The Effect of High School Calculator Usage on First-Year College Calculus Grades

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of high school calculator usage on first-year college calculus grades, a relationship for which a dearth of material exists. Using the national FICSMath survey of students in college calculus, we perform a factor analysis on the calculator variables of interest to construct 2 composites signifying latent characteristics of calculator use in high school classrooms. A multiple linear regression analysis is carried out, controlling for standard confounding variables, such as race, gender, socioeconomics, etc. Lastly, interaction e↵ects are examined, and we identify a statistically significant interaction between our two composites: ’zealotry’ and ’restricted’. We find that the more extensively students had used calculators in high school the lower their course grade in first-year college calculus. A high degree of restrictedness helps mitigate this e↵ect.