Introduction

Calculators have always been a big part of school especially in math classrooms. They are used to solve equations and assist you while doing your math work. But during the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year at Northport High School, it was announced that students taking Algebra classes wouldn’t be using standard hand-held calculators anymore during class. Instead, they would be using a calculator app on their Chromebooks called Desmos. 

What is Desmos?

Desmos is an online calculator which has been forced into math classrooms and has replaced the standard hand-held calculator.  Many schools switched to Desmos because it is more accurate. It also makes graphing a whole lot easier which is beneficial for students who use graphs a lot in their math class. Teachers also say it is good to get the hang of using Desmos because you now have to use it on exams and tests instead of a standard calculator. There are even sections on the SAT and ACT tests that require you to use Desmos. 

Replacing of Standardized Calculators

For many years, students have used a regular hand-held calculator to do math. They would’ve never imagined that in the future, they could use a calculator on a Chromebook or any other electronic device for that matter. And they certainly didn’t expect that online calculators, like Desmos, would replace the hand-held calculator that they’ve been using for years. I personally don’t like how we are forced to use Desmos because it is easier to carry around a hand-held calculator and using Desmos on a Chromebook is annoying during class because Chromebooks can take up your work space. On top of that, while you’re doing math, you are usually given a huge packet to do your work in, so you would need to figure out a way to fit the packet and your Chromebook on the desk. I fear that eventually, younger generations of kids who are growing up now might not ever experience using a regular calculator. Hand-held calculators will be replaced by online ones such as Desmos in the future, and nobody will no longer use regular calculators anymore. 

Desmos is Being Forced

One of the main reasons why I don’t like Desmos is because everyone is forced to use it. Students don’t have an option to switch between using Desmos or a regular calculator. I prefer using a regular calculator but teachers don’t care and they make you use Desmos either way. In the beginning of the year about a week before school started, I thought we were going to use graphing calculators since I was placed in Algebra 1. I bought a $100 graphing calculator only to be told that we would be using a calculator app on our Chromebook instead. This made me begin to not like Desmos before the school year even started. Students should be able to choose the option of using either Desmos or a regular calculator because students have their own preferences and may prefer one over the other. Students may also find using one easier than the other, which can benefit them while doing their math work and make it seem easier for them to understand. 

Every Math Class Will Have to Use Desmos Next Year- and It’s Not Looking Good

Around January or December, I was told that every math class will have to use Desmos next year. So far, only algebra classes had to switch from regular calculators to Desmos. Geometry and Calculus still use regular calculators and haven’t migrated to Desmos yet. But with the pushing of Desmos into every math class, the regular hand-held calculators that we all know might completely fade away from Northport High School. I don’t think this is a good decision and I believe that we should’ve always stuck to using regular calculators instead of Desmos. There are already negative effects with using Desmos for geometry and it hasn’t even been officially rolled out school-wide. An anonymous quote from a teacher in the school math department explains that “I don’t think using Desmos instead of regular calculators is a good idea. A lot of math problems that students are supposed to learn how to solve can just be answered by typing them into Desmos, without really understanding the math. Also, there’s already plenty of proof that kids focus and learn better when they aren’t staring at screens all day. Now students are going to have computers open on their desks anytime they need to do calculator work.” I completely agree with this statement because students can abuse Desmos and get the answers from typing it in instead of trying to do their work by themselves. It also leads to students not showing their work on tests since they can just use the excuse that they “typed the equation in Desmos”. Screens can also distract students from doing their work. They could go on games and other websites instead of using the Desmos calculator website. These factors are both major problems that can affect learning and doing math.