I stare with disbelief at the paper in front of me. 63%?! On a math test?? But I’m supposed to be good at math. What is this madness?
This madness is AP Calculus BC. But you know what is even more mad? Combining AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC into one class, into one mega Calculus BC class. For many Calculus BC students, this is our worst nightmare. This means having more to learn in a smaller period of time, which could translate to lower grades on tests and and sub-par AP scores. More importantly, however it means students will be overloaded with math homework and less time for watching Mean Girls.
Unfortunately, because of Common Core State Standards, this nightmare may become a reality next year. In order to fit these standards, the Piedmont Unified School District is reordering the sequence in which math concepts are taught, making middle school and early high school math classes require a greater depth of knowledge. All other school districts in California are implementing these changes as well, and Piedmont must comply with these standards.
What PUSD does have control over is how students may accelerate. With Piedmont’s current accelerated track, students take a test in 5th grade to determine whether or not they are capable of skipping 6th grade math. This track allows students to take Calc AB and BC in two separate years, an effective program that many other high schools have implemented as well.
However, if PUSD gets rid of the current accelerated track, seniors will only have one year for Calculus, and will be forced to choose between Calculus AB and Calculus AB BC hybrid. If they choose to take Calc BC, they will have to condense both AB and BC into one year, which brings us back to the issue of the D-. If someone is getting a D- on tests, don’t you think the class is hard enough on its own?
As a Calculus BC student, I can attest to the fact that Calc BC as it is now is extremely difficult, and would be near impossible if the AB curriculum was added to it. When asked if we could handle a class that was AB and BC combined, almost my entire class said we couldn’t.
Compression, or acceleration of math courses, could happen at three times: in middle school like it is now, in sophomore and junior classes, or in Calculus. If you offer compression in high school, students will feel the impact much more than middle school students. With acceleration starting early, it will be easier for students because those initial math classes aren’t as complex, and the information is easier to learn in a short amount of time.
Beach School parent Gabriel Kra said in the School Board Meeting on Mar 12 that in eliminating acceleration in the middle school, you will be stopping something that is already working well and serving a significant student population.
Our math curriculum as it is now works perfectly fine, why change something when change is not needed?
