AP Computer Science
Principles
AP Computer Science Principles is an introductory college-level computing course that introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. Students learn to design and evaluate solutions and to apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students also explain how computing innovations and computing systems—including the internet—work, explore their potential impacts, and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical.
Computer Science Principles is an Advanced Placement (AP) level introduction to computer science. The course teaches the principles of computer science. The only limit on the types of apps you will learn to build is your own imagination. So, in this course you will learn coding or computer programming.
But computer science is not just about coding. So, we will also learn broadly about the fundamental principles of computer science. We'll learn about the potential and the limitations of computing and coding. We'll learn how to manipulate large data sets and about the importance of data in today's computing environment. We'll learn how the Internet works and how encryption is used to protect our Internet transactions. We'll learn about the positive and negative aspects of computing in today's society. And lots more.
For these broader computing concepts we will work within the College Board's curricular framework known as Computer Science Principles (CSP). This framework was developed by leading computer science educators from around the country with guidance from the College Board and with funding support from the National Science Foundation.