Today we got our quiz scores back from our first AB Calc quiz. Even though I thought I studied well, I got just above a 50% and now I feel completely dumb, because it was supposed to be “easy”. It isn’t retake-able and my first test is in a couple days.
What should I do between now and then to make sure I don’t fail the test?
If there was a syllabus passed out on your first day of classes, now is the time to dig it out and look at the instructions as to where you can get help. Does your school offer free tutoring, or can you afford your own tutor? Talk to your teacher, attend their office hours. Do all your homework on time. Are there friends in the class willing to study with you? Ask your teacher to hold a review session before or after school before the test, and make sure to be there. Retake your quiz at home and make sure you understand what you did wrong.
I understand what you’re going through. Calculus was one of those subjects I always felt I had a handle on… until the tests.
There are some helpful videos on Khan Academy.
For quizzes that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Were you comfortable with “typical” examples but this one was that was non-typical?
Here are ideas:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/2026961-what-to-do-when-you-arent-doing-well-in-a-hs-class-p1.html
How did you do in high school algebra, trigonometry, and pre-calculus?
I did well in trig and algebra. Pre-calculus was definitely a struggle, but I’ve never done this badly so early in the year.