Lincoln Park High School in Chicago has one of the best IB programs in the United States. The program has an accelerated sequence of math courses which lead to students taking calculus as Juniors. Then as Seniors, students take a much more elementary course in mathematical methods. Why do they teach their most advanced math course to Juniors and not Seniors?
Junior year is the year Lincoln Park students take important standardized tests including the PSAT, which serves at the National Merit Qualifying Test, and the ACT. These tests are important for both the students and the school. It makes sense to have students as well prepared in math as possible when they take these tests. But why the rush to teach calculus to Juniors? Calculus isn't tested on the PSAT or the ACT or the SAT. Wouldn't it make more sense for students to spend Junior year studying the mathematics that is actually covered on these tests? In fact, the answer to this question is no.
When preparing preparing for a test like the ACT or the SAT, it is a mistake to look only at the questions on a test. We should also look at the purpose for which the test designed. To a large extent, these tests were designed to assess whether a student is ready to take calculus. What better preparation could there be than actually having experience doing calculus? Think about it this way. Which 5-year old will do better on a reading readiness test: a child who has spent a lot of time preparing for the type of questions that will be asked on such a test, or a child who already knows how to read, and has spent a lot of time actually reading.
For students who can handle it, taking calculus as a Junior is the best preparation they could have for standardized tests such as the ACT and the SAT. But most students will not have the academic background that Lincoln Park IB students have. For these students a standard calculus course could be out of the question. Fortunately, there is another approach. Learning easy calculus is something the average high school Junior can do, and those who do study easy calculus will gain much the same advantage on standardized tests as the elite few who can handle a standard calculus course as high school Juniors.
The benefits of studying easy calculus go far beyond just gaining an edge on some standardized tests. But the importance attached to these standardized tests is such that there might be people who are willing to try easy calculus for this purpose, but who might be hesitant to try anything different if they needed to study calculus for any other reason.
