My eldest DS went though much the same thing once he hit AP Calc. and through Calc. II...at which point he figured out the majority of his problem, it was simply that while he always understood the CONCEPT, he hadn't been applying enough repetition. Once he actually worked enough problems through, he found his success increased considerably. According to him (Now having been through Calc. III as well) It's not enough to simply understand the concept, you need to PRACTICE APPLYING IT in order to be successful on the tests. While I can't assure you that's your son's problem, it's worth considering.I concur...
my DD has this precise difficulty with AP Statistics, as well-- it's not enough to just KNOW the concepts in a theoretical sense, and beyond Trig, it's also next to useless to know the
procedural bit without genuine deep understanding, either-- the problem is that you have to know HOW to do it, but also WHY you're choosing to do things a particular way and not another.
KWIM?
This is the first year that DD has had to actually DO any math problems in order to ace exams. It's been a rude awakening.
I also like Old Dad's observation about evaluating priorities, too. That is also something that I've observed my DD doing. While I may occasionally be less than thrilled with her ultimate decisions there, it
is her life. She also reevaluates the peer groups associated with various activities along with the activity-- which makes sense, since a shared activity often comes with a peer group for whom it's a major passion. If your own interest wanes, you'll have less in common with the peer group, too.
