This was not my experience in a US high school. We weren't permitted to use calculators until we demonstrated paper-and-pencil proficiency with a topic, and we always had to show each step of our work.

But education is mostly regulated by state and local authorities in the US, so YMMV.

> demonstrated paper-and-pencil proficiency with a topic

That was my experience in Europe, but without moving to a calculator.

I attended a public east coast high school.

School quality in the US is very location dependent, as public schools are largely funded by property taxes. I also went to a public east coast high school, and calculator use was mixed. Some exams allowed calculators, others not. Often the exam was designed such that it was testing your knowledge of a concept more than the numerically correct answer, showing work was required. So a calculator was useful for checking answers but correct answers with no work would get you a 20% at best.

> School quality in the US is very location dependent, as public schools are largely funded by property taxes

Also because curricula are designated at the state level, and teacher certification requirements vary by state and county.

I think never using a calculator is just as misguided as always using one would be. Using a calculator is a skill in and of itself.

I agree with that.

You should pick up some way of automating that effort, while still knowing how to do it yourself.