5 Steps to a 5: AP Computer Science Principles 2024 - Sway J.S. 2023
1 What You Need to Know About the AP Computer Science Principles Assessment
STEP 1 Set Up Your Study Program
IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary: This chapter provides basic information on the AP Computer Science Principles assessment. You will learn about the exam, the topics covered, and the types of questions asked. You will also learn about the in-class performance task (30% of your final AP score), which must be completed and submitted to the College Board by the published deadline before you take the exam later in May.
Key Ideas
The multiple-choice exam, contains 70 questions and is two hours long without a break.
In addition to the multiple-choice exam, you must submit a Create performance task by the deadline specified by the College Board.
Your total score (on a scale of 1—5) is determined by your scores on the component parts:
70% of your total score is based on the multiple-choice exam
30% of your total score is based on the Create performance task
Most colleges and universities award credit for earning a score of 4 or 5. Some award credit for a score of 3. A list of individual college policies can be found on the College Board site, and you should always check with the colleges and universities you are applying to for their current AP policy.
The Basics
The AP Computer Science Principles exam was first offered in spring 2017. More than 45,000 students took the first multiple-choice exam and submitted their performance task projects. The following year, enrollment grew to 76,000—a 55% increase! In 2018—2019, over 100,000 students took the exam. In 2019—2020, 150,000 students were registered and 110,000 submitted their performance tasks, even with the pandemic! One key goal of this course, according to the College Board, is to make computer science more inclusive and accessible to all students. This course is an introductory course, equivalent to a one-semester course in college. No prior computer science coursework or knowledge is required to take it. Students should have successfully completed high school algebra prior to taking the course. It’s the computer science for non-computer science majors course. For computer science majors, it may fulfill another requirement, such as an ethics in computer science requirement.
The Format
The AP Computer Science Principles assessment consists of a multiple-choice exam (70% of your score) and a Create performance task (30% of your score). You’ll want to focus more time preparing for the exam since it counts more. However, you cannot ignore or do minimal effort on the Create performance task and still expect to earn a good score.
The Multiple-Choice Exam
There are 70 questions on the multiple-choice exam; you’ll have two hours without a break to complete them. Since there are 70 questions and the exam counts for 70%, each question counts for 1% of your final score. For the first 62 questions, select only the best answer. For the remaining eight questions, you must select two answers. This is clearly noted in each of the last eight questions. Starting this year, there will also be a set of stimulus-response questions included in the 70 questions. Students will review a provided computing innovation and respond to five multiple-choice questions about it. This is in place of the former “Explore performance task” required in prior years. Unlike other AP exams, there are no free-response questions.
There is no penalty for wrong answers, so do NOT leave any questions blank. As with any multiple-choice question, if you are not sure, try to eliminate one or more of the answers. Then either go ahead and mark your best guess (recommended) or skip a line on the answer sheet. You can mark questions in your test booklet that you want to come back to. Later questions may help trigger your memory to determine the correct response for a question you were not sure about.
The Performance Task
The AP in-class performance task assesses skills that cannot be measured in the multiple-choice exam. Prior to the exam, you must submit a Create performance task project to the College Board using the digital portfolio site. This project accounts for 30% of your overall AP score.
The Create performance task requires you to develop a computer program, submit a video of the program running, and answer free-response questions about the program you created. You will have at least 12 hours of in-class time to work on this project.
Your AP teacher will give you a handout that contains instructions for the project. The handout is also available on the College Board’s website in a PDF publication called the AP Computer Science Principles Student Handouts. You can find this publication at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-csp-student-task-directions.pdf.
Download and print out this document for future reference. You will need to refer to it often when working on the performance task. It also contains a copy of the exam reference sheet that you’ll be provided when you take the multiple-choice exam.
Your AP Score
The multiple-choice exam is graded automatically by a computer. The Create performance task is graded by college professors and high school AP teachers who are teaching the course. They are trained and each project is evaluated and reviewed to ensure projects are graded consistently and fairly.
In the end you will be given a score that ranges from 1—5. The following table shows the meanings of the scores:
Most colleges and universities award one-semester course credit if you earn a score of 4 or 5. Some colleges award credit for a score of 3. You should check with the colleges and universities you are applying to for their current policy regarding this AP exam. The College Board website has a list of the AP policies of individual colleges and universities, but to be sure, check directly with the school.
