The actuel Prime future...

[Don Shepherd]

Is there a future for traditional calculators in the education market? As Harold said above, this probably depends to a large extent on the standardized tests. But, isn't it possible to design tests that don't require a calculator at all (how were standardized tests done before 1972)? When we start to teach algebra, we say that an answer of \(\sqrt{41}\) is just as good as 6.40. And wouldn't an answer of sin(29 degrees) be as good as .485? If students don't need calculators for standardized tests, and teachers stop requiring them as well, then there is no market for calculators, as standalone devices or smartphone-based. I'm not a scientist or engineer, so I don't know if those professional exams could really be done without certain functions requiring a calculator (although I learned how to estimate square roots way back in 1965; they haven't taught that skill in decades).