Trying to find the best calculator for high school students can be a real difficulty, especially with the volume of different calculators out there.
choosing a calculator for you comes down to a few factors: what exams you need the calculator for, what you want it to be able to do, how much help your teachers will be able to give you with your new calculator, and finally how much you are willing to pay for your new calculator. How much your teachers can help you get to grips with each calculator in the list depends on their skills, although we will detail which calculators they are most likely to be familiar with dependent on location.
You can find a summary of these details of all the calculators we recommend in the table below.
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Comparison Table
| Best Overall (US) | Best Overall Alternative (US) | Best Value (US) | Best Overall (UK) | Best Value (UK) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Product |
TI-84 Plus CE Graphing Calculator |
TI-Nspire CX II CAS |
Casio FX-115ES PLUS |
CASIO fx-CG50 |
Casio FX-991EX |
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Graphing Calculator? |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Exams Valid for |
PSAT/NMSQT, SAT,
AP, IB, ACT |
PSAT/NMSQT, SAT,
AP, IB |
PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, -ACT,
AP, and NCEES |
GCSE, A Levels, IB, SAT, AP |
GCSE, A Levels |
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Best Overall Calculator for High School Students in the US
The Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus CE Graphing Calculator is the best calculator available for US high school students, it’s a graphing calculator, something beyond useful for any calculus classes and will be more than capable of doing everything you need at high school, including college entrance exams.
The high-resolution, backlit color display allows the calculator helps you visualize graphs and other concepts faster and more clearly than any non-color display. It has the same menu structure as the rest of the TI-84 Plus family, making it easier for anyone upgrading to pick up and learn.
Aesthetically it offers an unrivaled choice in colors for the frame of the calculator, as well as being surprisingly slim for a color graphing calculator. It comes with loads of useful preloaded apps and images, and best of all it is rechargeable – no battery changes or ugly solar panels.
If you’re looking for a TI calculator that can do anything and everything high school throws at you, this is your best bet. It’s also likely your teacher will be very familiar with this device as it has become the standard over the last few years. TI-Nspire CX II CAS vs TI-84 Plus CE
I’m sure many of you will be questioning why I haven’t recommended the slightly more expensive TI-Nspire CX II CAS which offers slightly more versatility for statistics than the TI-84 Plus Graphing. Personally, I don’t believe the Nspire offers enough to be worth the extra price tag compared to the TI-84 Plus Graphing Calculator. So my answer to the Nspire vs TI-84+ dilemma would be to go for the TI-84 Plus, to save a bit of money.
However, more importantly, my final advice would be to go for whatever your school tends to use and go with that as it will make picking up how to use the calculator far easier.
Prefer CASIO? The CASIO fx-CG50 offers an arguably better alternative to both of these for a lower price, check the price here. Best Value Calculator for High School Students in the US
If you aren’t looking for a graphical calculator but a simple scientific calculator (this will be the bare minimum you need, although I would recommend getting a graphical calculator) then the Casio FX-115ES PLUS is what I would recommend going for, it’s fast, simple and good value.
The FX-115ES PLUS has a highly visible natural textbook display and is incredibly easy to use. The device is solar-powered removing the need for charging or battery replacement, while still being just as reliable as it has a battery backup supply.
It will be the perfect choice for any tests where graphical calculators aren’t allowed or for subjects other than mathematics like chemistry or physics. Best Overall Calculator for High School Students in the UK
The CASIO fx-CG50 is the best calculator you can buy for GCSE and A-Levels, it offers cheats and hacks that can give you free marks in the exam. Solving quadratics, drawing graphs, finding turning points, compound interest, simultaneous equations and more are no longer a stress – you can check your answers to these questions with ease using the fx-CG50.
I find it crazy how few schools recommend the fx-CG50 for GCSE, if you are not using it you are truly missing out. It offers a really quick and easy way to get an edge over all your classmates with the exceptionally useful features it offers, it will allow you to visualize graphs in a much deeper way on top of all of this.
For all of the UK exams, there is no doubt that this is the best calculator you can have by your side. If you feel like getting this advantage over your peers click the link below to check the price.
Best Value Calculator for High School Students in the UK
If you are looking for some of the advantages of the FX-CG50 for a fraction of the price then the Casio FX-991EX is for you. It can solve quadratics and help you with simultaneous equations making it a must at GCSE.
The FX-83GTX is the most commonly used calculator at GCSE, but trust me for another £10 you can get a real advantage over your classmates with the FX-991EX. Anything less may be perfect for years 7, 8, and 9 but once you get to GCSE you need to seek out every advantage you can get and the FX-991EX helps you do that, for higher tier and further maths (it also does matrix multiplication and differentiation) I would go as far as to say it is a must.
In Summary
No matter which calculator on the list you go for you are bound to have a great tool that can help you ace your high school exams. While graphing calculators are a huge advantage to have in your corner, if you don’t have the budget then the value options are great choices.
It’s also worth saying that if you purchase a graphing calculator you may also want a standard scientific calculator. This is for classes that don’t allow graphing calculators or for science subjects where there is less need for graphing features.
If you go on to take linear algebra modules in the future, more advanced calculators will be available to you. These are the calculators I recommend for linear algebra coming from a university student currently studying math.
We strongly recommend getting a case for any calculator over $50 as an added protection against potential damage.
Click on the calculator you have purchased using the links below for the recommended case for your calculator.
Are you taking classes in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, or Business? If so we recommend adding a whiteboard to your workspace to help you freely explore ideas in your subjects and help revise for exams. If you want to know more about why we recommend every student taking these classes could benefit from a whiteboard check out 5 Best Dry Erase Boards for Students.
