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<p>Oh, I wasn’t aware of this.</p>
<p>At my kids’ high school in NOVA, top students take calculus b/c junior year and multi-variable senior year. Probably 5% are on that track, while about 50% take Calc a/b by senior year. No linear algebra senior year though.</p>
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<p>Yes, because the only factor that determines if you are smart or dumb is what math class you’re in.
Now I see the major difference between the high school forum and the college forum.
Half of you probably didn’t even realize the first sentence was sarcasm.</p>
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<p>I don’t think any of you realize AP calc is a college level class, therefore if you don’t take it in high school you can’t possibly “be behind”. Especially since most of you aren’t even going to major in anything that requires calculus anyway. You’re all just wasting your time talking about this, when you get to college you’ll look back and laugh at yourself for being so shortsighted.</p>
<p>@bl4ke360:
CC makes me feel behind as I’m going to finish HS with just Calc BC while a lot of people here are taking MVC.</p>
<p>Probably the majority of people who get accepted to top colleges have taken the highest level of math offered at their school. Not taking AP Calculus if it is available does indeed make you “behind” compared to them. You wouldn’t be “behind” the kids in regular classes, but people on this website aren’t trying to be average.</p>
<p>^
This appears to be a ■■■■■.</p>
<p>Within the math education community there is a divide in what should be offered beyond Calc BC in high school. Calc III, linear algebra are still computational approaches that have definite real world use but for a very limited range of college tracks and professions.</p>
<p>Our high school, in addition to traditional Calc BC, offers a two year cycle of proof based math based on the University of Chicago Math 161-162-163 courses which is their Theoretical Calculus cycle. This approach to math is less practical but is tremendously useful in honing deep analytic thinking skills. The two year course can be taken simultaneously with Calc BC. Some topics are: advanced Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, Absolute, Spherical, and Hyperbolic geometry, fractals, chaos, Julia and Mandelbrot sets, Cauchy sequences, and the proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.</p>
<p>I am in Calc III/Linear Algebra right now (taking it from Stanford EPGY) and it’s very practical/mechanical. I wish I could take a more theoretical class; I think I need to develop my skills somewhat on that end.</p>
<p>I’m taking Calc as a senior. Does that make me average?</p>
<p>Eh…I guess, yeah. What kind of Calc, though?</p>
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<p>So, you’re ■■■■■■■■ yourself? In fact, I think BC Calculus has lost the label “college class.” Single-variable calculus is officially a high-school math course. If you don’t take it in high school, you will be behind. Normal kids take calculus in high school.</p>
<p>^^ mapletree7 - There was a posting promoting a tutoring service which was removed by the cc admin.</p>
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<p>How is that relevant? What are you talking about?</p>
<p>I’m one of two sophomores (school pop is 3000) in Calc… We only offer AB/BC… It’s normal for seniors to take Calc or stat and a handful of juniors take them too . No freshmen yet… I’m considered pretty smart</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>The post I said was from a ■■■■■ was deleted by a moderator. So now it looks like I’m referring to myself.</p>
<p>Do you guys think the average, regular student with a 3.0 GPA and a 23 on the ACT and no CC account takes calculus in high school? As in, what percentage of kids actually take calculus before college?</p>
<p>At our school the highest math we offer is Calculus BC. Our school has a very rigid math curriculum not open to students testing out of, or skipping courses which I have tried to do. Does that make me not smart? Also, No public high school in my area offers anything above BC, does that make their kids not smart too?</p>
<p>Being smart (well, “knowledgeable” is a better word here) is more about how much you know than what classes you’ve taken.
If your school is holding you back, that’s different than just taking the easiest math courses because you don’t want to work hard or because they’re too difficult for you. Learn calculus on your own if you would like to. My school doesn’t have any sort of AP Calculus.</p>
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<p>Yes. That’s who AB Calculus is for.</p>
<p>Edit: 14.1% of graduating seniors have taken calculus. Pathetic. It appears I was wrong.</p>
<p>Lol, do most high schools even have AB? Mine doesn’t, and if it did everyone would flip out over how difficult they thought it was going to be. I told them I wanted to self-study for BC and they said they’d never heard of anyone taking it before.</p>