Do most schools allow calculator use in quizzes and exams? My student is having issues taking tests without access to a calculator. I don’t know if accommodations could be made, as I am sure many other students are in the same boat, and there’s never been any prior testing done…
My daughter had to buy a plain old calculator to use in some of her math classes are graphing calculators are not allowed for the exams. See if your student can use one just for the math, not for the formulas.
Is this the D taking Calc? It may be a class based more on theory.
My D’s college calculus prof. did not allow calculators. She wasn’t thrilled and I’m sure it slowed her down, but all the students in the class were in the same boat.
From my experiences (my S had learning disabilities) accommodations will only be made if there is a disability that has been shown through a formal and professionally done testing process.
I am trying to understand if a school which allows calculators would be better, if they even exist. AP exams allowed calculators, so I think it’s a shock to her system. I’m sure others are also a little shell-shocked though
I don’t have a sense if she’s out of her depth or just no longer excelling…because college grading and high school are different beasts
There are no college policies regarding calculator use on math exams. Each professor has their own policy.
It can be a department (and thus quasi college) policy. At my daughter’s school, all the quizzes are the same and she can take a quiz with another section if she has to leave school (she’s an athlete and does miss some Fridays). All exams to all sections are given at 7 pm on Thursday nights. This is for all math classes so the rules are the same for everyone.
As I said, she can use a simple calculator for the math, but not a graphing calculator. That’s the rule.
My two sons have math minors. Neither has been permitted to use a calculator on quizzes or exams.
I’m glad our schools have always had some non-calculator tests and quizzes so my kids got used to that! Our state testing has some no calculator math sections too. It’s tough having to learn that skill in college and be graded against people who have already had a lot of practice.
My kids have not been allowed calculators in multiple mat classes,
I have not been allowed calculators on exams (though professors usually write the test with “that in mind”) in my undergrad math class. On most, the only thing a calculator could help do is simplify 13*15/27 into a number, but the professors equally took the expression. If there is some elementary manipulation that your child is using a calculator to do because they cannot do it (fractions/decimals/basic operations), that would reveal larger gaps in math literacy. Interesting, in a graduate-level applied math class I took, calculators were allowed (but that was because we were frequently inverting 4x4 matrices, and nobody has time to do that by hand).
I’m of the belief that our local public schools haven’t done a great job with early stage mathematics, and lag in stem overall. Everyday Math was introduced, and poorly…
Both my daughters, one at Carnegie Mellon, one at Cornell, were not allowed calculators in Calculus II, Calculus III, Multivariable Calc, and Linear Algebra. They get used to it pretty fast.
My sister is a 4th grade teacher. Yesterday she went to a local private school’s book sale, and books were $.25 each. She got 25 books, and the person ( parent? Teacher?) running the cash box got out a calculator even though my sister was handing her $6.25.
On the other hand I have a brother who can’t do math in his head. He’s 50 and calculators were widely available when he was in 3rd grade. Never had to memorize tables, never had to count by 3s or 5s or 2s on the back if his math worksheets like I did, never played math games. He’s really smart, just don’t ask him to figure out the tip.
@Iwonderwhere But even for AP exams, such as calc, the calculator is not allowed on every section of the test. There are calculator and non-calculator portions.
What is it exactly that she is having problems doing? Basic arithmetic? Or CAS functions?
I would need to check, says she’s ok doing hw with the calculator but tests are not going well
She need to do her homework without the calculator.
^Yes, absolutely - practice, practice.
A few days ago, my daughter just asked me for a non-scientific calculator. She said that her professor won’t allow her TI-86 or TI-83 in the test.