HP Prime vs TI-84 Plus CE for Jr. High and High School

[JDW]

Thank you for your comments, Steve. My final decision on what to buy will be based on how the school responds to my email asking for clarification on what their rules are and why they are making such a strong recommendation for one particular calculator.

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Tim, I still await hearing your answer to the question put forth in my previous message, but I have yet another question, if you don't mind.

When I was showing online info about the Prime to my daughter (she is 15 and in high school), she was turned off at first by the design of the Prime (she really likes pink and mint colors far more than glass and metal, I'm afraid) but then she grew rather excited when she saw the CAS function which the TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus CE do not have. But despite having CAS, the Prime is still listed on the College Board approved calculators web page. It does appear, however, that some high schools completely forbid use of the Prime (and CAS calculators from TI), regardless of the fact the Prime has a Test Mode which allows easy disabling of CAS (and many other calculator functions too). So my question is this. How does HP approach schools, specifically high schools, to be open to the Prime when many seem so concerned about forbidding calculators that have CAS? It would seem the only thing HP could do would be to make them understand how the TEST MODE works, but I fear that some teachers and schools are to lazy or stubborn to be open-minded toward that.

The school I have my children in currently does not have a policy on CAS. Then again, this upcoming semester is the first time they've made a "STRONG recommendation" on which calculator they want students to use (The TI-83 Plus), which implies things could change in the future.

Thank you in advance for your time, Tim.