Dr. W. S. Wilson is a professor of Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Wilson has a web page, which includes a description of his experience as a panelist at a math instructors' session at the Association of Independent Maryland Schools annual conference. He discovered, to his dismay, that some instructors are very fond of "technology in math instruction" - i.e., calculators:
One of the other panelists is the principal of a major boy's private school in Baltimore. Before being the Principal of the Upper School he was the Academic Dean and before that Head of the Mathematics Department. He said something which I found truly astonishing. He thinks so highly of technology (i.e. he has made his students so dependent on calculators) that he tells his students that when they visit colleges they should interview the chair of the mathematics department and find out if they allow the use of calculators. If they don't then they should consider the college to not be a good fit....
Mike McKeown of Mathematically Correct, who pointed me towards this page, provided this addendum to Dr. Wilson's comments:
In other words, this expensive, elite, private school has taken parents' money for 4, 8, 12 (?) years to leave its students so lacking in computational skills that they can't take steve's calculus class and might not even apply to johns hopkins or other elite universities if they have to do math without a calculator.
Yes, the only saving grace I see here is that the principal is being honest about the mathematical disabilities of his students - it sounds like any program that forbade them to use calculators would indeed be a bad fit. And if the parents who are paying for this education suffered through poor math education as well, they probably are incapable of seeing the disgraceful attitude embedded in that advice.