By: Erin Federigan

SAN JOSE, CALIF.— Students taking AP-Precalculus are currently being taught by the only and first time Pre-Calculus Teacher, Ms. Nguyet in L10 at Silver Creek High School.

AP-Precalculus was introduced for the first time in 2023 and its difficulty varies with factors of teachers, study tactics, and previous math backgrounds. However, taking AP-Precalculus builds necessary skills for the future such as problem-solving skills and preparation for students looking to take calculus or wanting to pursue the STEM field.

Ada Hua and Katie Nguyen are juniors currently enrolled into AP-Precalculus with Ms. Nguyet. After about 3 months with Ms. Nguyet, they feel they are re-learning Math 3 content. Nguyen says, “I’m definitely struggling a lot more than I did in Math 3. In Math 3, I was an A+ student and now I’m a B student.” Hua says, “I was doing much better in math 3 compared to how I’m doing now but I think it’s still a doable class depending on your knowledge in math 3.”

According to Hua and Nguyen, taking AP-Precalculus heavily depends on your understanding and problem-solving skills. 

Another factor of how well you do in any class, not just AP-Precalculus, is the teacher. Nguyen and Hua both agree  saying that Ms. Nguyet is prone to making mistakes often, though she is very encouraging and open to answering questions. However, Hua says she has first period and believes that is a big reason why Ms. Nguyet is vulnerable to making mistakes.

Hua and Nguyen both took Pre-Calculus for similar reasons. Hua says, “Most people take it for the college credit, I did too. It’s also not that much different from math analysis so I figured I’d just get the credit and hopefully a good AP score.” 

Concerning whether or not Pre-Calculus is beneficial for not only college applications but future skills, Hua says, “I think AP-Precalculus builds skills for not actual math solving but for future problem solving, critical thinking, test-taking strategies and getting out of your comfort zone to talk to people around you or your teacher because the verbal communication for AP-Precalculus is a big part to learn and understand the curriculum.”

AP-Precalculus is still a new and developing class though according to students taking Pre-Calculus it is worth taking for the college credit and future skills as long as you are knowledgeable of math 3.