Took the AP Calculus BC exam today. Scary sounding name. Not quite so scary in real life. I believe Calculus could become at least optional curriculum at the 8th-10th grade level -- if we could fix up our education system, that is. It doesn't take a prodigy to learn calculus at 8th grade (If my IQ score is any indicator, I am certainly no prodigy). There was a fourth-grade teacher who taught his entire class calculus. They were not a class of prodigies. They were taught more effectively, at a higher standard, and as a consequence performed at that higher standard. Students will rise or fall to what is expected of them. The reason we don't expect them to learn calculus until college is because our current method of education is ineffective. It takes until college to lay the necessary groundwork to understand calculus. That is not the student's fault. It is the fault of the system that teaches them. I'm not trying to single out public school. Homeschool has its problems too. I'm talking about our general approach to education in America. Many teachers nationwide do an excellent job, but they have to (or choose to) stick with the curriculum. The same often applies to homeschoolers.
Enough about education. Here's my personal experience on the exam.
I felt sick on the multiple choice section of the exam. I felt like my ability to problem solve was impaired. Still, I think I got 55-70 percent of the questions right. The AP exams are set up like Olympiads. You're intended to miss some questions. That's why the grading curve is usually 66% :-). I prayed repeatedly that my mind would clear. It started to towards the end of the calculator multiple-choice. It was totally clear at the start of free-response
I did better on the free-response questions, 80-95% estimate. Hope I got a 5. Hope my estimates were accurate.
Three easy.
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