AP Calculus: What We Know (Study)

[eyeheartphysics]

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Conclusions</p>

<p>The most glaring observations from this survey are how little we know about the effects of our current calculus instruction in high school and how outdated what we do know is. Our most recent large-scale studies are from the Fall of 2001, back when the AP program was 60% of its current size. However, there are a few things that can be said:</p>

<p>There is no evidence that taking calculus in high school is of any benefit unless a student learns it well enough to earn college credit for it, and there is some evidence—the high percentage of students who go from calculus in high school to precalculus in college—that an introduction to calculus that builds on an inadequate foundation can be detrimental.
The AP Calculus program is doing what it was established to do: It identifies those students who have learned calculus well enough that they are ready to place into the next course. However, AP Calculus scores are not perfect predictors. In particular, there is some uncertainty about whether or not a 3 should be sufficient for advanced placement credit. While the evidence suggests that there is little or no benefit in retaking a calculus course for which the student is entitled to AP credit, there is some indication—the Morgan & Ramist study comparing performance of students with scores of 3 or 4 on the BC exam—that some students are better served by being allowed not to place as far ahead as they are entitled.

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<p>[AP</a> Calculus: What We Know](<a href=“http://www.maa.org/columns/launchings/launchings_06_09.html]AP”>http://www.maa.org/columns/launchings/launchings_06_09.html)</p>