AP Computer Science Principles

About the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®)

The Advanced Placement Program® has enabled millions of students to take college-level courses and earn college credit, advanced placement, or
both, while still in high school. AP Exams are given each year in May. Students who earn a qualifying score on an AP Exam are typically eligible, in
college, to receive credit, placement into advanced courses, or both. Every aspect of AP course and exam development is the result of collaboration
between AP teachers and college faculty. They work together to develop AP courses and exams, set scoring standards, and score the exams. College
faculty review every AP teacher’s course syllabus

AP Computer Science Program AP Computer Science Principles Course Content

There are two computer science offerings, and students can take either The following are the major areas of study, or big ideas, that serve as
course in any order or concurrently: the foundation of the course, enabling students to create meaningful
connections among concepts and develop deeper conceptual
■ AP Computer Science A focuses on computing skills related to understanding:
programming in Java.
■ Creative Development: When developing computing
■ AP Computer Science Principles provides students with a broad
innovations, developers can use a formal, iterative design
introduction to computer science and how it relates to other fields.
process or a less rigid process of experimentation, and will
The courses underscore the importance of communicating solutions
encounter phases of investigating and reflecting, designing,
appropriately and in ways that are relevant to current societal needs.
prototyping, and testing. Collaboration is an important tool at any
AP Computer Science courses can help address traditional issues of
phase of development.
equity, access, and broadening participation in computing while
providing a strong and engaging introduction to fundamental areas of ■ Data: Data are central to computing innovations because they
the discipline. communicate initial conditions to programs and represent new
knowledge.
AP Computer Science Principles Course Overview ■ Algorithms and Programming: Programmers integrate
algorithms and abstraction to create programs for creative
AP Computer Science Principles introduces students to the breadth of purposes and to solve problems.
the field of computer science. In this course, students will learn to ■ Computing Systems and Networks: Computer systems and
design and evaluate solutions and to apply computer science to solve networks are used to transfer data.
problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They
will incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new ■ Impact of Computing: Computers and computing have
knowledge. Students will also explain how computing innovations and revolutionized our lives. To use computing safely and responsibly,
computing systems, including the Internet, work, explore their potential we need to be aware of privacy, security, and ethical issues.
impacts, and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and Each big idea is broken down into teachable segments called topics.
ethical.

PREREQUISITES AP Computer Science Principles

It is recommended that students in the AP Computer Science Principles
Computational Thinking Practices
course have successfully completed a first-year high school algebra
course with a strong foundation of basic linear functions, composition of The following computational thinking practices describe what skills
functions, and problem-solving strategies that require multiple students should develop during the course:
approaches and collaborative efforts. In addition, students should be ■ Computational Solution Design: Design and evaluate
able to use a Cartesian (x, y) coordinate system to represent points on computational solutions for a purpose.
a plane. It is important that students and their advisers understand that
■ Algorithms and Program Development: Develop and implement
any significant computer science course builds upon a foundation of
mathematical reasoning that should be acquired before attempting such algorithms.
a course. ■ Abstraction in Program Development: Develop programs that
Prior computer science experience is not required to take this course. incorporate abstractions.
■ Code Analysis: Evaluate and test algorithms and programs.
COMPUTER LANGUAGE
■ Computing Innovations: Investigate computing innovations.
AP Computer Science Principles does not have a designated
programming language. Teachers have the flexibility to choose a ■ Responsible Computing: Contribute to an inclusive, safe,
programming language(s) that is most appropriate for their students to collaborative, and ethical computing culture.
use in the classroom.
AP Computer Science Principles End-of-Course Exam Structure

AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES END-OF-COURSE Format of Assessment

EXAM: 2 HOURS
Section I: Multiple-choice | 70 Questions | 2 Hours |
Assessment Overview 70% of Exam Score

The AP Computer Science Principles Exam assesses student ■ 57 single-select multiple-choice questions.
understanding of the computational thinking practices and learning ■ 5 single-select multiple-choice questions with reading passage
objectives outlined in the course framework. The exam consists of the about a computing innovation.
Create performance task and an end-of-course AP Exam. The Create
■ 8 multi-select multiple-choice questions.
performance task requires at least 12 hours of dedicated class time for
students to complete. The end-of-course exam is 2 hours long and Section II: Create Performance Task | 1 Question |
includes 70 multiple-choice questions.
At least 12 hours of class | 30% of Exam Score

■ Through-course performance task

■ Assesses Computational Thinking Practices 1, 2, 3, and 4

Exam Components

Sample Multiple-Choice Questions A certain computer has two identical processors that are able to run
in parallel. Each processor can run only one process at a time, and
each process must be executed on a single processor. The
A digital photo file contains data representing the level of red, following table indicates the amount of time it takes to execute each
green, and blue for each pixel in the photo. The file also contains of three processes on a single processor. Assume that none of the
metadata that describe the date and geographic location where processes are dependent on any of the other processes.
the photo was taken. For which of the following goals would
analyzing the metadata be more appropriate than analyzing the
data?
(A) Determining the likelihood that the photo is a picture of the sky
(B) Determining the likelihood that the photo was taken at a
particular public event
Which of the following best approximates the minimum possible
(C) Determining the number of people that appear in the photo
time to execute all three processes when the two processors are
(D) Determining the usability of the photo for projection onto a run in parallel?
particular color background
(A) 60 seconds
(B) 70 seconds
(C) 80 seconds
(D) 90 seconds

Create Performance Task

In the Create Performance Task, each student designs and implements a computer program that might solve a problem, enable innovation,
explore personal interests, or express creativity. Their final program code is accompanied by a video that displays the running of their program
and demonstrates functionality, as well as written responses to task prompts.
♦ Students have the flexibility to write programs that reflect their interests, which allows them to engage in the study of computer science from a
creative perspective. Students will provide evidence of their knowledge of important programming concepts, such as developing algorithms and
using abstractions. Students may choose to collaborate during the development of their program, but must submit independently created videos
of the program running. Students will independently respond to prompts to demonstrate their understanding of their program, the data,
algorithms and abstractions the program uses, and how it will behave under different circumstances. Students may develop their program using
a program language of their choice. The programming language selected should contain functionality that is specified in the performance task.
HTML is not an acceptable programming language for the Create Performance Task.
♦ The Student Handouts for the Create Performance Task can be accessed here.

Educators: apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-computer-science-principles
Students: apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-computer-science-principles

© 2021 College Board. 00558-040 (Updated January 2021)