AP Computer Science Principles study plan

Trace and hand-execute simple algorithms involving sequencing, selection, and iteration with variables and lists

Write pseudocode and working code for 5 small programs that combine loops, conditionals, and list traversal

Identify and fix off-by-one and infinite-loop errors in given code snippets

Explain the difference between an algorithm's logic and its implementation in a specific language

Decompose a multi-step problem into procedures and write at least 3 reusable procedures with parameters and return values

Trace recursive and iterative solutions to the same problem and compare their step counts

Analyze code segments and predict output without running them, then verify by execution

Design test cases including boundary and invalid inputs for each program written

Compute summary statistics (mean, median, mode, range, outlier effects) by hand from small datasets

Explain how the same data can support different conclusions depending on filtering or visualization choices

Write or adapt a program that cleans a messy dataset (missing values, duplicates, inconsistent formats)

Compare lossless and lossy compression tradeoffs for a given scenario and justify a choice

Distinguish structured from unstructured data and identify appropriate storage/processing approaches for each

Explain how metadata, data provenance, and aggregation affect trustworthiness of conclusions

Describe how scalable systems and distributed computing change what analyses are feasible

Evaluate privacy and security risks in a data-collection scenario and propose mitigations

Describe the iterative design process and identify where testing, feedback, and revision occur in a given project narrative

Explain how collaboration and version control support incremental development

Diagram how data moves across a network from client to server, naming key protocols and devices

Explain the role of IP addressing, DNS, packets, and redundancy in reliable communication

Compare symmetric and public-key encryption in terms of use case, key distribution, and limitations

Distinguish phishing, malware, and DDoS attacks and match each to an appropriate defense

Explain how computing innovations create benefits and harms and identify affected stakeholder groups

Identify legal and ethical concerns (intellectual property, PII, accessibility) in a given computing scenario

Analyze how bias can enter an algorithm through data, design choices, or deployment context

Explain the digital divide and open-access issues and their effects on different communities

Evaluate a claim about a computing innovation's impact using evidence rather than opinion

Draft concise written responses to impact prompts using a claim-evidence-reasoning structure

Take two full-length timed practice exams and record per-domain accuracy

Re-teach the two weakest domains by rewriting notes into original explanations and examples

Re-derive answers for every missed question and classify each error as content gap, misread, or time pressure

Simulate exam-day pacing and confirm a strategy for multi-select and code-trace questions