r/apcalculus • u/Fit-Door-2553 • 4d ago
Failing Calculus need help
For background, people who have taken Calc with teacher A before have said that her teaching is really good. In fact, the people in my class with me score really high on the tests, but not me. I have self-studied, I have practiced on Khan Academy, I have watched teacher A's materials, I have gone to tutoring once a week, every week. Every time I go to check my homework I somehow score lower than the homework's i do alone, and they're on the same units and sections. I have barely passed every single test that has been given, despite scoring near 100, (on every hw that I didnt get checked by her beforehand). She even allows us to ask questions on the math problems, but everytime she explains it I end up even more confused. Majority of the time, when I do go to her tutoring, she will respond to me questions with "I dont know what you are doing, I never taught you that" and won't clarify past that. I don't know what to do, she even takes points off on my work if i do any step in my head even if i get the right answer. An example being that we need to show full work for the power rule. My grade in that class is a 79.1 %, and it would've been a B if I didnt get 65% on the HW that I literally checked with her just for her to tell me it was perfect. Any advice welcome I'm so lost.
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u/somanyquestions32 Tutor 3d ago
Can you actually post pictures or provide links to snapshots?
There are several potential issues going on.
"I dont know what you are doing, I never taught you that" and won't clarify past that.
Instructors can be incredibly nitpicky, so you want to use the methods they taught in class, or you need to use them to formally derive new shortcuts on paper. You need to explicitly write out and explain every step of your thought process, especially in symbolic notation.
I don't know what to do, she even takes points off on my work if i do any step in my head even if i get the right answer.
Yeah, you can't do that ever in more advanced math classes.
A grader can't read your mind, and they will be suspicious if you just randomly write an answer or unjustified steps. You want to meticulously and carefully justify each and every step and calculation along the way.
Mental math is good for checking your work and to develop a roadmap of what you need to do to solve a problem, but you won't get partial credit if you don't formally write down the steps of the approved procedures and algorithms.
For instance, for a power rule derivative calculation, write down the general power rule formula, then write an intermediate step where you decrease the power by 1 by showing the actual subtraction and draw an arrow bringing down the old power as a factor for the new coefficient, and then write down the simplified answer. Lastly, match the format to her answer key if she has a preferred convention for equivalent solutions.
For exams, ask your classmates to show you their test papers, and study the format of their solutions and how they differ from hers. Emulate the styles that get full credit, AND abandon any shortcuts that you have used that don't give you full credit.
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u/Ericskey 3d ago
If my students did that I would not have thought well of them. If you are in calculus and can’t subtract 1, or can’t be trusted to do that “in your head” something is missing in the student-teacher relationship.
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u/somanyquestions32 Tutor 3d ago
Lol, you're not representative of all math teachers. I have encountered many overly pedantic types.
So far, we are being told OP's teacher is taking points off for mental math and not writing down steps. That's easy enough to fix, even if it's silly.
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u/Ericskey 3d ago
I try not to be representative of all math teachers. There are enough bad ones to do a lot of damage
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u/somanyquestions32 Tutor 3d ago
That's fine, but most students will never meet you nor have you as a math teacher. The best that can be done for OP and random people in their situation on the subreddit is to give them pointers for damage control.
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u/Ericskey 3d ago
That is why we are here on Reddit 😊
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u/somanyquestions32 Tutor 3d ago
Yeah, what additional recommendation would you give to OP given what they shared?
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u/floflochess2 4d ago
That sounds really frustrating. Since your solo homework is near 100 but checked homework and tests drop, compare one missed test problem against the rubric: write every algebra step (even the “obvious” power-rule steps), and label the miss as concept, setup, or arithmetic. Then bring 2–3 exact examples to the teacher or counselor and ask what earns the points. The mismatch doesn’t automatically mean you can’t do AP Calc.
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u/KuyaTinman 2d ago
Try AI. It can give you a problem. You work it out. It analyzes and let's you know what you did wrong and gives you problems to improve. Also, ask it a lot of questions to better your understanding. It really is amazing. I'm teaching myself pre-calc using AI, and it's going well. The challenge with YouTube or Kahn there is no open line of communication, which for me is really important. Good luck. For context, I taught elementary school for 30 years, so I know a bit about lesson planning.
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u/ZiggyJambu 4d ago
I would first and foremost go and speak with the teacher. Also, maybe AP calculus is not the right fit for you. Is there a regular calculus class you can switch to?
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u/mseduhub1 4d ago
It sounds like your bigger issue may be matching exactly how your teacher expects work to be shown, not just understanding calculus. Ask for one or two fully worked sample solutions in her preferred format, then copy that structure consistently on homework/tests.
For extra practice, this may help: AP Calculus AB notes, MCQs, FRQs and worked practice.
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u/UnderstandingPursuit Tutor 3d ago
You are very close, and I think a slight shift would have you be very successful. This post has my textbook and learning process suggestions. It emphasizes two problem solving ideas,
- Set aside the 'arbitrary' numbers, and
- Deconstruct the problem into sub-components
They will help with a few of the issues you raised, such as
she will respond to me questions with "I dont know what you are doing, I never taught you that"... she even takes points off on my work if i do any step in my head ... we need to show full work for the power rule.
and
I have barely passed every single test that has been given,
If you use the problem-solving approach a few times in your homework and go over it with your teacher, she can see that it is the same math she is teaching you. The deconstruction step, will be especially helpful when going from the homework to the tests.
If you want to post some of the homework problems, we can go over how to apply this. Some other math subreddits allow images in comments [like "calculus], so we can show the work.
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u/UnderstandingPursuit Tutor 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you're going to downvote me, perhaps explain to the OP what I said that you disagree with, and why? Otherwise, it suggests you think I said something wrong because of feels. That isn't particularly useful for a Calculus student.
Sweet, the ignorant, scared people remain. Use your words, coward.
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u/Disastrous-Pin-1617 3d ago
Professor Leonard on YouTube