Miss Tick Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Looking ahead to January, I will be having 2 10th graders taking the PSAT/NMSQT. I know that the TI-84 is acceptable at that and other College Board tests. Is it necessary, though? It has been so, so long since I took the test, I doubt they had a calculator section at all. We have one stand-alone, less than $10 calculator right now, so I have to buy something. I'm ok with buying THE CALCULATOR if it will be useful. I would love links if you have a different suggestion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 I suggest that you study this College Board web page about calculators for the PSAT/NMSQT https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/taking-the-tests/test-day-checklist/approved-calculators RE: TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculators. Those seem to be the "default" graphing calculators used in schools in the USA. I bought one of the first ones available in the USA, for my DD, years ago. Last semester it was with her for Calculus 1. 😞 The original (OEM) battery died after a short time, and I was not happy with that, but I bought a replacement battery (Not OEM) from an eBay Seller in New York and that battery is still working. 🙂 The Ti-84 series calculators have some strange things about how to do certain operations, but once the student learns about those things, it is the default in U.S. schools. The other calculators on the College Board web site will probably do fine. Each of your students will need their own calculator, so if you buy a Casio or some other non TI model on the College Board web page, you will probably save a lot of money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 I found this ranking of SAT calculators. Note that the top pick is not acceptable for ACT. Then this one for ACT. These rankings are based on using the calculator a lot on the tests. Test-wise, advanced features on a calculator are only useful to the extent that you can use them with speed and fluency. This means spending a fair amount of time getting to know your calculator and then practicing with it. The January PSAT isn't the one that will count for your kids, so they would have a lot of time in the next year and a half. I think it's very hard to balance use of calculators. When I teach ACT classes, one thing I see constantly is students using the calculator for every problem, even when it would be much quicker to just do the work in your head. This usually works for the kids whose teachers have put a lot of time into teaching the ins and outs of the calculator, because it often does save them time on more complicated problems and even enables them to solve problems they couldn't otherwise - like they see a problem they don't understand but they remember it means to do X, Y, then Z on the calculator. Less so for the kids who are shakier with using it. If you're going to be highly calculator-dependent, then know your calculator! If you're not going to know it really well, then go ahead and focus on using it in specific ways, and practice that. My kids did a lot of daily work without calculators and weren't inclined to study and practice with a calculator for standardized testing, so they didn't make use of a lot of possible features. By the same token, they had strong mental math skills and a good number sense, so they could solve a lot of problems quickly and were very good at eliminating answers that didn't make sense. They weren't entering ever single problem into the calculator, and that can save time. tl;dr: there's no easy answer, lol, go with the gut feeling of what math looks like in your house. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 You don’t need it for PSAT. You need it for Calculus. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 amazon sells the TI-83 Plus used-like new or refurbished ones for $40 or so... if you have to buy one, don't pay full price. we never do. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 24 minutes ago, mirabillis said: amazon sells the TI-83 Plus used-like new or refurbished ones for $40 or so... if you have to buy one, don't pay full price. we never do. TI-83 Plus just as good as TI-84 Plus? We don't use calculators regularly anyway, it will all be Greek to us, or maybe Reverse Polish. Not paying full price sounds good to me, especially for something that we will teach and practice for the test (and calculus background) Thanks, all! Searching on "PSAT calculator" was giving me score ranges and manipulations.@Lanny thanks for the link to College Board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 (edited) It is not necessary. Neither of my kids used one at PSAT/SAT or ACT, nor at any point during their college education as physics majors. It is, stupidly, needed for AP Calculus because the test has sections that can only be done with a graphing calculator. Why they do that beats me; calculus classes at my STEM uni do not allow any calculators on exams. Edited September 7, 2020 by regentrude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 5 hours ago, SusanC said: TI-83 Plus just as good as TI-84 Plus? We don't use calculators regularly anyway, it will all be Greek to us, or maybe Reverse Polish. Not paying full price sounds good to me, especially for something that we will teach and practice for the test (and calculus background) Thanks, all! Searching on "PSAT calculator" was giving me score ranges and manipulations.