Ella Schaffer, Staff Writer

The Payton math department is offering a new math class for the 2022-2023 school year: “Dual Enrollment Calculus.” In the past, Payton has only offered two calculus classes: AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC. Both the AP and Dual Enrollment Calculus classes allow students to obtain college credit although not all colleges take credit earned in high school. Students can also take AP Statistics, KAM I-Geometry, or KAM II-Analysis instead of taking a calculus class. Mercedes Rodriguez, a current junior taking Pre-Calculus AB, says “I’m not planning to take math at all” next year. Students only need to take 3 math classes to graduate. The new calculus class option gives students three new calculus choices although calculus is not a graduation requirement. 

The new class is going to be offered through The City Colleges of Chicago, but it is going to be taught at Payton by Payton teachers. AP Calculus AB and Dual Enrollment Calculus will cover the same material, but Calculus AB will be a faster-passed course since students will have to learn all of the material before the AP test date. This gives students taking Dual Enrollment Calculus an extra month to learn the same material as students taking AP Calculus AB. Additionally, students who take the dual credit class will not have to take an AP exam as their college credit will be determined by the grade that they earn throughout the school year. Nayeli Samano, a current sophomore taking Pre-Calculus AB, says, regarding Dual Enrollment Calculus,  “I feel like it’s the easier way of reviving the [college] credit since you don’t have to take the AP test. You just have to try hard in the class.” 

In 2021, according to the College Board, 17.6% of students received a 5 on the AP Calculus AB exam. This number is significantly lower than the number of students receiving 5’s in AP Calculus BC; 38.3%. Some students like Dual Enrollment Calculus because they don’t have to take a cumulative test that determines whether or not they get college credit for the class. Other students feel that AP Calculus AB or BC will look better on their college applications, and thus are deciding not to take Dual Enrollment Calculus.

A Payton Pre-Calculus classroom.