However, interviews with 10 of the survey respondents indicated that views may be changing. An admissions officer at one public research university said he was “coaxing” application readers into thinking that “good” students study calculus. “Yeah, we really needed to push that in our reader training,” the admissions officer said. Another respondent said, “Certainly, calculus is more important than others, but I think statistics and data science are perfectly fine as fourth-year math courses if you’re not pursuing a STEM program, especially engineering. ” he said.
At the same time, other interviewees said that test-optional admission made them place greater emphasis on calculus. Admissions officers at a large public university, which previously relied on SAT scores to determine math readiness, are now placing greater emphasis on calculus, especially for engineering applicants. He said he was there.
Some admissions officers said they felt pressured by university faculty to prioritize candidates with calculus. Just Equations’ Birdman said that placing special emphasis on calculus is a “deeply ingrained habit” and that admissions officers are wary of changing it because they have to answer to a variety of audiences.
Changing attitudes within college admissions departments may take time. Professor Birdman said that if universities could selectively show that students who don’t take calculus do well at university, they would have “more confidence” in encouraging students to take alternative subjects such as statistics. He says he will accept it.
Until then, students struggling with limits and derivatives may need to wait until the evidence piles up.
Contact staff writer Jill Barshay at 212-678-3595 or barshay@hechingerreport.org.
This article about high school calculus was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Proof Points and other Hechinger newsletters.