Having just graduated high school a few years ago, I'd say graphic calculators are sort of needed. Most of the time a simpler calculator would do the job and ha

Having just graduated high school a few years ago, I'd say graphic calculators are sort of needed. Most of the time a simpler calculator would do the job and having a $100 Texas Instruments is just a luxury because they're better laid out and show a history of operations like a terminal. Even when graphing and matrices were part of the curriculum, those things can all be done by hand if you really have a lot of time, but it would be harder to learn that stuff without a reference to compare yourself to. TBH I think books, calculators, computers, and basically every other tool kids use in school will soon be replaced by the iPad, or a similar device. If someone can make a cheaper alternative with R-Pi that catches on (very doable), well great.