AP Computer Science A introduces students to computer science through programming and is aligned to all College Board seven curriculum requirements extensively as shown in the table below.
The curriculum requirements laid out by the College Board are:
❖ CR1: Teaches students to design and implement computer-based solutions to problems.
❖ CR2a: Teaches students to use and implement commonly used algorithms.
❖ CR2b: Teaches students to use commonly used data structures.
❖ CR3: Teaches students to select appropriate algorithms and data structures to solve problems.
❖ CR4: Teaches students to code fluently in an object-oriented paradigm using the programming language Java.
❖ CR5: Teaches students to use elements of the standard Java library.
❖ CR6: Includes a structured-lab component composed of a minimum of 20 hours of hands-on lab experiences.
❖ CR7: Teaches students to recognize the ethical and social implications of computer use.
Fundamental topics in this course include the design of solutions to problems, the use of data structures to organize large sets of data, the development and implementation of algorithms to process data and discover new information, the analysis of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing systems. The course emphasizes object-oriented programming and design using the Java programming language.