FYI: AP Calculus AB and BC 2016-17 Updates Taking Effect in Fall 2016

[Arcadia]

"We’re excited to announce updates to the AP Calculus AB and BC courses and exams, taking effect in the 2016-17 school year.

...

What AP Calculus students should know and be able to do will be more clearly defined, in the enduring understandings, learning objectives, and essential knowledge statements outlined in the curriculum framework in the AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC Course and Exam Description, Effective Fall 2016 (.pdf/5.92MB).

• The updated courses will place an increased emphasis on conceptual understanding through the Mathematical Practices for AP Calculus (MPACs): reasoning with definitions and theorems, connecting concepts, implementing algebraic/computational processes, connecting multiple representations, building notational fluency, and communicating. Each concept and learning objective that will be addressed in the updated courses can be linked to one or more of these MPACs.
• No topics will be removed from the AP Calculus program, and the following topics will be added:
  • L’Hospital’s Rule will be included in AP Calculus AB.
  • The limit comparison test, absolute and conditional convergence, and the alternating series error bound will be added to AP Calculus BC."

More details and sample on webpage https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/stem/calculus

 

 

[MarkT]

Thanks for the reminder.  DS will be one of the guinea pigs for AB next year. I am concerned that our students may be getting the shaft if the overall test is harder and colleges only give credit for a 4 or 5 when a 3 is the new 4.  How are AP tests graded?  Any curve?

Edited April 15, 2016 by MarkT

[Arcadia]

. I am concerned that our students may be getting the shaft if the overall test is harder and colleges only give credit for a 4 or 5 when a 3 is the new 4.  How are AP tests graded?  Any curve?

 

This is what I found

"During a standard-setting study, a panel of 15 faculty and teachers reviews the ALDs and determines how many questions a student would need to answer correctly at each ALD. These raw scores become the cut scores for each AP Exam score.

To conduct college comparability studies, the same committees administer portions of an AP Exam to students in their related college course; student AP scores are correlated to their final course grades. The results of both studies establish the standards and inform the cut scores for the relevant AP Exam."

https://aphighered.collegeboard.org/exams/scoring

 

Colleges differ in whether they accept 3 for AP Calc AB.  For example UCB takes a 3 and above but a nearby private college which is lower ranked requires a 4 and above for Calc AB

You can do a quick check here on AP Credit Policy for each college.

https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies

 

ETA:

My oldest may or may not be a guinea pig for Calc AB.  Its too early to decide.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Arcadia

[Caroline]

Thanks for the reminder. DS will be one of guinea pigs for AB next year. I am concerned that our students may be getting the shaft if the overall test is harder and colleges only give credit for a 4 or 5 when a 3 is the new 4. How are AP tests graded? Any curve?

It's a scaled score, not a curve.

[MarkT]

It's a scaled score, not a curve.

I will judge it on the percentage distribution for each number. Someone puts out a blog with this info. If the percentage distribution is significantly different than the last few years of the old exam then it may show that the scale actually shifted. A large number of students take the AB exam.

[Brad S]

"We’re excited to announce updates to the AP Calculus AB and BC courses and exams, taking effect in the 2016-17 school year.

...

What AP Calculus students should know and be able to do will be more clearly defined, in the enduring understandings, learning objectives, and essential knowledge statements outlined in the curriculum framework in the AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC Course and Exam Description, Effective Fall 2016 (.pdf/5.92MB).

• The updated courses will place an increased emphasis on conceptual understanding through the Mathematical Practices for AP Calculus (MPACs): reasoning with definitions and theorems, connecting concepts, implementing algebraic/computational processes, connecting multiple representations, building notational fluency, and communicating. Each concept and learning objective that will be addressed in the updated courses can be linked to one or more of these MPACs.
• No topics will be removed from the AP Calculus program, and the following topics will be added:
  • L’Hospital’s Rule will be included in AP Calculus AB.
  • The limit comparison test, absolute and conditional convergence, and the alternating series error bound will be added to AP Calculus BC."

More details and sample on webpage https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/stem/calculus

 

Does anyone know how existing textbooks match up to the new AP Calculus BC standards?  I bolded the two general parts, and the second one should be relatively easy to check, but that first one seems a lot harder to check.  I'm sure that the textbook companies would love for you just to buy the latest edition, but that's not feasible here.  On the other hand, couldn't any loose ends be caught by using an AP Calculus test prep book at the end of the class?  (I've seen a lot of good things about the Barron's prep book.  Anyone have experience with it?)

 

[Lilaclady]

The changes are for the 2016-17 academic year so I am not sure any of the existing test prep will have it. Some textbooks will have it because it is covered in calculus not really for the exam

[Brad S]

No, I wouldn't expect test prep books to include the changes yet, and I'd even be careful a year (or two) from now with test prep books, but I was wondering about textbooks.  An example AP Calculus BC textbook list from the College Board website is here, but it wasn't clear to me as to whether or not that's for the new standards. Fortunately, this change is fairly minor compared to some AP course changes.

[Arcadia]

An example AP Calculus BC textbook list from the College Board website is here, but it wasn't clear to me as to whether or not that's for the new standards

There are three sample pacing guides with textbook page references for the new Calc BC on the right hand side this link.

https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/stem/calculus

 

ETA:

Arrigo's pacing guide - Forester textbook

Dover's pacing guide - Hughes textbook

Howell's pacing guide - Finney textbook

Edited April 19, 2016 by Arcadia

[MarkT]

There are three sample pacing guides with textbook page references for the new Calc BC on the right hand side this link.

https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/stem/calculus

 

ETA:

Arrigo's pacing guide - Forester textbook

Dover's pacing guide - Hughes textbook

Howell's pacing guide - Finney textbook

For AB

 

   Bibler => Finney  4th edition

   Murphy => Larson 10th Edition Cengage

[Grantmom]

We are trying to decide now about whether DS should take AB or BC.  I read something similar about the new AP Chem exam, that it became much harder to get a 5 with this last revision.  I wonder if the admissions people know when these things shift?

[daijobu]

 I wonder if the admissions people know when these things shift?

 

I don't know, but I'm still licking my wounds after they raised the mean score of the SAT in 1995.  Before '95 I had what was considered a respectable score.  Now I think it's considered fairly low, lol.  "Glory days, they'll pass you by..."