patricia.doyle@allenisd.org

 

 

This is my 21st year teaching math at Allen High School.   This will be my seventh year teaching

AP Calculus and my sixth teaching the BC level.  Before teaching Calculus, I taught PAP Algebra II

and PAP Geometry.   I am extremely excited to teach calculus.  I use the summer to perfect the

notes, and homework packets and to make many new and exciting quizzes.   I have written out

all the work that we will do in class and posted it on canvas, in case a student misses class.  

I have also posted most of the homework answers and work.  I know students are busy people

and want them to be able to check their work at home.  My goal is to have my students get

incredible scores when they take the AP Calc BC Exam in May and be ready for college calculus. 

 

AP Calculus BC is an intensive math class.   With the exception of the first day of school, we will

have homework due and take a quiz most days.  Most of the time students will not use a

calculator at all.  The AP Calculus BC exam that students will take at the end of the year is

non-calculator for much of the test.  I would like students to have their own graphing calculator

so they do their homework problems that need a calculator with the calculator that they will use

for the exam.

 

The AB class is equivalent to one semester of college calculus.  They cover limits, derivatives,

integrals and applications of these topics.

 

The BC class moves fast, it is the equivalent of two semesters of college calculus.  It is a class

for hard working students who easily understand math. The BC class covers the AB material and

then adds the topics of integration by parts, partial fraction integration, series (a massive topic)

and polar and parametric functions and their derivatives, integrals and applications.  

 

The quizzes in the first seven chapters will be the same difficulty level for both the AB and BC

classes. Classnotes, Homework and Quiz questions are written in "AP" style.  Quizzes are

multiple version assessments, even the retakes have multiple versions.  All versions of

a quiz or re-quiz are equal in difficulty, but have different answers to discourage cheating. 

The retakes cover the same topics but are not the same questions as the original quiz.   

Students must correct their original quiz prior to coming in to do a retake.

 

Students receive a classnotes packet, homework packet, and a calendar at the start of every

chapter.   When a student is absent, he or she should keep up to date by reading my filled-in

notes on Canvas, working the problems in their classwork packet and doing the next

homework, in addition to the homework that had been due the day they were absent. 

The calendar lists topics I will teach, upcoming quizzes, and deadlines for retakes of quizzes.   

There is also a packet of optional practice quizzes on canvas.  The work and answers to

these are posted to canvas. 

 

Homework = 15 percent of the nine weeks grade.  

I will check to see that students have done their homework at the start of each period.

Students will show work or they will not get credit.  Prior to class, students will check

that their homework is correct against my work and answers on canvas.  

Late homework is not accepted.  

 

Quizzes = 85 percent of the nine weeks grade.    

Students will get their graded quizzes back the next class period or can pick them up at the

end of "B" day.   The deadline for quiz retakes is on the class calendar.    

Original quiz grades from 0 to 60%  can be retaken for a maximum grade of 75%.   

Original quiz grades from 61% to 84% can be retaken for a maximum grade of 85%.

 

To be eligible to do a retake, students must correct the questions they missed on a new piece of

paper, showing good work that leads to the correct answer.  I recommend students tutor over

the material before attempting a retake, if necessary.

 

My tutoring/retake time is every day from 7:45 am  to  845 am.  (First period starts at 8:50 am.)

Tuesday mornings from 8:20 to 8:45 are set aside for a Calculus teacher meeting, but students

can still come in to do a retake. I will also tutor during 8th period until 4:30 pm every day.   

(8th period ends at 4:10 pm)

 

All AP Calculus BC students may retake quizzes during their priviledge period.  

I have 16 extra desks in my classroom for this purpose.  

They may come in when I am teaching and I will take a moment,

check that they did their corrections and get them their retake.    

 

There are currently 231 AP Calc BC students scheduled to start the 2019/2020 year.   

Some of those kids are classified as IB HL 1 students. 

There is another AP Calc BC teacher :  Mrs. Jennifer Ellis.  She is an excellent teacher

(She was a teacher of the year for Allen ISD).  

This year Mrs. Ellis is teaching 1 AP Calc BC class and 5 AP Calc AB classes.   

Mrs. Ellis taught both AP Calculus AB and BC last year.

She is a super hard worker and loves kids.  

She taught PAP Algebra II for the last 10 years or so, and other math classes prior to that.

 

I have placed my AP Calculus BC statistics below, please keep in mind that the number of

students who take AP Calc BC is growing by leaps and bounds.   It is the philosophy of the

AP people that all students be given the opportunity to take AP classes. In the years below,

about 95% to 100% of students who were enrolled in the BC class took the exam. 

In 2019, we began the year with 270 students enrolled in BC, and some of them dropped

to the AB class at the end of the first six weeks or at the end of the first semester. 

This year, the signups for all AP exams has been moved forward to October. 

 

 

 
To access course materials, sign in through CANVAS :    http://canvas.allenisd.org