SHOULD STUDENTS TAKE CALCULUS AT HOME?
– OR –
SHOULD THEY USE “CONCURRENT” OR “DUAL” ENROLLMENT?
Calculus is not difficult! Students fail calculus not because the calculus is difficult – it is not – but because they never mastered the required algebraic concepts necessary for success in a calculus course. However, not everyone who is good at algebra needs to take a calculus course.
A number of the students I taught in high school never got to calculus their senior year because they could not complete the advanced mathematics textbook by the end of their junior year. They ended up finishing their senior year with the second course from the advanced math book titled “Trigonometry and Pre-calculus” and then taking calculus at the university level. This worked out just fine for them as they were more than adequately prepared and had an opportunity to share the challenge with likeminded contemporaries on campus.
Some of my students advanced no further than completing Saxon Algebra 2 by the end of their senior year in high school. They were able to take a less challenging math course their first year of college by taking the basic college freshman algebra course required for most non-engineering or non-mathematics students. These students would never have to take another math course again – unless of course they switched majors requiring a higher level of mathematics. And, if they did, they would be adequately prepared for the challenge.
I believe the answer for homeschool students in these same situations is what we in Oklahoma call “concurrent enrollment.” In other words, don’t take a calculus course at home by yourself. Under the guidelines of “concurrent” or “dual”’ enrollment – or whatever your state calls it – take the course at a local college or university and share the experience with likeminded contemporaries. If your state has such a program a high school student can also receive both high school and college credit for the course. I would not recommend taking calculus under “concurrent” or “dual” enrollment at a local community college unless you first verified that the college or university your child was going to attend will accept that level credit for the course. Many of them will accept those credits but only as electives and not as required courses in the student’s major field of studies. Check with the head of the mathematics department or the registrar’s office before you enroll in the local community college.
The concept of “concurrent” or “dual” enrollment was just beginning to take hold in the field of education when I was teaching and there were not many high school students taking these college courses enabling them to receive both a high school and college math credit for their efforts. As we gained experience with the new program, we learned that our high school juniors and seniors who had truly mastered John Saxon’s Algebra 2 course could easily enroll at the local university in the freshman college algebra course and could – provided they went to class – easily pass the course. And, if they were English or Art majors, they would never have to take another math course if they so desired.
Students who were eligible and wanted to take a calculus course their senior year looked forward to taking it at the local university and receiving “concurrent” or “dual” credit for the course. Many of these same students went on to become research technicians in the field of bio-chemistry and physics. However, several of them never took another math course in their college careers because they were English or Art History majors. They took the college freshman calculus course because they wanted to prove they could pass the course. They wanted to be able to say “I took college calculus my senior year of high school.”
So, what does all this mean? Home school students whose major will require calculus at the college level should adjust their math sequence to complete John Saxon’s advanced mathematics textbook (2nd Ed) by the end of their junior year of high school, and then take calculus the first semester of their senior year at a local college or university. Not only will this enable them to receive “concurrent” or “dual” – unless their state prohibits it – but they will enjoy the camaraderie of other likeminded college students taking the course with them.
There is a final serendipity to all of this. When enrolling at most universities, honors freshman and freshman with college credits enroll before the “masses” of other freshman students. This would virtually guarantee the student with college credits the courses and schedule they desire – not to mention the potential for scholarship offers with high ACT or SAT scores and earned college credits in a course titled “Calculus I”” recorded on their high school transcript.