AP Computer Science Principles

AP Computer Science Principles Syllabus & Exam

Announcement

AP Computer Science Principles Review Notice

GCSD will be hosting AP Review Day on TBA. 

The AP Review Day offers an opportunity for students to take up to three review sessions to solidify what they have learned in their AP classes this year.  

Students will be able to choose the sessions based on areas of support needed.  AP Review Day will be open to all GCSD AP students. 

Last day for student registration is TBA.  Please use this link for student registration. 

Note:  After registering you will get a confirmation email.

AP Review Day

TBA

Instructor

Victoria Holt

vholt@greenville.k12.sc.us

864-355-2866

Room 127

Prerequisites

• The College Board recommends that students have taken Algebra I.

AP CS Principals Syllabus

Exam Policies & Requirements

AP exam rates:

• $98.00 per exam if ordered on-time for all classes except AP Capstone, AP Seminar and AP Research

• $146.00 for AP Capstone, AP Seminar and AP Research.

Fees are applied for the following reasons:

• Student Decides Not to Take the Exam Unused/canceled exam fee applied: Student decides not to take the exam after exam order is submitted, and November 15 final ordering deadline has passed. Reasons include: ƒ Student’s college of choice doesn’t award credit for the exam. ƒ Student who is performing poorly in the class decides after November 15 not to take the exam. ƒ There are conflicts with regularly scheduled exam administration dates, and student doesn’t want to test on any other available scheduled testing dates. 

• Student Joins or Drops a Class After Nov. 15 Student joins or drops a class after the November 15 final exam ordering deadline. (Late or unused/canceled exam fees are not applied only if a student transfers to or out of the school.) 

• School Issue Late order fee applied: Exam orders placed after November 15 due to an outstanding balance hold, a security hold, or an incomplete AP Participation Form. 

• School Policy ƒ Late order fee applied: Any local policy that prevents submission of the exam order (in full or for an individual student) by the November 15 final ordering deadline. ƒ Late order or unused/canceled exam fee applied: School decides to move a student into or out of a full-year AP class after the November 15 final ordering deadline has passed.

COLLEGE BOARD REASONS IN WHICH THE FEE IS WAIVED FOR MISSING AN EXAM:

• Late-Testing Circumstances Below are circumstances when late testing is allowed without incurring an additional fee. 

• Late-Testing Reasons: No Additional Fee 

• Academic contest/event 

• Athletic contest/event 

• Conflict with IB or Cambridge exam 

• Conflict with nationally, province-, or state-mandated test 

• Delayed shipment 

• Disabilities accommodations issue 

• Emergency: bomb scare or fire alarm 

• High school graduation 

• Language lab scheduling conflict 

• Makeup AP Exam due to an incident during the initial exam 

• Religious/holiday observance 

• School closing: election, national holiday, or natural disaster 

• Serious injury, illness, or family tragedy Strike/labor conflict 

• Student court appearance Two or more AP Exams on the same date at the same time 

ADDITIONAL MISSED EXAM FEES:

• If a student misses the AP exam for any reason other than an excused reason they will be charged $99 (for most) for the exam.

• If they chose to make up the exam, there will be an additional $40 fee.

• See link below for all details

AP EXAM FEES

Course Description 

The goal of AP Computer Science Principles is to provide a broad, inspiring overview of computer science that is appropriate for all students who have completed a high school algebra course. By the end of this course, students will become empowered to critically analyze computing innovations as well as create inspiring applications that express their interests. In addition, they will be ready to incorporate computational thinking into their future fields of study. 

Skills You Will Learn

• Making connections between concepts in computing

• Designing a program to solve a problem or complete a task

• Applying abstractions in computation and modeling

• Analyzing computational work

• Communicating ideas about technology and computation

• Working collaboratively to solve problems

• Along with the five Computer Science Principles Big Ideas as set by the College Board: 

• Big Idea 1: Creative Development  

• Big Idea 2: Data 

• Big Idea 3: Algorithms and Programming

• Big Idea 4: Computer Systems and Networks

• Big Idea 5: Impact of Computing 

The AP Assessment

• The AP Assessment consists of a“through-course” assessment called the AP Computer Science Principles Create Performance Task. This task is due on TBA and counts as 30% of the total exam grade.

• The AP Assessment also consists of a 70-question multiple choice exam. This exam will be given on TBA and counts as 70% of the total exam grade.

• More information can be found by visiting The College Board.

Instructional Materials and Resources 

• College Board. AP Computer Science Principles Course Description. New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 2016. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com

• Code.org AP Computer Science Principles.  https://code.org/educate/csp

• Parent Letter Code.Org

• CodeHS.com AP Computer Science Principles (Javascript) www.codehs.com 

• Blown to Bits by Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, Harry Lewis, Wendy Seltzer

• College Board. AP Computer Science Principles 

Weighting of Grades

Major Grades 60%

Minor Grades 40%

Late Work Policy

Teachers reserve the right to alter this policy based on extenuating circumstances.  Extenuating circumstances should be discussed with the administration.

• Late work is defined as work not completed/turned in on time even though the student attended the class.

• Any assignment which is not turned in on time will be deducted 10 points off of the original grade earned for each school day the assignment is late up to five days.

• After five days, the student will be assigned a 0 for the assignment.

• Late work will not be accepted after the end of a grading period.

• Students who have 504/IEP/ESOL accommodations specifically allowing for extra time may exceed the 5 day window to maintain compliance with their respective educational plan.

• Dual Credit courses may have varying late work policies that are aligned with their parent university.  

• Students are encouraged to utilize the before and after school tutoring programs to complete make-up and late work in a proactive manner.

AP College Board

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/

Exam Information:

AP Computer Science Principles Create Performance Task due dates:  

FORMAL CLASS START DATE:  MONDAY, DECEMBER 1st for a class grade and due to AP College Board by Thurday, April 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM.

NOTE:  PERSONAL PROJECT REQUIRES 9 HOURS OF IN CLASS PROJECT TIME.

IDEAL PERSONAL PROJECT START DATE:  MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2025 OR BEFORE. and due for a classroom grade Monday, December 15th.

You must submit your final Create AP Computer Science Principles performance task via the AP Digital Portfolio by this time.

AP Computer Science Principles Multiple Choice Exam:  Thursday, May 14, 2026

(Be sure to have your email/log in and password.)