Yes, they should have t, z, and chi-square functions, invt and invNorm, log and ln, and confidence intervals, as well as linear regression. Graphing is nice to have and occasionally helpful, but not a dealbreaker. If they are going to take AP Calc later, picking one from the list that has an asterisk by it will ensure it is useable in AP Calc as well. Colleges will vary on calculator use and policy, so there is no one “correct” answer for whether it’s useful in college. My younger son was in a math course where he was told he had to get a TI-84, but before heading off to spend yet another $100, he went to the professor to ask for an explanation, and it turned out his Casio was perfectly acceptable, so he saved a pile of money there! As noted in my other response, my favorite is becoming the NumWorks calculator, but for the most part, as long as it meets requirements, the calculator a student already owns is probably the best one. It’s nice to have one that is familiar so “learning calculator” doesn’t take up time instead of learning the material. Jen Driscoll AP Statistics/PA Homeschoolers

Several people have posted the link to the list of acceptable calculators. Here is my summary of calculators: TI-84 is not the only game in town for AP Stats (and other AP’s). It is popular because they make deals with publishers to put the directions for using their calculators in the textbooks. They use a rechargeable battery that charges via USB cable plugged into your computer. A Casio graphing calculator is perfectly fine for AP Stats, and is often cheaper. They are also faster, computationally, and for graphing in particular. Most models use regular replaceable batteries (AAA or AA depending on the model). My favorite calculator for AP Stats (and it is also allowed for AP Calc) is NumWorks. It has the smallest learning curve of all of them— most students need almost no instruction on how to use it once they get the basic idea of how it is set up (it essentially has apps, just like a smart phone). What I like as an instructor is that the calculator gets out of the way and becomes a nice learning tool for the material, because of the way it’s been thoughtfully designed— in many cases by people who have taken the courses. It organizes and displays information thoughtfully and usefully. The battery system is a rechargeable with a USB cord. It also has a free online emulator that will work on computer, tablet, or smart phone— while these are not allowed on the AP exam itself, it comes in handy if you need to do something and find you left the calculator somewhere else. For many students, the best calculator for AP stats is whatever calculator from the list that they already own! In my class, I welcome students to use what they like from the approved list; there is no need to drop yet another $100–$150 for a new calculator. Jen Driscoll AP Stats/PA Homeschoolers

Desmos is a whole huge thing. I will occasionally use a Desmos activity that some other amazing soul has programmed into it in my AP Stats class— the students can work through problems together, with everyone adding their results to a shared board, add comments, do matching activities, you name it. It’s a pretty neat ecosystem. Jen AP Statistics/PA Homeschoolers

The fifth edition is a fine book, and many schools are still using it. It is missing a couple of topics, and the last half of the course won’t match the order in which the practice exercises and videos are presented in the College Board site (this ordering was one of the things reworked the last time the CED — course and exam description— was updated). The publisher does have some pages to help show the missing material, and the missing material is not difficult (I believe mosaic plots were introduced after the 5th edition, but I’m working from memory here) but it will be a little more work for you to line everything up with the College Board materials. It’s very workable, though.

Yes, obtaining the TM won’t be completely necessary. As the course instructor, you will be able to set up assignment that will allow the student to see explanations and grading rubrics. The AP Stats videos on the College Board site have been redone over the past couple of years; they are much shorter and more focused now, so a student can actually take in a video or two at a sitting and absorb the information. The toughest thing for many parents will be helping the student to really pay attention to the details in the grading rubric. Many students see they got an appropriate numerical answer and ignore the rest— but AP Stats is very different from other math courses in that it’s the “all the rest,” ie understanding why things work and being able to interpret the results in context, that are really at the heart of the course. AP Stats is also really good at developing some lateral thinking; it is not uncommon to be asked a question in a form the student has never seen before, but can address, using related information they have learned. I tell my students, “Don’t count on just memorizing algorithms in this course. It won’t get you very far. You will need to make sure you are understanding why and how we assemble these bits of information, so you can figure out how to apply them in an entirely new context.”

There was a 6th edition released quickly when the standards were being changed, but a couple of changes made to the standards were more significant than anticipated, so the authors ended up issuing the 6th edition UPDATED to more fully align with the course and exam description (CED) issued by the College Board. There is a new edition coming out (supposedly in January 2024) with some more organizational changes, but the 6th edition Updated is just fine; the material covered and the order in which it is covered largely matches the current CED, and the rigor is an excellent match for the CED. The odd and even problems are a bit like matched pairs; so if you do problem 1, problem 2 is pretty equivalent. Problem 3 goes a bit farther and is matched by problem 4, and so on. So many teachers assign all the odd numbered problems. I more or less follow that, though if there are too many problems for an easier topic, I will winnow those down a bit, making sure to include most of the hardest problems in the topic, just to keep the homework load reasonable. And if I find something I don’t quite like in in a series of problems, I’ll just pick the evens for that set. The toughest thing for you as a home educator will be locating a reasonably priced TM. The TM is very well-done, with alternate examples and solutions that are far more complete in terms of meeting scoring expectations- the back of the text does have solutions, just not always fully worked out, and AP Stats is about 50% scored on clear communication- showing all work, labeling correctly, placing answers in context, providing correct justifications, etc. A good bit of that IS in the back-of-the-book solutions, but not always expanded quite enough. However, someone who is comfortable with stats can do just fine with the student text alone. Jen