@Lanny thanks for the link to College Board. i was told by derek owens (regarding his math/physics classes) that all versions of the TI-83 and TI-84 have basically the same functionality and that either will get a typical student through all of high school and college math. So I'm going with that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 (edited) I'd just get 'em a plain scientific calculator & maske sure they were comfortable using it for basic calculations. Time is more plentiful on the PSAT than on, say, the ACT. So, you don't need a calculator, but if the kid is comfortable with using it, it may save a few minutes. If they aren't used to using them, calculators are just a time suck. Bit, IMO, I wouldn't buy a graphing calculator just for the SAT/PSAT/ACT. Edited September 7, 2020 by RootAnn 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 If they have a textbook or class that uses it or will use it anyway, I'd get it - just because having the same model as everyone else is actually useful. I would not get it just for the PSAT for the reasons everyone is saying. And agreed that the 84 and 83 are basically the same. Honestly, they're all basically the same and have basically been the same for the last 25 years. They're a massively overpriced monopoly thanks to courses, textbooks, and public school buying. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinRTX Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 They do not need a graphing calculator for the PSAT nor for calculus. The only child I had who needed a graphing calculator was my son, his junior year in college for some EE classes. My math major daughter has never touched one. My mantra: it takes just as much time to teach the math as how to use the graphing calculator. I would rather they know the math.🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 My DD has needed it for some college classes because the Pearson software expected it. She has avoided taking classes that were online or hybrid mostly because she prefers the lecture, and the lecture based sections have tended not to use calculators at all, but the calculus class this semester, which has lectures via TEAMS, but the assignments are online, has had some that require it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 This is what I was hoping. I can buy one (or two) decent calculators, but don't have to shell out for the rose-gold standard. I don't have the interest or bandwidth to take on "calculator familiarity" as another weekly goal. All the while recognizing that they may get to a point where somebody needs a fancier one for a specific class, and I'll deal with that possibility if it arises. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 41 minutes ago, dmmetler said: My DD has needed it for some college classes because the Pearson software expected it. She has avoided taking classes that were online or hybrid mostly because she prefers the lecture, and the lecture based sections have tended not to use calculators at all, but the calculus class this semester, which has lectures via TEAMS, but the assignments are online, has had some that require it. It doesn’t help for a standardized test, but there are graphing calculator apps and you can graph equations on excel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 20 hours ago, SusanC said: TI-83 Plus just as good as TI-84 Plus? We don't use calculators regularly anyway, it will all be Greek to us, or maybe Reverse Polish. Not paying full price sounds good to me, especially for something that we will teach and practice for the test (and calculus background) Thanks, all! Searching on "PSAT calculator" was giving me score ranges and manipulations.@Lanny thanks for the link to College Board. Well it won’t be reverse polish unless you buy an HP. I ❤️ HP. They are the most logical in my opinion and SO much better than the TI graphing I was required to purchase my freshman year in college. I bought my HP graphing my junior year and have since purchased smaller non-graphing in the years since. One of the bonuses was if anyone ever tried to borrow my calculator (in the days before a calculator app on my phone) they couldn’t use it and would hand it back 😄 I think graphing calculators are propped up by school sales. I don’t think a dedicated graphing calculator has much use after college. I would wait to see if someone requires a certain model. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 10 minutes ago, Mom2mthj said: I ❤️ HP. DH was giddy to find a free app that worked to make his phone look like his old HP calculator. 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 My DD was able to buy her graphing calculator used from a student who had taken the class a prior semester. I suspect she’ll pass hers on in the same way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 We bought ours used off of eBay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 3 hours ago, SusanC said: DH was giddy to find a free app that worked to make his phone look like his old HP calculator. 😄 A man after my own heart... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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