So I took Math 3 Honors my sophomore year and finished both semester 1 & 2 with an 88%. I didn’t always put my full effort into it, but I found it to be quite hard. Keep in mind this was an honors level, and lessons that regular level would spend days on we would cover in sometimes half a day. I put my full effort into the final and got a 94%, so I know I could perform better. I am taking Precalculus Honors however, and my teacher said that on average students drop 7-11% in the class from Math 3H. That puts me at the cusp of a B/C and I really don’t want a C. She told me with the effort I put into the final, she believes I could get an A, but I will also have other difficult classes like AP Chem, Lang, and more. My question is, in comparison to Math 3 or Algebra 2 at the honors level, how hard is honors precalculus and is realistic to maintain a B or even go up to an A in that class next year?
I ended the year of algebra 2 and trig with a 93 and precalc with a 90 (both were honors), I did fairly well in both but definitely struggled more in precalc as I got Bs for two quarters. I think it’s possible for you to do well in precalc but you would need to work very hard, and it’s a lot easier to say that you’re going to work very hard your junior year than it is to actually do it (from my personal experience)
Just took honors precalc this year. I felt it was a fine class and it mostly included review from algebra 2. If you did well with things like graphing, logarithms, and trig, you should succeed in the class. You’ll definitely learn some new things like limits and vectors (we also learned matrices but they’re not hard and I don’t even think many people learn them at this level so it might just be my school) so just stay tuned. A B is not difficult to maintain, and an A, while challenging, is attainable. Good luck next year!
It will, of course, depend on your school. Pre-calculus is a pretty vague term; each school defines it as they choose. So two kids on this site who are both taking Pre-Calc may find that they’ve learned very different topics, and experienced very different courses.
That said, my personal opinion as a teacher is that Math III-- if that’s Algebra II & Trig-- can be one of the more difficult courses offered in many high schools. One, there’s a lot of material. In many schools, a teacher has to teach a new topic each day just to keep up with the syllabus. So even the more difficult topics are taught quickly. And, two, especially once you hit trig, the topics build and build and build. So if a kid gets mono or strep once they’ve started trig, he’s in serious trouble; he’s going to end up lost.
Given those parameters, in my school at least, my Pre-Calc course is much easier than Algebra II & Trig.
But that REALLY depends on your school’s syllabus for both courses. Ask your math teachers, ask your guidance counselors, ask kids who have just taken those courses at your school.