The Prevalence of Calculus Classes in American High Schools

As of 2023, calculus classes are quite common in American high schools, although the availability can vary based on factors such as school size, location, and the specific curriculum offered. Generally, many high schools offer at least one of the following calculus classes:

AP Calculus AB

This is the most common calculus course, designed to be equivalent to a first-semester college calculus course. It covers topics such as limits, derivatives, and integrals. According to the College Board, approximately 15% of high school students took AP Calculus AB in recent years, indicating a significant interest and availability of calculus courses in American high schools.

AP Calculus BC

This course is more advanced and covers additional topics including sequences and series, parametric equations, and polar coordinates. It is designed to be equivalent to both the first and second semesters of college calculus.

Honors Calculus

Some schools offer honors-level calculus courses that may not be affiliated with the AP program but still provide a rigorous curriculum.

Dual Enrollment Courses

Some high schools partner with local colleges to offer dual enrollment calculus courses, allowing students to earn college credit while still in high school.

Overall, while not every high school offers calculus, a significant number do, especially larger schools and those in more affluent areas. However, it's rare for a high school to not offer calculus classes.

Factors Influencing Calculus Availability

Almost all American high schools offer calculus. The only reasons why a school would not offer that course would be that the school does not have the staff to teach it, it is a magnet school centered around a subject other than mathematics, or it is a continuation school.

Curriculum Pathways

Curriculum pathways in many American high schools often follow a progression from precalculus to calculus, and then to AP calculus. For example, my school follows a pathway where calculus is taken before AP calculus because they are different levels.

Student Interest and Abilities

From my experience in high school and from visiting other high schools in my county, the coverage of elementary calculus is common among American high schools. Since AP classes have become increasingly popular and are being marketed towards schools in lower-income areas to open them to a wider audience, schools have an added incentive to offer calculus courses at least up through calculus 12.

However, many high schools do not offer classes beyond calculus 12, possibly because such a small number of students would be eligible to take classes like that, or possibly because the AP calculus sequence ends here.

At my school, for instance, only one student in four years was allowed to accelerate to the next level, taking multivariable calculus, calculus 3, and differential equations as a senior. Overall, with the high evidence of student ability to take calculus in high school, the question becomes not how common calculus is in American schools, but whether more advanced classes should be offered.