How Can I Get a 5 in AP Computer Science Principles?

Introducing APCSP 🗣️

APCSP is a relatively small class 👨‍🏫 with a few resources online, but there are some amazing ones like Fiveable that are here to help! If you can practice for the exam and use these tips, then you should be all set to do awesome 🤩 on your Create PT and ace your MCQ exam.

4 Tips for a Five

#1: Know the Exam 1️⃣

The APCSP 💻 exam is formatted as follows:

Section 1: The Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

For the MCQ section, you will be given:

• 120 Minutes (2 Hours)
• To Answer 70 MCQs

The 70 multiple-choice questions include 57 regular single-select questions, 5 single-select questions based on a reading passage about a computing innovation, and 8 multi-select questions. Be ready to read a short passage and answer several questions about data, abstraction, and the impacts of a computing innovation.

This section is weighted at 70% of your exam score so make sure to study before the AP Exam Start Time!

On the multiple-choice section, questions are distributed across the five Big Ideas and the assessed Computational Thinking Practices according to the weightings below.

🏋️‍♂️ APCSP MCQ Unit Weighting

There are five Big Ideas in AP Computer Science Principles that are tested on the AP Exam. You can reference this table to see which units you should study 📖 the most and least:

Big Idea MCQ Weighting

AP Computer Science Principles has six Computational Thinking Practices in the course framework, but only Practices 1–5 are assessed on the AP Exam multiple-choice section. Practice 6 (Responsible Computing) is part of the course but is not directly assessed on the exam.

Computational Thinking Practice MCQ Weighting

Section 2: The Create Performance Task (PT)

The other 30% of your exam score will come from Section two, so make sure to check out all of our information about the Create PT 💾 (Performance Task):

📝 Read: AP Computer Science Principles - Create PT Help

Section 2 is the Create performance task, which counts for 30% of your AP score. You will have 9 hours of in-class time to develop and submit your program code, video, and Personalized Project Reference in the AP Digital Portfolio. Then, on the end-of-course AP Exam, you will answer 2 written-response questions (with 4 prompts total) in 60 minutes using your Personalized Project Reference. Because the written-response questions are based on your submitted Create work, practice answering prompts about your program's purpose, how your algorithm works, how your procedure is used, and how your program manages data, using your Personalized Project Reference to support your explanations.

#2: Don't Procrastinate the Performance Task 2️⃣

Throughout the year, you build the skills needed for the Create task, but the official Create performance task itself includes 9 hours of in-class time to develop and submit your program code, video, and Personalized Project Reference. The written responses are not submitted earlier; they are completed on the AP Exam.

That means you should not only finish your program on time, but also practice explaining your code, your algorithm, and your use of data and procedures before exam day.

#3: Practice with Pseudocode 3️⃣

Many multiple-choice questions involve algorithms or program code written using the AP CSP Exam Reference Sheet, so you should be comfortable reading and tracing that pseudocode before exam day.

AP CSP uses a standardized pseudocode/reference-sheet notation on the exam. It is not a full programming language you run in a coding environment, but a consistent way to show programming concepts and algorithms.

The pseudocode/reference-sheet notation is basically a combination of a block-based 🧱 style (Scratch, Alice, etc.) and a basic text-based style (Python, JS, etc.). While you will get a reference sheet on exam day, we highly recommend trying to learn and practice with it before exam day so you don't have to waste time reading and tracing while you translate 💹 then! Check out this great reference sheet 📝 from the College Board to get a glimpse into the notation!

The Exam Reference Sheet includes the main programming constructs you should recognize quickly, such as input/output, assignment, arithmetic and comparisons, conditionals, iteration, lists, procedures, and the robot/grid-style representations that sometimes appear in exam questions. Knowing these common construct types can save time on exam day.

#4: Make Flashcards to Review Key Vocab and Concepts

APCSP 🖥️ is not too content-heavy, but the class focuses more on learning the big picture and narrowing 🔍 in on personal solutions and perspectives! A really important part of the MCQ section, however, is learning and applying fundamental vocab in the context of problems.

A big tip of mine would be to make personal flashcards or maybe just use some awesome Quizlets 🎊 Don't know where to start looking? Check out:

📝 Read: AP Computer Science Principles - Best Quizlet Decks by Unit

Here are a few important vocab words and concepts to get you started, but make sure your review also includes binary numbers, data and visualization, variables, conditionals, iteration, lists, procedures, simulations, the Internet and fault tolerance, parallel/distributed computing, computing bias, legal and ethical concerns, and safe computing.

• Algorithm
• Abstraction
• Compression (Lossy vs. Lossless)
• Computer System
• Digital Divide
• Internet Protocol
• Packets
• Router

Closing Thoughts 💭

Make sure to use all of our tips to be able to get that Five on your APCSP Exam 🙌 When you study with us, your exam is easily Fiveable!