Junior Yahye Mire believes AP Precalculus would have better prepared him for AP Calculus.

AP Precalculus–Introduced in the fall of 2023–is a rigorous class, overtaking the well-known Honors Precalculus class, featuring a more in-depth view on topics the college board believes will “prepare more students for college-level math.” However, concerns are growing due to the large number of colleges not accepting the scores of the AP Precalculus exams which raises the question: is AP Precalculus worth taking?

The college board created the AP Precalculus curriculum believing it would better prepare students for college. Research shows that “students who take AP Precalculus in high school are 155% more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree” according to the college board’s “benefits” of taking the class.

Brandi Stratton–math CILS at Ludlow Senior High and also the AP Calculus teacher– believes AP Precalculus was created to “show what the students need to know” to pass the college level class referring to the college board’s research at the Collegiate level when they were creating the AP Calculus curriculum.

Although the College Board has researched the positive effects AP Precalculus may have on the student body, Mrs. Stratton “won’t know for another year or two, though, whether the national standards of AP PreCalc have an advantage over the Mass state standards for PreCalc in terms of preparation for AP Calc,” she explained.

Honors PreCalculus and AP PreCalculus are very similar in the way they offer the same units: Polynomial and Rational Functions, Exponential and Logarithmic Functions, Trigonometric, Polar Functions, and Functions Involving Parameters, Vectors, and Matrices. However, Gerald Martin–The AP PreCalculus teacher at Ludlow Senior High– believes “the AP Precalculus course is designed to better prepare students for the AP Calculus course by including and emphasizing key Calculus concepts.”

These concepts involve: “concavity, average rate of change, limits – that are not part of the Honors Precalculus curriculum,” he explained.

Not only does AP Precalculus better prepare students, but it also contains an exam that students must take to get AP credit, as well as potentially exempt themselves from a college-level class.

The AP Exam’s Impact

When students sign up for AP classes they think about how the class can affect their GPA and the knowledge they gain, but mainly the AP test. As stated before, the AP test is offered with the AP class where if students score a three or above, they could potentially be exempt from a certain class when they go into college. 

All colleges have different requirements, for example, UMass–for the most part–only accepts fours or higher on AP exams, but when it comes to AP Precalculus, students who may score a five, do not gain any benefits other than a minor extra glance on their application. 

Anthonie Emco, a graduate student who took the class and committed to UMass, Amherst, “The class is genuinely useless, you can try and apply to college using your score but nobody will accept it. The most they’ll do is look at your score and think ‘Good job.’”

This minor glance is apparent across our entire state of Massachusetts, as only eight colleges accept the AP Precalculus exam according to the college board’s, “Colleges Accepting” tab where you can find the very small number of colleges that will accept the exam.

My Personal Experience

When choosing my classes for junior year, I was a student who focused on every category that I previously stated. I wanted to increase my GPA, I wanted to obtain a greater knowledge of the subject, and I wanted to get ahead on the college experience through the AP Exam.

Being one of the many students who was the first in history to take AP Precalculus, I believe it was a good experience. 

The class offered the same concepts as the standard class did however, when I compare what I’m learning in AP as opposed to some of my friends who take the honors version, I see the deviation in curriculum as my friends don’t understand the terms and concepts that AP has provided which will be used later in the AP Calculus course.

I’ve spoken with peers such as Yahye Mire and he claims he has “no clue what limit notation is” or “what concavity means” which are very important topics in the realm of AP Calculus.

The only problem I find with the class is how extraneous the exam feels. None of the colleges that I plan on pursuing have the exam as an optional benefit which leaves me not caring about what I get on it in the end. An AP course is supposed to be a study session that prepares you for the “big test” when the test is the most minute part.

My reasoning comes with taking into account that it is only the first year of AP Precalculus, but I don’t think much would change given the class is technically an introductory course to Calculus. I feel the qualities of AP Precalculus should be transitioned into the honors course so all students can gain benefits when walking into their Calculus class the following year.

When planning on what class you would like to take next year, take into account all factors: what you want to major in, how much would you like to know about the subject, do you care about your GPA, what college you want to attend, etc. All of these things should come into play when questioning if AP Precalculus is worth taking because the extra work and the review for the exam, might just be a big waste of your time.