Computer science SL/HL)

The DP computer science course (First Assessment 2027) requires an understanding of the fundamental concepts of computing systems and the ability to apply the computational thinking process to solve problems in the real world. The course also requires students to develop skills in algorithmic thinking and computer programming. 

DP computer science is engaging, accessible, inspiring and rigorous, and has the following characteristics. The course: 

• draws on a wide spectrum of knowledge of computer systems 

• develops skills in algorithmic thinking and computer programming 

• is underpinned by the computational thinking process 

• enables and empowers innovation, exploration and the acquisition of further knowledge 

• includes the study of machine learning 

• raises ethical issues. 

Computational thinking involves the ability to: 

• specify problems in terms of their computational context and determine success criteria 

• decompose complex real-world problems into more manageable problems 

• abstract problems and generalize them to enable algorithmic thinking and to develop solutions 

• test and evaluate solutions for improvements.