AP Precalculus New Course Offering at Walls for Next School Year

As the new 2025-26 school year approaches, Walls students start planning their schedule for the upcoming year. Many have noticed the addition of new AP courses, including AP Precalculus. AP Precalculus, which is distributed by the College Board, is designed to help students transition from Algebra II to AP Calculus AB/BC through college level coursework. 

While many colleges offer calculus classes that include precalculus review, it’s more widely considered a high school course. At Georgetown University, for example, precalculus is a summer course only offered “to assist students whose high school mathematics background is insufficient for the standard first-year mathematics courses.” Many other universities from Harvard to GW do not offer undergraduate precalculus courses during the normal academic year. GW, among others, however, does offer a “calculus with precalculus” class that is meant to be a review for students who lack a thorough high school math background. 

On the flip side, of course, Walls has long required that students take a precalculus course. In the past, all Walls students have taken Honors Precalculus at some point in their academic career. Differing from the current precalculus course Walls has been offering, AP Precalculus “actually has a curriculum,” according to Mr. Jesse Koplowitz, SWW’s Algebra II and Precalculus teacher. Mr. Koplowitz added that since AP Precalc was distributed by the College Board, it would probably be geared more towards preparing students for AP Calculus AB/BC class and tests as well.

Walls had previously only offered precalculus to students, however now allows students to choose between precalculus and AP Precalculus for the upcoming school year. Many Algebra II students saw the opportunity in AP Precalc, and were eager to take it. When asked why she signed up for the AP, Lucy Mayer (‘27), an Algebra II student, said “I want a grade boost.” Many Algebra II students echoed a similar idea to Mayer’s- they see the course as an opportunity to take another AP and boost their GPA. 

However, while many students were thankful for the new course addition, Mr. Koplowitz held a different opinion. He explained, “I never viewed precalculus strictly as preparation for calculus.” Since there was never a set curriculum or a set of standards for what topics students had to learn in precalculus, he felt that “most people could go straight from Algebra II into calculus.” He explained that part of what happens in precalculus is getting students ready for calculus; however, at the same time felt that precalculus is unnecessary for some students in the first place. 

Mr. Koplowitz also added that AP courses are meant to serve as college credit or placement. Because of this, the addition of AP Precalculus is gratuitous because it is a college credit for a class that most colleges don’t even offer. “I don’t really know why the college board created a college level precalculus class… it doesn’t seem like a thing that needed to happen,” he said. While Mr. Koplowitz questioned the meaning of the class, he is open to working with the curriculum provided by the College Board. “I wish that it [AP Precalculus] did not exist, but I feel like we’re being pushed towards it and I will do my best with it,” he explains. 

Despite Mr. Koplowitz’s opinion on the course addition, current calculus students believe that taking AP Precalc is a good decision. Calc BC student Ava Orfield-Shah (‘27) said that the AP “will allow those who really love math to further explore their passion in mathematics.” She felt that it will give students a good opportunity to take an advanced math class earlier on in their high school years.