calculators TI Nspire CX CAS on tests

[Kd4lif3]

For context, I live in Alberta and our 12th-grade finals are the diplomas. So I recently lost my ti 84 and finals are just around the corner. I started researching calculators yesterday and found that I can order a Nspire cx for the same price as buying a ti84 in store. I also noticed that for also the same price I could get a Ti Nspire Cx CAS (normally a much more expensive calculator). My problem is that on my provinces website the Nspire cx is listed as allowed on diplomas but not the CAS version. I don't know if this is because it is an old list or they are just not that detailed (it is kind of the same calculator). I asked my admin who is basically the authority figure on the diploma exams and he said that as long as they can clear the memory of the calculators and information is not being stored the calculator is allowed. I would assume that because the non-CAS version fits these criteria that the CAS version would as well however I just want to be sure. Does anyone have experience with the TI Nspire CX CAS and knows if it fits the criteria? 

[Dash Lambda]

I got one back in, oh... Eighth grade? I only ever had issues with it for tests like the SAT, ACT, and AP exams. Never for anything within my school.

The CX CAS is exactly the same thing as the CX, but it has special software that lets it handle symbolic work, like simplifying expressions and solving arbitrary equations. If their only requirement is that they can clear its memory, and they allow the CX, then they'll allow the CX CAS.

 

That being said, I don't recommend it. It's super overpriced (even at the price of a Ti-84, it's just a fact about all those graphing calculators), its interface is awkward (it has a cheap/shoddy trackpad for navigation, its keyboard is alphabetical, and it loves its software drop-down menus), and the CAS won't help you in the long run.

It does have a 3D graphing feature, which is cool. But no matter how hard it tries, its 20-year-old, low-power, 135MHz CPU can't quite handle it.

 

I lost mine after a year or so, then got a TI-36X Pro. I thought I was getting a downgrade, but that's actually the best calculator I've ever used, and I'm still using it three years into a math degree. I have a TI-84, but I haven't touched it in years.

 

If you could buy it, use it for the test, then sell it for a profit ('cause you said it's discounted), then I say go for it since they'll probably allow it. But if not, I actually wouldn't recommend a TI graphing calculator at all. If you need a graphing calculator, then it's better than the rest of the lineup, but that's not saying much.

 

I've spoilered the last portion since it ended up being a rant. Needless to say, I have my personal biases.

Spoiler

There is utility in being able to use the 'shortcuts' afforded by the CAS software, but in high school the things it skips over are exactly what you're supposed to be learning how to do. Once you get to the higher levels, 9 times out of 10 you should be able to do the work yourself faster than it would take to type it into the calculator and wait for it to give you an answer.

It really does boggle my mind that their sole purpose is as educational tools. They're basically just slow "do it for me" machines that keep you from learning what you need to early on then give you no actual utility later. The only way they're a good thing for education is if the goal is to push kids through k-12 as quickly and as quietly as possible, rather than making them actually learn something.

 

And it's not even like TI cares about making them useful anyway. The TI-84 is still $100 and it's so antiquated I'd be willing to bet there've been more technologically sophisticated McDonald's toys. Blegh.

 

[Kd4lif3]

1 hour ago, Dash Lambda said:

I got one back in, oh... Eighth grade? I only ever had issues with it for tests like the SAT, ACT, and AP exams. Never for anything within my school.

The CX CAS is exactly the same thing as the CX, but it has special software that lets it handle symbolic work, like simplifying expressions and solving arbitrary equations. If their only requirement is that they can clear its memory, and they allow the CX, then they'll allow the CX CAS.

 

That being said, I don't recommend it. It's super overpriced (even at the price of a Ti-84, it's just a fact about all those graphing calculators), its interface is awkward (it has a cheap/shoddy trackpad for navigation, its keyboard is alphabetical, and it loves its software drop-down menus), and the CAS won't help you in the long run.

It does have a 3D graphing feature, which is cool. But no matter how hard it tries, its 20-year-old, low-power, 135MHz CPU can't quite handle it.

 

I lost mine after a year or so, then got a TI-36X Pro. I thought I was getting a downgrade, but that's actually the best calculator I've ever used, and I'm still using it three years into a math degree. I have a TI-84, but I haven't touched it in years.

 

If you could buy it, use it for the test, then sell it for a profit ('cause you said it's discounted), then I say go for it since they'll probably allow it. But if not, I actually wouldn't recommend a TI graphing calculator at all. If you need a graphing calculator, then it's better than the rest of the lineup, but that's not saying much.

 

I've spoilered the last portion since it ended up being a rant. Needless to say, I have my personal biases.

  Hide contents

There is utility in being able to use the 'shortcuts' afforded by the CAS software, but in high school the things it skips over are exactly what you're supposed to be learning how to do. Once you get to the higher levels, 9 times out of 10 you should be able to do the work yourself faster than it would take to type it into the calculator and wait for it to give you an answer.

It really does boggle my mind that their sole purpose is as educational tools. They're basically just slow "do it for me" machines that keep you from learning what you need to early on then give you no actual utility later. The only way they're a good thing for education is if the goal is to push kids through k-12 as quickly and as quietly as possible, rather than making them actually learn something.

 

And it's not even like TI cares about making them useful anyway. The TI-84 is still $100 and it's so antiquated I'd be willing to bet there've been more technologically sophisticated McDonald's toys. Blegh.

1

 

Ok thanks for your information, I appreciate it. I consulted some of my teachers about this as well and while the did not know if it was allowed they did say that for the university programs I am looking into the Nspire was better than the 84. I am not very concerned about the price as it costs the same as an 84 which I would have been getting anyway so I might as well buy the usually more expensive one.  As you said, if it isn't what I am looking for I can re-sell it and get something different.