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

2 Planning Your Time
STEP 1 Set Up Your Study Program

IN THIS CHAPTER

Summary: Preparing for the exam is important. The right preparation plan for you depends on your study habits, your own strengths and weaknesses, and the amount of time you have to prepare for the test. This chapter will help you get off to a good start by developing a personalized plan to prepare for the multiple-choice exam and the performance task of the AP Computer Science Principles assessment.

Key Ideas

Do not wait until the last minute to begin preparing. Develop a study plan and stick with it.

Your study plan should be tailored to your needs, your study habits, and the amount of time you have available.

Prioritize your review based on your strengths and weaknesses. Take the diagnostic exam in the next chapter to identify the areas you most need to review and practice.

Three Approaches to Preparing for the AP Computer Science Principles Assessment

It’s up to you to decide how you want to use this book to study for the multiple-choice exam and prepare for the performance task. This book is designed for flexibility; you can work through it in order or skip around however you want. In fact, no two students who purchase this book will probably use it in exactly the same way.

The first step in developing your plan is to take the diagnostic test in the next chapter. This is a practice exam that closely mirrors the actual multiple-choice exam. By taking the diagnostic test, you’ll find out exactly what the exam is like as well as what you are reasonably good at and what things you need to review. Identify your weaknesses and focus on these first.

The School-Year Plan

If you are taking the AP Computer Science Principles course as a one-year class, and if you find the course difficult, a full school-year test preparation plan may be right for you. Following this plan will allow you to practice your skills and develop your confidence gradually. You can use the chapters in this book for extra practice and another explanation of the concepts as you cover the same material in your class. Starting your study plan for the exam at the beginning of the school year will allow you to get to all the practice exercises in the book and maximize your preparation for the exam.

If you choose the option of beginning early, you can still start by taking the diagnostic exam in the next chapter. This will show you exactly what the multiple-choice exam is like so you know what you are up against. You can also find out what you already know. For this plan (and for the semester review plan), you have time to take the diagnostic exam at the beginning and again later in the year to check your progress and understanding.

The One-Semester Plan

Starting in the middle of the school year will give you plenty of time to review and prepare for the test. This is a good option if you have only limited time on a daily basis to devote to test preparation either because you need to prepare for other AP exams as well, or you’re super busy with extracurricular activities.

With the one-semester plan, you should start by taking the diagnostic test in the next chapter. This will give you an accurate idea of what the multiple-choice test is like. You’ll get a sense of how hard the test will be for you, how much time you need to devote to practice, and which types of questions or tasks you most need to work on. You can skip around in this book, focusing on the chapters that deal with the things you most need to work on. Be sure to find time to take both practice exams at the end of this book. Take the final practice test a few days before you take the actual test.

The Six-Week Plan

OK, maybe you procrastinated a bit too long. But if you’re doing well in your AP Computer Science Principles class, you don’t need to worry too much. And whether you’re doing well or not, you still have time to improve your score by reviewing weak areas and practicing taking the test.

Start by taking the diagnostic test in the next chapter to find out what the actual multiple-choice test will be like and to identify the content areas you most need to review. You don’t have time to do everything in this book, so prioritize based on your weaknesses. If you find the diagnostic test difficult, try to devote as much time as possible to the review chapters. Save time to take at least one practice test and preferably take both of them. Even if you do really well on the diagnostic test and don’t need further content review, you should take the practice exams at the back of this book to practice pacing yourself within the time limits of the exam.

The Practice Exams Are Your Friends

The practice tests are probably the most important part of this book. Taking them will help you do all of the following:

• Practice with the types of questions on the AP Computer Science Principles multiple-choice exam.

• Measure progress and identify areas you need to focus on in your test preparation.

• Practice pacing yourself within the time limits imposed by the test.

Save the last practice test for a final check at the end of April or beginning of May. But don’t wait until the night before the test to take the practice tests. Staying up and trying to do some last-minute cramming may be counterproductive.

Planning for the Performance Task

If you are in a traditional classroom setting, your teacher will determine when you begin to work on the Create performance task and time will be provided in class. The Create performance task requires 12 hours of class time be provided. You may work more than the 12 hours of class time allocated on your own. But don’t get bogged down and spend too much time on it; stay cognizant of the preparation time you will need for the multiple-choice section and other AP exams you have. Remember, the multiple-choice exam counts for 70% of your total score. While you cannot do poorly on the Create performance task and still get a high score, you do need to do well on the multiple-choice questions to achieve a 4 or 5.

If your class is a yearlong class, your teacher may do a full or partial practice Create project first. This will help you better learn how to prepare the written response, video, and program code. If you are taking this course as a semester-long course, your teacher may opt for a practice performance task on a smaller scale or one performed in groups.

If you are working in an independent study environment or home-school setting, you should not begin the Create performance task until you have a good understanding of data abstraction and procedural abstraction, algorithms, and programming selection and iterative statements, along with lists and procedures. All of these need to be incorporated into your program and the written response. These are covered in Big Ideas 1 and 3. If you are working on your own, begin the Create performance task in mid-March at the latest. If you are new to programming, you may need the additional time to learn programming fundamentals, and it may take longer to implement the concepts into your code.

Remember that once you begin the actual Create performance task, you cannot get help on the content of your project. Your teacher, or anyone else, is only allowed to answer questions related to the project task, timeline, components, and scoring in general and not about your specific project.

Once this is finished and submitted to the College Board, 30% of your AP score is set. You then only need to spend time preparing for the multiple-choice section on exam day.

Calendar: The Three Plans Compared