tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8151709103899518019.post4999146821403770316..comments2018-01-28T16:57:24.305-06:00Comments on Mathematics Education: Yeah, so what about fidelity to #STEM Fields? Info for #parents #teachers #legislators #edreform #CommonCoreconcernedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14374789062880735051noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8151709103899518019.post-45563563900888784032013-07-24T18:58:24.378-05:002013-07-24T18:58:24.378-05:00I posted this comment over at the Kitchen Table Ma...I posted this comment over at the Kitchen Table Math (KTM) blog, but I thought I'd share it here also...<br /><br />I recommend (as most probably do) that my hs students/parents go straight to their prospective colleges/universities and review the specific course requirements for each degree, assuming that they've already researched which degree(s) are needed for the job/field that they desire.<br /><br />The problem I am concerned about is that if they attend a school that strictly adheres to Common Core Math standards and they wait until hs to do their own research, they will find that they are underprepared for Calculus. <br /><br />Actually, they will find that there is no way that they/their child can take calculus in highschool. <br /><br />Why does this matter? There are two main reasons that I definitely DO NOT agree with the College Board representative's statements in the original posts. <br /><br /><br />Students who are not prepared for calculus during the senior year of high school<br /><br />1) will miss out on an opportunity (that exists today, but may not in the near future) of saving a whole lot of money on college tuition. (these are just estimates based on local MO public universities)<br /><br />$85 for an AB Calc exam vs. $300/credit hour for 5 credits of Calc I<br /><br />$85 for a BC Calc exam vs. $300/credit hour for 10 credits in Calc I and Calc II<br /><br />2) will be at a disadvantage freshmen year in college because they have had a one year lapse in their "preCalc/CollegeAlg" math content study, if they opted for taking AP stats or AP CompSci senior year in hs. This is why it is so important to consider whether or not they desire a degree/field that AT ANY TIME requires Calculus. <br /><br />Suppose they take the college board's recommendation given above to opt for AP Stats or AP CompSci rather than AP Calculus because it does not "reconcile" with Common Core math standards and they are not prepared. <br /><br />Sure, these students will still have an opportunity to earn college/univ. credit for that course via an inexpensive exam, but they will have missed a year in the progression to the study of calculus. If their degree/field requires ANY level of calculus, they will now need to take CollegeAlg/PreCalc before they can start the calculus sequence. <br /><br />I believe that the likelihood of success in college level math courses is very slim for any student seeking a degree which require calculus, who has taken the College Board's advice and opted for APstats or APcompsci senior year as a result of lacking progression toward calculus in Common Core.<br /><br />That angers me.<br /><br />Most of our Calc students (AB and BC) have taken APstats concurrently with PreCalc/Trig during junior year, or take it concurrently with Calc senior year. <br /><br />Most of their degree fields will still require a calc-based stats course during college.concernedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14374789062880735051noreply@blogger.com