Your AP Computer Science A Resource Center

Updated on: 14 Feb 2025

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1. AP Overview 2. AP Courses 3. AP Exams 4. AP Scores 5. AP Credits 6. AP Credit Policy 7. AP Biology Credit Policy 8. AP Biology Exam 9. AP Biology Practice Tests 10. AP Calculus AB Credit Policy 11. AP Calculus AB Exam 12. AP Calculus AB Formula Sheet 13. AP Calculus AB Practice Tests 14. AP Calculus BC Credit Policy 15. AP Calculus BC Exam 16. AP Calculus BC Formula Sheet 17. AP Calculus BC Practice Tests 18. AP Chemistry Credit Policy 19. AP Chemistry Exam 20. AP Chemistry Formula Sheet 21. AP Chemistry Practice Tests 22. AP Computer Science A Credit Policy 23. AP Computer Science A Practice Tests 24. AP Computer Science Principles Practice Tests 25. AP Computer Science A Exam 26. AP Computer Science Principles Credit Policy 27. AP Computer Science Principles Exam 28. AP English Language 29. AP English Literature 30. AP Human Geography Exam 31. AP Macroeconomics Practice Tests 32. AP Microeconomics Practice Tests 33. AP Physics 1 Credit Policy 34. AP Physics 1 Exam 35. AP Physics 2 Exam 36. AP Physics 1 Formula Sheet 37. AP Physics 1 Practice Tests 38. AP Physics 2 Credit Policy 39. AP Physics 2 Formula Sheet 40. AP Physics 2 Practice Tests 41. AP Physics C E&M Formula Sheet 42. AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism Exam 43. AP Physics C Mechanics Exam 44. AP Physics C Mechanics Practice Tests 45. AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism Practice Tests 46. AP Physics C Mechanics Formula Sheet 47. AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Credit Policy 48. AP Physics C: Mechanics Credit Policy 49. AP Psychology Exam 50. AP Statistics Exam 51. AP Statistics Practice Tests 52. AP Statistics Credit Policy 53. AP Statistics Formula Sheet 54. AP US History Practice Tests 55. AP Spanish Language 56. AP Enviornmental Science 57. AP World History Modern 58. AP US Government and Politics 59. AP US History Exam 60. AP European History Exam 61. AP Comparitive Government and Politics 62. AP Microeconomics 63. AP Macroeceonomics 64. AP PreCalculus 65. AP Course Placement 66. AP Score Report 67. AP Sending Scores 68. AP Pass Score 69. AP Exam Dates 70. AP Exam Fee 71. AP Free Response Questions 72. AP Document Based Questions 73. AP Multiple Choice Questions 74. AP Performance Task 75. AP Study Guides 76. AP Review Books 77. AP Course Syllabus 78. AP Course Audit 79. College Board 80. AP Course Ledger 81. AP Exam Fee Reductions 82. AP Pass Rate 83. AP Score Distribution 84. AP Practice Tests 85. AP Worksheets 86. AP Formula Sheets 87. AP Perfect Score 88. AP Daily Videos 89. AP Classroom 90. AP Central 91. Pre AP 92. AP Alumni Network 93. AP Capstone 94. AP Classroom Resources 95. AP Self Study Exams 96. AP Course Grades Vs AP Scores 97. AP Exam Calculator Policy 98. AP Scholar Award 99. AP Course And Exam Description 100. AP Classes 101. AP TextBooks 102. Benefits Of AP 103. AP Results 104. Dual Credits 105. Pre AP To AP Course Map 106. Digital AP Exams 107. AP Course Pairs 108. AP Lab Manuals 109. AP Daily Instructors 110. Best Sites for AP Physics Tutoring 111. Online Tutoring Can Help You With AP Physics Test Prep 112. Average Cost Of AP Physics Tutoring 113. Finding An AP Physics Tutor 114. Finding An AP Chemistry Tutor 115. Online Tutoring Can Help You With AP Chemistry Test Prep 116. Cost Of AP Chemistry Tutoring

AP Computer Science A is a college-level course offered by the College Board to high school students who are interested in studying Computer science at an advanced level. It was opted by 96,000 students in 2023 as it is one of the preferred AP courses.

The difficulty rating of AP Computer Science A is 4.4 out of 10 by class alumni on a Reddit survey. The course is demanding and assumes that students have a solid foundation in basic programming concepts and a knack for mathematical reasoning.

Course Contents

Based on the Understanding by Design® (Wiggins and McTighe) model, this course framework provides a description of the course requirements necessary for student success, with a focus on big ideas that encompass core principles, theories, and processes of the discipline. The framework also encourages instruction that prepares students for advanced computer science coursework and its integration into a wide array of STEM-related fields.

The AP Computer Science A framework is organized into 10 commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. As always, you have the flexibility to organize the course content as you like.

Unit	Details	Exam Weighting (Multiple-Choice Section)
Unit 1: Primitive Types	You’ll learn the fundamentals of Java, a programming language, as well as other foundational concepts for coding.	2.5%-5%
Unit 2: Using Objects	You’ll explore reference data as a way to represent real-world objects in a digital world and discover methods to perform more complex operations.	5%-7.5%
Unit 3: Boolean Expressions and if Statements	You’ll delve into the building blocks of algorithms and focus on using conditional statements to solve problems and control results.	15%-17.5%
Unit 4: Iteration	You’ll learn about iteration, another building block of algorithms that are for repetition.	17.5%-22.5%
Unit 5: Writing Classes	You’ll explore how real-world interactions can be expressed digitally by organizing behaviors and attributes into classes, and you’ll examine the legal and ethical implications of computer programming.	5%-7.5%
Unit 6: Array	You’ll learn techniques and standard algorithms to work with collections of related data, known as data structures.	10%-15%
Unit 7: ArrayList	You’ll delve deeper into data sets, exploring ArrayList objects for larger amounts of data, as well as the privacy concerns related to personal data storage.	2.5%-7.5%
Unit 8: 2D Array	Now that you’ve explored 1D arrays, you’ll branch out into 2D arrays and experiment with data sets represented in a table.	7.5%-10%
Unit 9: Inheritance	You’ll learn how to manipulate programming without altering existing code by using subclasses to create a hierarchy.	5%-10%
Unit 10: Recursion	You’ll work on solving larger problems by solving smaller, simpler versions of the same problem using recursive methods.	5%-7.5%

AP Computer Science A Course Contents

AP Computer Science A Resources

AP Computer Science A Exam Guide

AP CSA Credit Policy

AP CSA Practice Tests

Difficulty Level of AP CSA

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Shefali Sundram

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