AP Computer Science Principles is a college level course that offers a multidisciplinary approach to teaching the underlying principles of computation. The course will introduce students to the creative aspects of programming, abstractions, algorithms, large data sets, the internet, cybersecurity concerns, and computing impacts. AP Computer Science Principles will give students the opportunity to use technology to address real-world problems and build relevant solutions. As a broad course less focused on strict programming than the AP Computer Science A course, students will learn about the broad impacts of computing in our society and will leave prepared for more programming oriented courses in the future.
This course is a great starting point for Juniors or Seniors who do not have a background in computer science, but are excited to learn, and are ready for an AP level course. Don't be scared of learning computer science, anyone with persistence and interest can learn!
Programming is only a piece of this course! You'll learn about many other introductory computer science topics (see the course description above). Beginning in 2025-2026, we anticipate that will use Python to program in this course, a popular programming language that's great for new students but also used heavily by professionals. After the AP exam, juniors we will spend the remainder of the year starting to learn Java so you are prepared for AP Computer Science A while sophomores prepare for cybersecurity. Some students may also have the opportunity to learn Swift (a text-based language for programming iPhone apps) as well.
Generally speaking, 10th grade students cannot take AP courses at AHS. However, if you took Introduction to Computer Science as a 9th grade student we have made the exception to allow those students to take AP Computer Science Principles. Depending on space in sections and overall scheduling, special consideration MAY be made later in the process for 10th grade students. If that is the case, special criteria and an application will be distributed to students.