AP Computer Science A

Exam Information:

The AP Exam will be... Wednesday, May 7, 2025 @ 12 NOON 

Section I: Multiple Choice        

40 Questions | 1 Hour 30 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score

The multiple-choice section includes mostly individual questions, occasionally with 1–2 sets of questions (2 questions per set).

Computational Thinking Practices 1, 2, 4, and 5 are all assessed in the multiple-choice section.

Section II: Free Response            

4 Questions | 1 Hour 30 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score

All free-response questions assess Computational Thinking Practice 3: Code Implementation, with the following focus:

Question 1: Methods and Control Structures—Students will be asked to write program code to create objects of a class and call methods, and satisfy method specifications using expressions, conditional statements, and iterative statements.  (Covers Units 1-4)

Question 2: Classes—Students will be asked to write program code to define a new type by creating a class and satisfy method specifications using expressions, conditional statements, and iterative statements.  (Covers Units 2,4&5)

Question 3: Array/ArrayList—Students will be asked to write program code to satisfy method specifications using expressions, conditional statements, and iterative statements and create, traverse, and manipulate elements in 1D array or ArrayList objects. (Covers Units 4,6&7)

Question 4: 2D Array—Students will be asked to write program code to satisfy method specifications using expressions, conditional statements, and iterative statements and create, traverse, and manipulate elements in 2D array objects. (Covers Units 4, 8)

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The free response will require you to code 4 programming solutions using pen and paper.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE AP EXAM

Computer Programming Language:

The course requires that solutions of problems be written in the Java programming language. Because the Java programming language is extensive, the AP Computer Science A Exam covers a subset of Java. 

Lab Requirement:

The AP Computer Science A course must include a minimum of 20 hours of hands-on, structured lab experiences to engage students in individual or group problem solving. Each course includes a substantial lab component in which students design solutions to problems, express their solutions precisely, test their solutions, identify and correct errors, and compare possible solutions. The College Board has developed several labs that are aligned to the course framework that fulfill the 20- hour lab requirement. 

Grade Breakdown:

• Quarter 1

  • Formative Assessments 

    • Group Tests for Units 1,2,3,4,5  -MAJOR

    • Group FRQs 1,2 -MINOR

    • Labs - MINOR

    • All Q1 Labs Together - MAJOR

  • Summative Assessments  

    • Individual Test for Unit 4  - MAJOR

    • Individual Test Units all content from units 1-5 - MAJOR

    • Individual FRQs 1, 2 

• Quarter 2

  • Formative Assessments 

    • Group Tests for Units 6,7,8,9,10

    • Group FRQs 3,4

  • Summative Assessments  

    • Individual Test for Units 6-7 together

    • Individual Test Units all content from units 6-10

    • Individual FRQs 3,4

Major Grades Each Quarter:

5 group tests

1 Cummulative Lab Grade

1 Individual Test (Unit 4 Q1 - Units 6,7 Q2)

1 Individual Quarter Test 

Minor Grades Each Quarter:

5 Labs covering each Unit

_ Group FRQ's

For More Info Visit These Important Links:

Course Overview

Course at a Glance

Course and Exam Description

Java Quick Reference Sheet

AP CSA Scoring Guidelines