I have been taking pre cal/trig thinking that I would advance to AP Cal ab next year. I go to a really big high school and sometimes I know things can get put in the cracks. Anyway, today I was told that I couldn’t take AP Calc AB because I was in pre cal/trig “intermediate” and you had to have either pre cal/trig “regular” or "honors’. I took Geometry honors and then my teacher said for anyone who doesn’t live, breathe, eat math…they should do Alg II reg instead of honors. Anyway…I guess after that class I just thought I was moving on to the next…Pre cal/trig. My GC says I can only do AP Stats or Finite Math. I had low A’s in Alg II with one term being a Bplus. The GC told me it was probably the Alg II teacher’s recommendation. Seriously? At this school, unless you don’t meet the requirements…you don’t have to have a teacher’s recommendation. I don’t know what to do…as I look at colleges…I see that Calculus would be very helpful. The GC last year knew I was thinking about science…what?? From what I understand, pre cal/trig intermediate is for those not wanting to pursue science. I am really upset. I asked if they could get an exception for me. Who knows. class submissions are due today.
What is your question? There are only a couple of colleges that require calculus in HS so relax a little.
it’s hard to relax when you have everyone on here taking super duper classes…and I just want to be on this path. I guess I am asking if not having it will hurt my chances. I will be taking AP physics…and thought it would be a great addition for rigorous classes. They are only giving me options of finite math, linear math, or AP stats. ugh.
This isn’t a battle for you. It’s for your parents. Have them call up the GC, then the principal, and make it clear the Board of Ed is the next stop. And mean it. They can push kids around, they do it all day, so have your parents help you out here.
I agree with @mikemac, this is a fight for your parents. Have them push and push hard. You may need to do some extra work but where I live, pre-calc is pre-calc. It’s not called pre-no-calc.
Talk to the head of the math department, often times they have the final say in course enrollment (besides the principal).
I would meet with the head of the math dept. and tell him why you want to take the class and that you feel confident that you will be successful in the class next year. I think it always shows maturity for you to try to do this on your own. If you get nowhere then have your parents contact the math dept head. Best of luck.
ok. My parents did contact the GC and head…and after several emails of pushing, the GC and head decided that I could take the placement test they give of pre cal/trig. I was truly thinking…why didn’t you tell me this first? You guys were right. They would not have said that unless we pushed. Now the GC is a little short with me and not quite as nice, but oh well.
Sounds like a good outcome. It is frustrating to have to get parents involved but sometimes that is what it takes. Now it would make sense to talk to your teacher and see if there is any material your class doesn’t cover that you will need to know for the placement exam. If there is you can try to self study, get a tutor, work with a teacher etc. to be sure you know the material needed to get into calculus.
Congrats! You won the 1st step of the battle. The next is to pass that test. You need to prepare for the test, as much as you can before you take it. And preparation does not mean reading thru the material it covers; one of the poorest ways to study (more on that later). What you need to do is practice problems. A starting point is https://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~marx/precalculus.html or other sites you can find on the web with a search for “pre-calculus problems”. A better resource, if you have time to order it and work with it, is the “Pre-Calculus Problem Solver” book by REA. Regardless of which resource(s) you use, you need to cover up the answers and work it yourself before checking. Even better if you do 1 problem at a time this way; by the end of each section you’ll have the satisfaction of getting most of them right. REA makes “Problem Solver” books for many subjects, BTW, and they are worth owning for the classes you take.
Why testing and not review? There is a great book about what the research on learning shows, called “Make it Stick.” Written by 2 of the leading researchers in the field, not only does it explain what is known about learning effectively but it has lots of tips for HS and college students. I recommend reading it over the summer. One takeaway is that forcing yourself to recall something is far better than just reading it. That’s why you do test problems here, to force yourself to try to recall the steps to the solution. Even if you don’t get a problem right you’re still strengthening the connections with the effort, and the correct solution is more likely to stick than if you just read a chapter from a book and nod “yep, makes sense, I see”; 1 hour later much of what was studied that way is forgotten again.
A second principle is spaced practice. If I were you I’d do 30-60 minutes of studying every nite before this test; spaced studying is more effective than the equivalent time bunched up in 1 or 2 sessions.
One last piece of advice about that GC. it will be better for the future of your interactions if you don’t gloat or smirk about this. In fact I suggest you adopt the attitude that taking this test and getting into the class is what the GC wanted for you. There really may be some truth to this, BTW, and you might as well act as if it is.
such good information and advice. thank you thank you. Yes, I will get that book and work on problems. Also, I will def work on the relationship with GC. I just didn’t know why he didn’t want to help me get into a class that I felt I could do. I think this must happen a lot b/c I will be taking the placement test with some others. It’s a big school, so I am sure they try their best. thanks again all!
Seems like your high school has a lower level precalculus course that they placed you in. However, it is odd to have a precalculus course and not let you take calculus afterward.
Here are some placement tests to let you check what you know and what you may need to do additional studying for in order to be ready for calculus:
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/rur/rurci3.cgi
http://math.tntech.edu/e-math/placement/index.html
https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/placement-exam
I’m pretty new here but would just like to comment that the help given in this thread alone is priceless for a student trying to figure out a critical problem. I’m amazed at the thoughtful and useful guidance given - I’m a parent and wouldn’t know how to begin to proceed, so you’ve helped me immensely if we ever have a future hypothetical situation like this, in addition to the OP. I’m deeply appreciative…
thank you @ucbalumnus I didn’t even know that is what I was in…I was on the honors track until Alg II where my teacher warned about it only being for math majors. Then they don’t tell you once you opt out of honors you can never get back in which means at my high school you can never do cal bc. I was on track for AP stats only. My suggestion to everyone is look way ahead at the math, science, and english requirements. One wrong choice and you may not get your senior picks. What is funny is that I scored perfectly on the psat in math. I really think I just had a really paranoid teacher in honors geometry. We take Alg I in 8th (as an honors course), geom, alg II, pre cal/trig, then most people stop There are some kids around here that start in Alg II when they are freshman. I think they want to spot math people early. I think that is dumb b/c a lot of us just aren’t aware or know we can do it until sophomore year. Well, I will pass that test…and show them!
Your high school is doing it poorly. Really, they should let anyone who is not struggling continue on in the usual sequence, rather than pushing all but the math prodigies into lower level courses/tracks.
Some high schools allow placement into honors math with either an A in the previous non-honors math course or a B in the previous honors math course, so that students in the non-honors track can move up to the honors track. And students in non-honors precalculus in 11th grade can take calculus in 12th grade (of course, if they take precalculus in 12th grade, they are expected to be able to take calculus in college).
I so agree @ucbalumnus . If you don’t “get in” your freshman year…you will NEVER get in on their tracks without taking super placement tests if you argue your case. I think this is so sad. Someone might just click with math a little later. Oh well…I am off to study my pre cal book. 