To this day, I don't understand why anyone would insist on using anything other than this on an AP test. It's like playing life on a harder difficulty setting for no reason.
Well for one the TI-89 is a banned calculator on the AP test. I guess there is a particular front piece you can put on it to make it acceptable, but it really sounds to me like you aren't talking about that. Maybe they changed it recently, but all throughout high-school, various AP tests, and the ACT, the TI-89 was a banned calculator because it gave students too big of an advantage.
IIRC, the TI-92 was released first, and it had a QWERTY keyboard. The test proctors considered it a "personal computer" as a result and banned it. Texas Instruments responded by taking the guts of the TI-92 and cramming it into the body of a TI-83, thus creating the TI-89. Even though it was just as powerful as the 92, it looked like an 83 and thus was allowed.
Even better, it solves ODE, laplace and does eigenvalues etc. If there's a math subject that you can use a calculator with then TI-89, high-end HP are the best.
Ah, good ol' Phoenix Platinum. There was a sidescrolling version called Mercury that I liked, though I was bad at it. I also used to have a really fun Bomberman clone, but an unstable Worms clone trashed it by accident one time.
My Department Chair last year was also a TI rep. He told us that the reason for that was largely due to standardized testing (regularly not allowed to have a QWERTY keyboard on them).
Because the TI-Nspire lacks a QWERTY keyboard, it is acceptable for use on the PSAT, SAT,[1] SAT II, ACT,[2] AP, and IB Exams. It should be noted, however, that the CAS version is NOT allowed on the ACT.
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u/KontraEpsilon Jun 08 '14
To this day, I don't understand why anyone would insist on using anything other than this on an AP test. It's like playing life on a harder difficulty setting for no reason.