college.