Being awarded college credit while you are still in high school has its advantages. You may be able to skip an introductory course and jump right into the elective courses you want to take in college. If you earn enough AP credits, you may be able to graduate early. Even if you don’t want to graduate early, earning AP credit will give you more flexibility, making it easier to obtain a double major or to study abroad. Another benefit is that you’ll probably save money by not having to pay college tuition for course credits you’ve earned in high school. Perhaps most important, doing well on AP exams will help you stand out in the college admissions process, showing colleges that you’re serious about studying and that you’re able to handle college-level courses.
What’s on the Exam?
The AP Computer Science Principles Exam and performance task are designed to test your proficiency with six computational thinking practices and the five “big ideas” covered in the course content. In this AP course, you’ll not only learn about technology but also about how it affects our lives.
The “Big Ideas”
Taking this course introduces you to a broad survey of technology-related topics. These include the five “big ideas” the course covers:
1. Creative Development
2. Data
3. Algorithms and Programming
4. Computing Systems and Networks
5. Impact of Computing
Step 4 in this book, where you’ll review the content you need to know, is organized around these “big ideas.”
The following table shows the percentage of multiple-choice questions you can expect from each of the Big Ideas in the AP exam:
Computational Thinking Practices
Computational thinking is a driving concept in this course. There are six computational thinking practices the course references. They are:
• Computational Solution Design
• Algorithms and Program Development
• Abstraction in Program Development
• Code Analysis
• Computing Innovations
• Responsible Computing
These practices are interwoven throughout the course. All but the last one are evaluated through questions on the multiple-choice exam. More detailed information on what’s covered in the AP course and exam is available on the College Board’s website in the PDF publication Computer Science Principles Course and Exam Description. You can find it by searching by the title or you can go to https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-computer-science-principles-course-and-exam-description.pdf.
Who Writes the Questions?
AP exam questions are designed and tested by a committee of college professors and high school AP teachers. The process of introducing a new course takes years, and once available, the questions continue to be evaluated. This committee is also responsible for determining the criteria and rubric for the Create performance task.
The AP Computer Science A Course—How Is It Different?
The AP Computer Science A exam teaches programming concepts using the JAVA programming language. It focuses more on developing solid programming and problem-solving skills. Taking one course does not preclude taking the other. They can even be taken at the same time. See the College Board site for more information about the AP Computer Science A course and exam.
Taking the AP Exam
How to Register
If you are taking AP Computer Science Principles at school, the school’s AP coordinator will contact you and help you sign up. If you are not taking the class, you should contact the AP coordinator at your school or school district for assistance in registering. Home-schooled students should either contact the AP coordinator for their school district or their assigned school to register. Beginning with the 2019—2020 school year, students had to register for the AP exam by November 15. Students in classes that only meet second semester had to register by March 15. Do not miss this registration date or you will be charged a $40 late fee.
The fee to take an AP exam in 2023 was $97 in the United States and $127 if taken outside of the United States. Check the College Board website for the most up-to-date information on fees. You can get a refund of most of your fee if you end up not submitting your performance task and not taking the exam. You may be entitled to a reduced fee if you have significant financial need; check with the AP coordinator at your school for more information about eligibility for fee reductions.
The Dates
You should plan to complete the AP Computer Science Principles performance task by mid-April. The project for the performance task must be submitted via an online submission process by the due date and time posted on the College Board website. The date ranges from the last day or so in April to the first day or two in May. Check with your AP teacher or the College Board website for the instructions for submitting your project.
The AP Computer Science Principles multiple-choice exam date varies each year. You may view this information at the College Board’s website: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/exam-administration-ordering-scores/exam-dates.
Test-Day Policies
On test day, you need to bring the following items:
• Several pencils and an eraser that doesn’t leave smudges
• A school-issued or government-issued photo identification
• A standard non-internet connected watch so you can easily keep track of test time in case there is no clock in the testing room
Items you are NOT to bring into the test room include:
• Any electronic device that can access the Internet or be used to communicate with others
• Any food or drink, including bottled water
• A smartwatch or any watch that beeps or has an alarm
• Cameras or photographic equipment
• Any music device, including ear buds