Portola High administration implemented AP Precalculus, the College Board’s new national curriculum, in place of the Honors Precalculus and Enhanced Math III courses starting in the 2023 to 2024 school year. Currently, math teachers Michelle Beccera, Shelley Godett and Derek Zahn teach 10 periods of AP Precalculus total.
AP Precalculus may be particularly difficult for students coming from Math III who have not taken an advanced math class before, according to Godett. However, the class is more conceptual than its predecessors, providing students a better understanding of the content.
“I think the biggest pro for me right now is, because I teach calculus, the kids will be extremely prepared for calculus, in my opinion, more so than the Enhanced Math III kids would have been in the past,” Godett said.
AP Precalculus requires students to master concepts from four different units, including logarithmic functions and trigonometry, according to the College Board. Math department chairs from different schools, counselors and administration met multiple times after school to come to a consensus about the course’s district-wide implementation, according to Godett.
Although the rigorous curriculum of the class may intimidate students, the course difficulty is what makes AP Precalculus worthwhile for many students, according to sophomore Kate Shin. The workload is similar to other advanced math courses Shin has taken previously like Enhanced Math II, according to Shin.
“Every year I forced myself to take honors classes because I wanted to have that extra challenge,” Shin said. “I feel like this actually has been good for me because I learn a lot more than I would have if I didn’t take those classes. So for AP Precalculus, even though it’s slightly stressful, I like the class overall.”
The fast pace of AP Precalculus makes it easy for students to fall behind, according to senior Ismaeel Harsolia who is taking his first AP math class this year. Harsolia advises future AP Precalculus students to devote a lot of time to mastering the advanced content and cautions against taking the course without considering prior math skills.
“Everybody is different in how good they are at math and how naturally they pick it up, so you have to know what you are getting into before jumping into the course,” Harsolia said. “It’s definitely not some class where you can just skip the work and expect to do well on a test. You need to be able to do the assignments if you want to be successful.”
Teachers are assigning daily practice problems to prepare students for the AP exam on May 13, 2024, according to Godett.
