AP CS principles

T he College Board plans to launch a new Advanced Placement Computer Science Course, AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) in the fall of 2016 with the first AP CSP Exam being administered in May 2017. AP CSP is not replacing the current AP Computer Science A course (AP CS A), whose purpose is to introduce students to algorithmic thinking and problem solving through programming. Instead, AP CSP is designed to attract and serve a more diverse population of students by introducing those students to a broader set of principles than is presented in AP CS A. This new course is designed to prepare students for a variety of majors by increasing their understanding of the principles and practices of computing that are critical in our competitive 21st century workforce. AP CSP is intended to attract more traditionally underrepresented populations of students than does AP CS A. While programming and algorithmic thinking are prominent in AP CSP, they are not the sole focus of the course. AP CSP is intended to support students in gaining competencies similar to those gained by students completing a university computer science course for non-majors. Although AP CSP may be the only computer science course taken by many of these students, it may also serve as a catalyst for students to pursue computer science as a major field of study. This article is an overview of the goals of AP CSP, as well as an update on the current status of AP CSP, the curriculum framework, and the course assessments.