AP Statistics teacher here (PA Homeschoolers). There are two really good stats books out there— The Practice of Statistics (any recent edition will do if the student is just studying stats and not taking the exam; you will want the 6th edition updated (black border around the usual flamingo pic) if taking the exam. You can find the older editions in print fairly inexpensively on Amazon; the most recent edition is going to run in the neighborhood of $100 (though that price may drop after January, when the 7th edition comes out). The other really good one is David Bock (et al)’s Stats in Our World. It also has several editions out which are all fine; the most recent is aligned with the current AP exam standards and pacing. If you are looking for good, but not necessarily AP level, Tabor and Franklin put out a text called Statistical Reasoning in Sports, which is great if you have a student who is interested in sports applications. The Practice of Statistics— I really like the problem sets in this book. They tend to be well-written, and they scaffold the learning well. The book itself is still very readable while being solid on the rigor. It contains excellent examples as well as activities you can do at home with playing cards, pennies, candy, and online simulators. This is the book I use in my class. Stats Modeling The World— this is also an excellent book, popular in part because it’s readability is much friendlier than most other stats texts. The material is broken into much smaller chunks at one time, with a higher chapter count than TPS. The book also has a higher page count than TPS, partly due to the writing style and partly due to ample white space throughout the book. Both of the above use a lot of real-world data and settings for their problems, and either would be a great choice.

I’m not sure how long ago this was, but there is an entirely new in-house classroom for PAHS, and many instructors opt for Canvas, augmented by live zoom sessions and Discord. The individual listings will detail what the class structure and environment is for the current upcoming course. Jen AP Statistics/PA Homeschoolers

Having read your follow up responses, I’d sit down with him and ask this: What is it that you want to do after graduation? Is this something you cannot do while finishing high school? After all, homeschooling is quite flexible in how students can use their time. There are so many creative ways to branch out right now, when you don’t have adult responsibilities sucking up your time! Does he have a fair amount of control over what he studies and how he goes about it? If he has enough credits to graduate, he could perhaps still stick around until graduation time, but take just 1-2 classes and spend the rest of the time on an internship or special project (be prepared to explain use of time to colleges, some of which can frown upon a slack looking senior year). My youngest had a largely self-designed senior year that he found both satisfying and a nice change of pace. Teens may underestimate how much time is taken up by the tasks of “life” after graduation— if school is old, then the novelty of earning enough to live on, paying bills, arranging doc appointments, dealing with housing issues that crop up whether you are renting or buying, financial planning, and so forth, wears thin quickly. I told my kids— don’t be in a rush to start adulting. You’ll have the next many decades to enjoy that part of life. Don’t waste the last years of being able to be a kid. Both of them have been very responsible young men to start with. On the con side of graduating early, I’d echo what many have already said. Being much younger than your classmates in college can be a real bummer. Dating, driving experience, drinking, social experience, and that last bit of growing up can really set you apart from your classmates and make fitting in very difficult. On the job, particularly if the student is under 18, there will be frustrating restrictions, and the same social issues with bonding with coworkers. It’s amazing how much they continue to grow up in those last couple of years of high school. That said, for a very small number of kids, it’s just the right thing to do to move on. But I’d start with understanding how he plans to use his time after graduation and whether it’s just some “early senioritis” that can be helped with a. Shake-up in how school is approached, or a rosy view of adulthood. Good luck! These darn kids didn’t come with instruction manuals…

Depending on the state, notaries often have a few options: They can use a stamp, they can use the embosser, or they can use the embosser and a special ink pad to make it visible in copies. Jen AP Statistics/PA Homeschoolers

I know the PAHS APES instructor in real life. While our teaching styles are quite different, she is a subject matter expert and an experienced college professor who homeschooled her own kids (we homeschooled our sons of similar ages at the same time locally). We co-taught the APES course one year, and I will vouch for the fact that she understands how to get the material across, and has great conversations with the students in class. She’s a good teacher to pick if you not only want your kids to pass the AP exam, but actually engage with the material and get something lasting out of the class.

I would add . . . AP Stats is such a valuable course on content, that it’s worth doing right— to actually learn and explore, rather than just putting a notch in the scoreboard.

However they behave now in terms of taking care of their own bathroom…. Is likely how they will behave in a suite style dorm room with their own bathroom. My youngest is in the dorms and happy someone else does the cleaning. He could wish for more privacy, but knows it comes at a cost lol. My oldest is in an apartment that he has rented for a couple of years, sharing 2 bathrooms between four people (mix of male and female). I helped him get it clean when he moved in, because there were no roommates around at the time, and he has simply advised me to not come visit ;P. I reminded him a couple fo times that disease is a real thing, germ theory is not “just a theory,” and that if he doesn’t get his deposit back because he wrecked the bathroom, it’s on his dime. Then I keep my nose out of it (literally and metaphorically). Both were taught how to clean a bathroom properly before college, and had years of practice at it; the rest is up to them! I figure the hygiene issue is a trade-off between fewer people and less cleaning done.

Neither of mine chose a roommate in advance. My oldest has found he has always just gotten along with rooommates— even now that he’s been renting an off-campus apartment for a couple of years, sharing his apartment with strangers (they all have separate locking bedrooms and separate leases, and share main living space, kitchen, and 2 bathrooms). My younger is still a freshman, and was assigned to a single, which has been both good and bad— as an introvert, he likes having a completely private space to end up in at the end of the day. But, as an introvert, it’s been harder to meet people and make friends, because there is no natural person to head to dinner with, or just decide to go to the gaming zone with, and since he doesn’t naturally reach out, nobody bangs on his door, either. So the single (which he didn’t request) has been a yay/boo. But, he says next year he wants to stay on campus, and he’s again taking the “eh, whoever they assign me to will be fine” route, like his brother.