The AP Exam
Your AP score is built from two things you can see coming from a mile away: a program you make in class (theCreate performance task,30% of the score) and one big sitting exam in May (the end-of-course exam, 70%). No surprises, no curves to game — just preparation.
The end-of-course exam (Friday, May 14, 2027)
A fully digital exam taken in the Bluebook app on a school laptop. Two sections, one sitting:
| Section | What | Time | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section I | 70 multiple-choice questions, 4 answer choices each: 57 single-select, 5 single-select with a reading passage about a computing innovation, and 8 multi-select (choose 2) | 120 min | 70% of score |
| Section II | 2 written-response questions aboutyour own Create program, answered with your Personalized Project Reference (PPR) in hand — four prompts: WR1, WR2(a), WR2(b), WR2(c) | 60 min | (part of the Create PT's 30%) |
The written-response section is why the Create PT matters so much: you cannot pass it without knowing your own program cold. We practice writing about your code at the clinics on May 3 and May 11. See Written Responses.
The big ideas and their MC weights
| Big idea | Exam weight | Where we taught it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Creative Development | 10-13% | All year: every jam, the boss spec, the Create PT |
| 2. Data | 17-22% | Unit 9: binary, hex, compression, datasets, bias |
| 3. Algorithms and Programming | 30-35% | Units 1-8: every script you wrote; card jam: lists |
| 4. Computer Systems and Networks | 11-15% | Unit 9: systems, the Internet, encryption |
| 5. Impact of Computing | 21-26% | Unit 9 + every jam retro and the licenses lesson |
Notice what is missing: Java. The AP CSP exam is language-agnostic — its pseudocode looks a little like Python. All year we translate between C# and the exam's pseudocode in class; theExam Reference Sheet page has the full translation guide.
How to prepare (in order)
- Ship the Create PT early. Program by Apr 23, video + PPR by Apr 27, submitted Apr 29. It is 30% and it is fully in your control.
- Learn your own program cold. The written responses ask about YOUR list, YOUR procedure, YOUR algorithm. You wrote them — be able to explain them line by line.
- Grind the clinics. May 3-11 is four sessions of real practice under real timing. Treat them like the exam.
- Read carefully. Every MC question has one defensible answer and three trap answers built from real student misconceptions. The traps are predictable — see MC Strategy.
Pages in this hub
- Create Performance Task — requirements, timeline, rubric categories, submission steps
- Written Responses — the four prompt categories, what graders read for, drills
- MC Strategy — question types, pacing, the trap catalog
- Exam Reference Sheet — the pseudocode you get on exam day, with the C# translation