Desmos calculators are available on a range of state, national, and international assessments. Some features on standard Desmos calculators may not be as relevant in a testing environment, so test creators, administrators, and state departments of education typically meet once a year over the summer to determine which new features to include on their exams. Because of this, the calculators you’ll find on your exam may differ from those on desmos.com.
The Desmos Test Mode app (available on Chromebooks in Kiosk Mode, Android devices, and iOS devices) and our Testing page all have calculators configured to match what test takers will encounter on their exams. We also offer a default testing calculator for general practice and testing that matches some popular configuration choices but doesn’t match any specific exam. Read on to learn how to locate your testing calculator and understand its features.
Find the Right Calculator for Your Exam
You can find all our testing calculators on the Testing page. Find your exam by typing its name into the search bar or by clicking your state or territory on the map.
After you select your state, a pop-up will provide links to the calculator (or calculators) available on your exam. The links on this page will always direct you to specific testing calculators, so they’re useful to keep as references for the entire school year or testing season.
You can also find identical testing calculators in the Desmos Test Mode app. When you open the app, click Choose Assessment to find and practice with the exact calculator you’ll encounter on your exam. Or, you can choose one of the default testing calculators: Four-Function, Scientific, or Graphing. You’ll have to select your assessment each time you open the app
Testing Calculator PDFs
We publish a PDF for each assessment that walks through the differences between its testing calculator and the standard calculator. To access the PDF for your exam, visit the Testing page, select your assessment, and click the PDF link.
We usually update these PDFs once a year over the summer, so features that come out during the school year typically don’t appear on that year’s test.
Default Testing Calculator PDF
In addition to testing calculators and PDFs suited to specific assessments, we also offer default testing calculators that match the most common changes seen on exams. You can access these calculators in the Desmos Test Mode app to practice in a testing-like environment even if you don’t take any tests that include Desmos calculators.
Let’s walk through the configuration of the default testing calculator (PDF) as an example of what testing configurations can look like.
Four-Function Calculator
The standard Four-Function Calculator includes a square root button.
A common change on testing calculators is to add a fraction button in addition to the square root button.
Scientific Calculator
The standard Scientific Calculator allows you to define functions. For example, you could enter \(f(x)=2x+3\) and then use \(f(5)\) to evaluate that function.
Many testing calculators turn this feature off.
Graphing Calculator
The Graphing Calculator is much more customizable than the other calculators, so the differences between the standard and testing calculators (and even among testing calculators) can be much more significant.
Testing calculators often disable images, folders, notes, and links.
The testing calculator’s default angle mode is often set to degrees rather than radians.
Many testing calculators disable groups of functions by category. The default testing calculator disables some trigonometry, statistics, and geometry functions, along with several advanced features.
Many testing calculators, including the default testing calculator, also disable the tone function.
Learn More
Please write in with any questions or feedback to support@desmos.com.