Calculus is advanced mathematics and absolutely not the end goal of algebra. It used to be taught at university level but its utility to other sciences (and toys of war) got it shoehorned into the high school curriculum at the expense of other maths and logic.
So many high school students tragically treat it as a litmus test, bounce off it and as a result suspend their dreams of higher education. It is the epitome of sacrificing education for occupational goals. If you don't intend to pursue applied science it is almost worthless forced masochism.
Disclaimer: I have a bachelors in pure mathematics.
I don't know, I'm finding Calculus ties a lot of earlier math together. The quadratic equations that I thought were a weirdly specific thing to spend so long drilling (ok so parabolas can describe kinematic arcs, what's the big deal?) come up again and again in differential equations.
The relationships between area and volume of various objects I spent geometry trying to understand make much sense as integrals.
Trig, logarithms, exponentials, infinite series, they all come into themselves when you start applying them to analysis. It just all sorta clicks once you start to thread them together.
So many high school students tragically treat it as a litmus test, bounce off it and as a result suspend their dreams of higher education. It is the epitome of sacrificing education for occupational goals. If you don't intend to pursue applied science it is almost worthless forced masochism.
Disclaimer: I have a bachelors in pure mathematics.