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About the Exam
The AP Computer Science Principles Exam has two sections: an end-of-course exam and the Create performance task. The end-of-course exam includes multiple-choice questions and two questions that require you to write responses that demonstrate your understanding of the Create performance task. The two written-response questions will relate to code contained in a Personalized Project Reference that you will develop in class. You will have access to your Personalized Project Reference while answering these questions.
You will complete the Create performance task over the course of the year and submit all three performance task components online through the AP Digital Portfolio for scoring. Both measure your proficiency in and grasp of the course practices and content, and both contribute to your final AP score on a scale of 1–5.
Updates to Create Performance Task
Given the implications of ChatGPT and other similar generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the Create performance task components, we’ve made some updates to the Create performance task in 2023-24. Review the Exam Components section below for details..
To learn more about the Create performance task and the exam, you can watch five AP Daily videos on the Create Performance task in AP Classroom. To access these videos, navigate to the Course Guide section in the left navigation pane of the AP Classroom homepage, select the Overview page, and then click on the Student Resources header to expand the list of available resources. The Create performance task videos include:
- Create Performance Task: Overview
- Create Performance Task: Categories and Questions
- Create Performance Task: Guidelines
- Create Performance Task: Pacing Your Project
- Create Performance Task: Scoring Guidelines and Sample Written Response Answers
Exam Dates
Exam Components
Section I: End-of-Course Multiple-Choice Exam
70 multiple-choice questions | 120 minutes | 70% of score | 4 answer options
- 57 single-select multiple-choice
- 5 single-select with reading passage about a computing innovation
- 8 multiple-select multiple-choice: select 2 answers
The AP Computer Science Principles end-of-course exam has consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you know what to expect on exam day.
Section II: Create Performance Task
30% of score
- Create performance task program code, video, and student-authored Personalized Project Reference | 9 hours in-class
- 2 written response questions | 60 minutes end-of-course exam
The second section of the AP Computer Science Principles Exam consists of a through-course Create performance task where you will develop a computer program of your choice an end-of-course written response section where you will demonstrate your understanding of your Create performance task by answering four prompts. You will be provided 9 hours of in-class time to complete your program, video, and develop a Personalized Project Reference.
On the end-of-course exam, you will respond to two questions related to the code in your Personalized Project Reference. The two questions include four distinct prompts: Written Response 1, Written Response 2(a), Written Response 2(b), and Written Response 2(c). You will have access to your Personalized Project Reference while responding to these prompts. The four categories listed below align to the four prompts.
| Prompt Category | Students should be prepared to: |
Written Response 1: Program Design, Function, and Purpose
| Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
|
Written Response 2(a): Algorithm Development
| Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
|
Written Response 2(b): Errors and Testing
| Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
|
Written Response 2(c): Data and Procedural Abstraction
| Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:
|
How We Score Your Work
The Create performance task, like the end-of-course exam given in May, is scored by trained, experienced educators called AP Readers.
Exam Preparation
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