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About the Exam
The AP Computer Science Principles Exam has two sections: multiple-choice questions on the end-of-course exam and four prompts that require students to write responses that demonstrate understanding of their personal Create performance task on the end-of-course exam. You will complete the Create performance task over the course of the year and submit all three performance task components online through the AP Digital Portfolio for scoring. Both measure your proficiency in and grasp of the course practices and content, and both contribute to your final AP score on a scale of 1–5.
Updates to Create Performance Task
Given the implications of ChatGPT and other similar generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the Create performance task components, we’ve made some updates to the Create performance task in 2023-24. Review the Exam Components section below for details..
To learn more about the Create performance task and the exam, watch the four new AP Daily videos in AP Classroom. To access these videos, navigate to the Course Guide section in the left navigation pane of the AP Classroom homepage, select the “Overview” page, and then click on the “Student Resources” header to expand the list of available resources. The Create performance task videos are the first four listed:
- Create Performance Task: Overview
- Create Performance Task: Guidelines
- Create Performance Task: Pacing Your Project
- Create Performance Task: Categories and Questions
Exam Dates
Exam Components
Section I: End-of-Course Multiple-Choice Exam
70 multiple-choice questions | 120 minutes | 70% of score | 4 answer options
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57 single-select multiple-choice
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5 single-select with reading passage about a computing innovation
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8 multiple-select multiple-choice: select 2 answers
The AP Computer Science Principles end-of-course exam has consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you know what to expect on exam day.
Section II: Create Performance Task
30% of score
- Create performance task program code, video, and student-authored Personalized Project Reference | 9 hours in-class
- 4 written response prompts | 60 minutes end-of-course exam
The second section of the AP Computer Science Principles Exam consists of a through-course Create performance task where you will develop a computer program of your choice an end-of-course written response section where you will demonstrate your understanding of your Create performance task by answering four prompts. You will be provided 9 hours of in-class time to complete your program, video, and develop a Personalized Project Reference.
For the written response prompts, you will have access to your Personalized Project Reference and write responses to four prompts related to your program code and the code contained in this reference sheet. One question from each of the categories listed below will appear on the end-of-course exam. The specific prompts will vary across the different versions of the exam.
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Prompt Category |
Students should be prepared to: |
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Program Design, Function, and Purpose
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Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
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Algorithm Development
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Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
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Errors and Testing
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Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
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Data and Procedural Abstraction
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Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
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How We Score Your Work
The Create performance task, like the end-of-course exam given in May, is scored by trained, experienced educators called AP Readers.
Exam Preparation
Credit and Placement
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