Course Overview
AP Computer Science Principles is an introductory college-level computing course that introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. Students learn to design and evaluate solutions and to apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students also explain how computing innovations and computing systems—including the internet—work, explore their potential impacts, and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical.
Exam Overview
The AP Computer Science Principles Exam assesses student understanding of the computational thinking practices and learning objectives outlined in the course framework. The AP Exam consists of the Create performance task and an end-of-course exam. For more information, download the AP Computer Science Principles Course and Exam Description(CED). An updated document, featuring changes to the Create performance task, was posted in fall 2023.