Debuting as a new class for the 2022-2023 school year AP Calculus AB is taught by Ms. O’Donnell as a prerequisite for AP Calculus BC which is currently being taught by Mrs. Meyers. Students used to have to go from precalculus to Calc BC and ended up missing one full year of a calculus education which made the class very difficult for the juniors and seniors taking it. Now, because the school offers the Calc AB course, juniors are able to take this class and build a stronger foundation in calculus before moving onto a more advanced course.

Calc AB consists of three class periods this year and the overall numbers of students taking the class has increased. The bulk of the class is designed to prepare students for the AP test that is taken every May. O’Donnell structures the class by teaching lessons and assigning related homework almost every day to keep up with the rigorous course load this class offers. To go along with this, she gives AP Calc multiple choice practice questions for students in order to keep their brains actively thinking about what the final AP exam will look like.

“Math is probably not my strongest subject but I feel that this class has helped me a lot in terms of completing my work on time and creating a strong work ethic I can use in the future,” Jack McChesney said. “I like how Ms. O’Donnell sets up the class because especially as the AP test got closer, we worked on a lot of practice exams, so I felt prepared for the actual test.”

As the AP test looms around the corner the class takes up to three full length practice tests as the main method for studying. They work through the calculator and non-calculator portions of the test together and go over the main concepts that appear on the AP test.

“I feel like this class helped prepare me for the calculus classes I’m going to take in college since I’m planning on studying biology on the pre-med track. We worked all year to develop a strong foundation in calculus which I know will help me in the future,” Madison Stumpf said.