Calculus AB or BC?
My 7th grader is taking pre-calculus this year and I'm wondering if he should take Calculus AB or BC next year. So far we have prioritized him being with his friends over going at the right pace for him, but this year he got bored in class so his teacher just started him with the pre-calculus curriculum which he is doing well with and nailing all the tests. (He already had the necessary background from doing extra work on his own.) So, for next year I'm wondering if we should put him in AB or BC. He is quite good at math so I'm not worried about him getting the concepts, I mostly worry about the amount of homework and the stress associated with the course. Thoughts on which would be better for him? Does BC have lots more homework or more stress? If he takes AB will he then take BC? Does BC cover a lot of the same material as AB? I am 100% sure he will easily get the concepts in either class the first time around since he's been doing different types of college level math for several years now.
We are renting a house in a different district this year which has a 7-12 school (which is why he is able to do the pre-calculus) but next year he will go back to his old school and friends. He will need to go to the high school for math regardless of which math class he takes and I'm wondering if it is better to go at the beginning or end of the day? He typically rides his bike to school with his friends and has friends over after school. So is it better to go in the morning and miss the socialization on the way to school but not miss out on kids doing stuff together after school or is it better to start the day off on the right foot and go to school with his friends? The middle school and high school are about a mile apart so he can easily get himself between them by walking or biking.
Parent Replies
The responses to your Calculus AB/BC questions may vary by school and teacher. My daughter took (AP) Calculus BC at Berkeley High last year and now proctors for a Berkeley High Calculus AB class. She said the two classes cover somewhat different material, but BC covers more and moves at a faster pace. If your son is well-prepared and quick to pick things up, as it sounds like he is, he probably should just do BC. Feel free to email if you have more specific questions.
If your son is doing well in pre-calculus without too much effort then I think it would be most natural for him to take Calc BC. Calc AB is really just a watered down version of Calc BC.
Can I ask what school(s) he's been going to that allowed him to accelerate in math? I was not aware that ANY Berkeley schools allow kids to take accelerated math classes. (Maybe you're in Piedmont? or a very accommodating private school?) I have friends who were thinking of temporarily relocating from Cambridge MA to Berkeley, but scrapped their plans when they realized that the local Berkeley school would not honor the fact that their kids were accelerated in math in Cambridge. (Basically they were told that if a child is in 7th grade, she/he must take 7th grade math at that school. Ridiculous.)
BC will cover the material from AB in the first semester (or part of the year) and "C" in the second, so BC is more accelerated than AB. I typically recommend that my students (I have worked as a math tutor for about 13 yrs.) who have time to take both classes (as in, aren't seniors their first year of Calc) do so because the second class moves very quickly and AB provides a more solid foundation. That said, if you're confident that he will have no trouble with any of it, there's nothing wrong with doing BC only. I would not expect BC to have any more homework than AB--just "harder" problems, and stress level will depend on how he does with understanding the concepts, which for most people are quite a step out of the box from things they've learned in Pre-Calc. The first 1/2 of BC can be a bit boring for students who have taken AB already, but after the first month or 6 weeks of class they do start to delve into some new topics/techniques that aren't covered in the AB class.
:Good luck! I know it's a challenge guiding a student who falls outside of the "box" of classes that are typically offered for his age group, but there are so many good options, I don't think there is necessarily a right or wrong choice here. :)
Calc AB. He has plenty of time to take BC which is very time-consuming. Easily one-hour a day of homework. Also, it is more important that he learns calculus well, than that he completes it while still in middle-school. I assume you live near UCB because he'll need to continue math there (the math at community college isn't designed for strong students.)