My sophmore is having a hard time with AP Calc AB, We are in to 4 weeks of high school and she has a C+. She is a brilliant student with all As, but I am afraid this math course may dent her college choices later on. She has 3 APs this year, she is doing relatively well on other courses.
Thanks for any suggestions
I’d hire a tutor.
6 Likes
At my kids HS, AP Calc AB was a senior year class.
What math did your D take last year? And what was the logic in having her accelerate to Calc this year?
Can she drop down?
6 Likes
How did she get to be so accelerated? Did she take pre-cal in the summer? It seems as though somewhere along the line she lost a grasp on the fundamentals.
6 Likes
She did Hon. Pre Calc with an final grade of A
Then there really isn’t another option besides hiring a tutor or using other resources (Khan Academy, etc).
5 Likes
My dear highly respected Spanish teacher, who was also a scientist, said that there were two subjects that one could not cram in overnight, that one had to practice every day: math and foreign language.
She needs a tutor, and she needs a peer support type tutor in study hall or after school, on a nearly daily basis. She needs to record the classroom lecture, if the teacher will allow it, so that she can go over it again that evening. She needs to practice the problems assigned, over and over, until she’s “fluent” in them. It is going to take a lot of hours, a lot of work, but she will be able to do it, if she puts in the time.
4 Likes
She understands the Calculus concepts very well. The challenge is doing the class work and quizzes under a timed tests. She makes mistakes and evaluator takes off half or more points for small mistakes
This is math. Understanding the concepts is important; doing the calculations correctly is also important.
Try a tutor with a different methodology than her classroom teacher. And start now before she gets frustrated with falling behind…Or- have her commit to spending more time reviewing what happened in class, see if she can gain mastery that way.
Does the math teacher have any insights? Start there- the teacher may have a tutor to recommend. But get the “She makes mistakes and evaluator takes off half or more points for small mistakes” mentality out of your head. She’s either getting the right answer or not, and pretending that the wrong answer is correct isn’t going to help either of you!
6 Likes
Thanks PL, As I said in my other message, she understand the concepts very well and problem is more around fluency and not making errors when under time constraints. we do not have a professional tutor but I am not convinced that a math tutor can help. I feel math tutor will focus on concepts not how to build persistence, perseverance working through the long math problems without making mistakes.
Would love your feedback on this
You nailed it, Totally agree with you that there is no such thing as partially correct.
Any suggestion on what kind of tutor or resource for different methodology.
It’s early in the year - and a C+ isn’t death. What is death though is not learning the concepts - as future math will build.
Yes, she is very advanced as most never take Calc AB and even top kids take it Senior year.
I’d have her sit with the teacher - what are her shortfalls, what could / should she work on.
Alternatively, they might suggest she drop and take again next year.
What are her future plans?
But even if she goes through with a C, it’s not a huge huge deal. But then - would she be ready for the next level beyond - and that would be my concern.
Seek help first and foremost - at school, outside of school if you can afford it.
2 Likes
Yes, meeting with teacher next week.
Yeah, I won’t suggest her to do Calc-BC next year, unless she dramatically recover from a C.
Future plan is to go to med school after Biology undergrad
So math matters - but yes, she’s way ahead.
I wouldn’t suggest anything as to what she should do next year. I would let the teacher/school guide her on where she should be.
Good luck.
1 Like
Struggling isn’t bad. Not figuring out how to help yourself is bad! What suggestions does your D have for gaining mastery here?
1 Like
Did you mean my suggestion for her or should I ask how she plan to get back on track ? My suggestion is practice math problems, she has average of 2 hr math homework every day, not allowing time for anything specific for improvement. But homework problems are opportunity to learn to speed up/clean up
Her suggestions for herself.
Can she drop the class- maybe substitute statistics, or a non AP calc class-- if she’s feeling overwhelmed? That sounds like a lot of homework!
2 Likes
I did not ask her straight but she continue to work hard, she understand the problem and have been trying.
She feel overwhelmed at times but she is super self driven, I don’t remember ever asking her to do her homework or any studies
I will check the possibility with her and her teacher and possible drawbacks
2 hours of homework in any single subject every night sounds unsustainable to me. She needs to sleep, eat, have time to relax, etc. How is she getting all her other work done? Activities, friends???
This has nothing to do with her inner drive which I’m sure is strong if she’s tackling a senior level course as a sophomore. And everything to do with balance, not biting off more than you can chew, being able to ask for help when you need it. These things are just as important as getting A’s!
9 Likes