The Top 5 Best Graphing Calculators for Students, Grades 6 - College

Just a few years ago, I found a local Kindergarten classroom equipped with computers for each of its 20 students. The classroom teacher and two aides gave instruction and patiently sat with the children, who seemed to grasp the computer concepts and fly with them. Basics are more advanced than ever.

Today's high school students in our suburbs in Ohio are often instructed to eschew multiplication table knowledge and access a handheld or online calculator instead. What if the electrical power is interrupted? --inability to multiply. This accompanies the inability to make change in a retail transaction, since power outages kill the computerized registers and the ability to make transactions in retail and dining establishments. No one knows the "cigar box" method of sales ala the lemonade stand of yesteryear any longer.

During these power interruption events, one often hears a blurt of "We've lost cash control!", which means that the tills and receipts of the day cannot be reconciled, because there is are no longer any records. Perfect day for a theft.

And how about those that cannot tell time without a digital readout? Stuck in a desert with only the sun and moon and perhaps a sundial, they may still not know what time it is. But more on topic....

I love calculators.

Technological gadgets are great, but one must know how to use them or have the foundation knowledge necessary in order to figure them out. As children in a science lesson, we were given each a compass and asked to deternine a direction in which a paper arrow on a desk top pointed. I'd never previously seen a compass and did not know what it was, nor how to use it.

Our teacher would not tell me what it was or how to use the compass, but the Boy Scouts in class had no problem and ignored those of us that had no compass experience. This is the experience I recalled at once upon hearing some years later that a Chicago area fast food chain was sued by the businessman father of a 16-year-old employee on her first day of her first job, when she was thrust into the busy Drive-Thru window (computerized cash register) without any training for any position, but only the admonition, "Figure it out!" She left crying and called her dad at his business. The lawsuit resulted in enough funds to make a tall foundation for her college education.

I finally did learn to read a directonal compass, a protactor, and a slide rule.

If you look for the famous Bowmar Brain handheld calculator from the late 1960s-early 1970s on eBay, you'll find a handheld that looks like those available at Family Dollar for $1.00, except for the appearance. The original BB sold for about $240 or more (see eBay vintage ad). Today, you can purchase a high-quality graphing calculator for much less for companies lixe Casio, HP, and Texas Instruments (TI).

The first graphic calculator was the Casio fx-7000G from 1985. Hewlett Packard then developed the HP-28C and several newer models up until today. The HP 50g developed in 2006 includes a computer algebra system that manipulates symbolic expressions and solves equations. Texas Instruments has a long line of graphing calculators dating back to 1990 as well.

In the 21st Century, a growing number of high schools in several countries are requiring students to own a graphing calculator, which they may even use on some exams. This may be fine, but in college when my calculator batteries died, I was still able to complete a graphing problem by hand, becuase I had practiced paper and pencil methods at length (because I never trusted batteries 100%). How many of us can do these graphs without a calculator these days?  I'm thinking the numbers are dwindling.  

Some elementary schools are allowing students to use handheld calculators in classes, but your area may reserve calculators until middle school, usually 6th - 8th grades. The TI-73 Explorer is a good model and can be purchased new or used at decent prices. It is superior to the TI-15 which has an inadequate display.

Some schools receive grant funding to help defray the costs of these units, just as they have with laptops in years previously.

FEATURES

• Offers 7 different types of graphs; pie charts, bar charts, etc.; graphs 4 different functions at the same time.
• Several fraction/decimal features.
• 4 constants.
• English and metric conversions.
• One and two-variable statistics models.
• Interactive equation solver.
• Combinations and permutations.
• Random number generator.
• Compatible with CBL2™ and CBR™ systems.
• A number of available Apps.
• Programmable and upgradable
• 64 × 96 pixel screen.
• 32K RAM, 128K application space
• One-year limited warranty.
• Other. 

The next step up (to high school and college levels) in Texas Instruments calculators is the TI-83 or TI-84, but this Casio model is preferred by many students and teachers alike.

• More user friendly than the TI-83 and TI-84.
• A bit faster than the TI 83.

FEATURES

• 3-color display; 128 x 64 pixels.
• 900+ advanced functions: statistics, regressions, financial, and more.
• Can perform 26 matrices.
• Graphing functions including rectangular and polar coordinates, vertical lines, and more.
• Dynamic graphing system lets you change a coefficient and watch the graph change.
• EQUA allows the student to calculate 2 or 3 equations, solve for 2 or 3 unknown variables, and solve quadratic and polynomial equations.
• Black and white models are cheaper than the TI-83.
• Stores up to 38 programs.
• 32 KB total memory.
• One-year limited warranty.

This is another good alternative to the TI-83 and TI-84.

FEATURES

• 2.5MB memory— 512KB RAM, 2MB flash.
• Equation Library: 2300+ functions.
• RPN, Textbook and Algebraic entry; multiple fonts.
• "HP Solve" App - type and store an equation and use later.
• Computer Algebra System (CAS)
• SD card slot - format card right in the calculator and expand the memory.
• Calculate advanced expressions and view solutions in 2-D or 3-D.
• USB port, USB cable, connectivity software, and pouch.
• One-year limited warranty.

While I like the TI-89 Titanium edition, it's likely too much power for a high school, even an Advanced Placement class; unless the student is sure to be using the device for a number of years and can master its functions.

The TI-84 Plus is a good range of models (various colors). It is authorized for use in America on the PSAT, SAT, and ACT exams, AP tests, and IB exams.

FEATURES

• Three times the memory and twice the speed of the TI-83 Plus.
• Can produce 10 different graphs and analyses at one time.
• Offers 7 different graph types and a horizontal or vertical split screen on demand.
• Includes a USB cable and a built-in USB port for connectivity.
• Preloaded Apps include Cabri® Jr., StudyCards™, Vernier EasyData™ and others.
• Does matrices, business functions, statistics.
• Unit is compatible with TI Presentation Link™ adapter.
• 480 KB FLASH ROM
• 24KB of available RAM memory.
• Includes a one-year limited manufacturer’s warranty.
• Other.

The Voyage 200 is a larger handheld model primarily for advanced high school STEM* classes, college, and engineering, with a larger display and a QWERTY keyboard that is not permitted in all test taking,

FEATURES

• Preloaded with Cabri Geometry™, CellSheet™, Finance, Polynomial Root Finder App, Simultaneous Equation Solver, The Geometer's Sketchpad®
• Advanced mathematics and statistical plotting capabilities.
• Availability of a large number of advanced Apps.
• Pretty Print - equations and results with radical notation, stacked fractions, and superscript exponents.
• Active Calculator Home history screen can hold up to 99 previous entries.
• Advanced programmability.
• 128 x 240 pixel display
• 188K bytes of user-available RAM
• 2.7 MB of user-available FLASH ROM
• Other.

*Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.