5 Steps to a 5: AP Computer Science Principles 2024 - Sway J.S. 2023

Introduction: The Five-Step Preparation Program

This book is organized as a five-step program to prepare you for success on the AP Computer Science Principles exam. These steps are designed to provide you with the skills and strategies vital to the exam and the practice that can lead you to that perfect 5. Here are the five steps.

Step 1: Set Up Your Study Program

In this step you’ll get an overview of the AP Computer Science Principles exam and gain an understanding of the format of the exam, the topics covered, and the approximate percentage of the exam that will test knowledge of each topic. You will also find advice to help you set up your test-preparation program. Three specific options are discussed:

• Full school year: September through May

• One semester: January through May

• Six weeks: Basic training for the exam

Step 2: Determine Your Test Readiness

In this step you’ll take a diagnostic exam. This test should give you an idea of how well prepared you are to take the real exam. It will also identify the content and skills you most need to review and practice. The multiple-choice questions on the diagnostic test are similar to those on the real AP Computer Science Principles exam, so time yourself and discover what taking the test will be like.

Step 3: Develop Strategies for Success

In this step you will learn strategies that will help you do your best on both the multiple-choice exam and the performance task. Learn how to attack the multiple-choice test and the Create performance task in the most effective and efficient way possible. Some of these tips are based upon an understanding of how the questions are designed, others have been gleaned through experience helping students prepare for the exam, and still others are based on experience grading the performance task.

Step 4: Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

In this step you will review the material you need to know for the test. The chapters are organized around the “big ideas” that form the backbone of the AP Computer Science Principles course and exam. Here you’ll find:

• A comprehensive review of the concepts you’ll need to know for the AP Computer Science Principles exam

• Key terms, listed at the beginning of each chapter, that you need to understand and be able to use

• Practice multiple-choice questions for each of the concepts tested on the exam

Step 5: Build Your Test-Taking Confidence

In this final step you will complete your preparation by testing yourself on practice exams. This book provides you with two complete exams, answers, and explanations. Be aware that these practice exams are not reproduced questions from an actual AP Computer Science Principles exam, but they mirror both the material tested by AP and the way in which it is tested. Use the exams to practice pacing yourself and build your confidence. You’re now ready for the test!

Introduction to the Graphics Used in This Book

To emphasize particular skills and strategies, we use several icons throughout this book. An icon in the margin will alert you that you should pay particular attention to the accompanying text. We use three icons:

This icon points out a very important concept that you should not pass over.

This icon calls your attention to a strategy that you may want to try.

This icon indicates a useful tip.