Chatsworth Charter High School & G+STEAM Magnet Center

Skip to main content
Mobile Menu
Info & Comm Technologies Pathway » AP Computer Science "A"

AP Computer Science "A"

apcsa
 
Taking this course as prescribed provides students with:
  • AP Rigor
  • College and Career Readiness Electives
  • Extra Math and Extra Science course on their transcripts
  • Count for High School and College credit 
  • Ability to code applications, pages, and software to meet the needs of clients.
            
Capstone Course: (Second Year Course) AP Computer Science "A"
The College Board Advanced Placement Program Computer Science "A" provides and extra "C" Mathematics course for student transcripts. This provides extra courses for Colleges acceptance and Career certification. A-G Requirements - "C" Mathematics 3 years required, 4 years recommended, this course could be a Fifth course on transcripts. 
 

To stay up to date on this course, check out the College Board’s website on AP CSA.

Course and Exam Description

 

The AP Computer Science A curriculum emphasizes the fundamental concepts and problem solving skills that Computer Science requires, using the Java programming language. It introduces basics like variables, loops, conditionals, and methods, along with object-oriented programming, data structures, algorithms, and software design strategies. Java is a widely used programming language, useful and multifaceted because it can support abstraction, encapsulation, and object-orientation, all of which are important concepts for software engineering.

The official prerequisite for AP Computer Science A is successful completion of AP Computer Science Principles. Overall, the course recommends a solid foundation in mathematical reasoning, specifically function notation and other algebraic problem solving skills. 

The AP Computer Science A exam is a three hour test. The first half includes 40 multiple choice questions and accounts for 50% of the exam score. The second half includes four free response questions focused on program design, implementation, and problem solving, and it makes up the remaining 50% of the exam score. All of the questions on the AP exam involving coding use Java as the primary programming language, and test booklets include the Java Quick Reference that includes all of the accessible methods from the Java library that the AP exam may reference.

 

Goals of the AP Computer Science curriculum include:

  • Design, implement, and analyze solutions to problems
  • Use and implement commonly used algorithms
  • Develop and select appropriate algorithms and data structures to solve new problems
  • Write solutions fluently in an object-oriented paradigm
  • Write, run, test, and debug solutions in the Java programming language, utilizing standard Java library classes and interfaces from the AP Java subset
  • Read and understand programs consisting of several classes and interacting objects
  • Read and understand a description of the design and development process leading to such a program
  • Understand the ethical and social implications of computer use