Buying a Graphing Calculator, OUCH!

Students taking Integrated Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Trigonometry are required to use graphing calculators in class and on the Regents Tests. The school district will supply every student with a calculator to use in class and Texas Instruments graphing calculators (TI-83 and TI-84's) are available for overnight use by our students. They are checked out through the library. Many parents however are looking to buy graphing calculators for their child and many students want to know what they should have if they choose to purchase one. The District suggests a TI-84 Plus, TI-84 Silver Edition, TI-83 Plus, or a TI-83A for the courses mentioned above. The exception is geometry where our math department suggests a TI N-Spire. We recommend these only because these units are the same as those we supply to our students for use in their respective math class. The TI units mentioned above have networking capability which interfaces with software on the teacher's computer. There are many other graphing calculators on the market and all will do the necessary calculations as well as or better than the Texas Instrument units however they do not have the networking capability. A special note regarding networking, not all of our math classrooms are equipped with the specialized networking (this is a multi-year infrastructure project). For the 2009-2010 school year we will be recommending the TI-83 and TI-84 models for Pre-Calc and Calculus only.

To help in examining the available calculators on the market we have included links below to various retailers in our area and on-line. The District does not recommend any one retailer over another and this is not an exhaustive list. The information is made available for comparison purposes only.

Also appearing below are two links to documents from the State Education Department regarding the use of calculators in class. Beginning in grade 7, students use Scientific Calculators in class and on the State Assessments - graphing calculators are not permitted at this level. As mentioned above, graphing calculators are used in the Regents courses, not on the State Assessments.

Click here to see a chart providing Guidance for Calculator Use in the Classroom.

To examine a Q & A document on calculators and K-12 education, click here.

We hope that this information proves helpful to you. For further answers to questions, please feel free to contact the respective classroom teacher.

For sources of Scientific calculators, click on the appropriate retailer below:

          Staples Scientific Calculators

          OfficeMax Scientific Calculators

          Amazon.Com Scientific Calculators

For sources of Graphing Calculators:

          Staples Graphing Calculators

          OfficeMax Graphing Calculators

          Amazon.Com Graphing Calculators

For a listing of both Graphing and Scientific Calculators from Walmart, click here.