If you're in the market for a graphing calculator you'll notice that they have become quite sophisticated pieces of technology. The latest models from top companies such as HP and Texas Instruments have features that a few years ago would have been considered the realm of science fiction. If you are buying a graphing calculator because you will be taking the SAT or other standardized tests then you must take each exam's calculator policy into consideration.
Organizations that administer standardized tests, such as the College Board (administrators of the SAT, PSAT, and AP Exams) have strict guidelines about what types of calculators are permitted for use by test takers. If you bring a calculator to the test center when you take one of these exams and it is not on the list of approved calculators then you won't be able to use it.
Although some organizations' calculator policies list specific models that you can use others provide general guidelines of acceptable and unacceptable functionality. Following is a list of common features that will keep a graphing calculator off most lists:
Has a QWERTY (typewriter-like) keypad as part of the hardware or software.
Has an electronic writing pad or pen input device, stylus, or touch screen.
Has wireless or Bluetooth capabilities; can access the internet.
Has recording (audio / video) or scanning capabilities; has a camera.
It makes noises or "talks".
Has a paper tape.
It is also important to know that some organizations disallow test takers to use any hand-held calculators. If this is the case for a mathematics or science base exam then it is most likely because an online calculator is provided.
It is okay to bring a calculator that has memory. However, you will be required to delete anything you have stored in it before and after the test. You are not allowed to bring examples into the exam and you are not allowed to bring actual questions out of the exam.
Graphing calculators are not inexpensive. You don't want to spend all school year practicing SAT math questions only to find out a week before the exam that you can't use your calculator and have to buy another one. Make sure that for every standardized test you are planing to take that you are aware of its calculator policy.
Bruce Bernzweig is the owner of Calculator Town, an online provider of calculators and related information. He also writes about calculators at his blog CalculatorTown.Blogspot.com.
Very good information to know Bruce! I can not imagine being a kid and showing up at a testing site only to be told to I couldn't bring in the calculator I was planning to use. Talk about starting out on the wrong foot! Thanks for sharing this valuable information!
These days calculators are getting more and more sophisticated. One of the models with a QWERTY keyboard is the TI Voyager 200.
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Of course, whether or not one can just call it a calculator may be debatable. Also, with the iPhone and other PDA's, users can download calculator apps with much of the same similarity. However, if the user is a student then they will not be allowed to use it for exams ... otherwise they could easily cheat and receive / share answers!
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