Earlier quoted context omitted.
I got an HP50g from Craigslist in high school that - was cheaper than a TI - had a primitive CAS system - teachers had no idea how to put it into test mode It carried me through AP calc BC, I would’ve gotten <4 off of my own knowledge alone
Mine was a Casio fx-something. Teachers didn't like it but it didn't let me cheat and it was just the right amount of functionality to help me with math. Carried me through Pre-Cal, Trig, Calculus and Differential Equations.
That thing was fine, and if I hadn't dropped it and broken it, I probably would have kept using it for the rest of high school. I eventually replaced it with an HP.