AP Computer Science A Review

About the AP CSA Exam

All relevant information about the AP Computer Science A exam can be found on the College Board's website and in a few other places.

The Summary

Exam Length / Composition

• 3 hours long (plus some prep time and a break)
• 2 sections
  • Section I: Multiple-Choice Questions
    • 40 questions, 1.5 hours
    • 50% of total exam score
    • Weighting is based on the percentages in the Course and Exam Description, page 19.
  • Section II: Free-Response Questions
    • 4 questions, 1.5 hours
    • 50% of total exam score, with each question worth 12.5%
    • Follows a set order – usually you only write a few methods per question, except Q2:
      1. Q1: Methods and Control Structures
      2. Q2: Class (writing an entire class)
      3. Q3: Array/ArrayList
      4. Q4: 2D Array

For Section I, you will be recording answers on an SAT-style bubble sheet.

For Section II, you will actually be writing code by hand in a free-response booklet. You should have plenty of space to write everything you need, but you can also request extra paper if, for whatever reason – crossed-out errors or otherwise – you run out of space.

Exam Content

Anything in the topic list may be assessed on the AP Exam. This will be done in one of five broad ways; specifically, asking you to:

• Determine the code that will produce a specified output (Section I only)
• Determine the result of a code segment (Section I only)
• Write code to perform a specific task (Section II only)
• Determine if a code segment will execute properly or if multiple code segments produce equivalent output (Section I only)
• Determine the behavior of a code segment / Determine the result of changes to a code segment (Section I only)

If you want more information on these assessment methods, you can read the Computational Thinking Practices section of the AP CSA Course and Exam Description (page 16).

What you'll need

• Several No. 2 pencils
• A blue or black pen
• A watch without any noise, internet access, or stopwatch/timer capability
• Any other items needed for your particular exam circumstances, which could include a photo ID and/or SSD letter

Do not bring a calculator to the AP Exam. You cannot use it.

Do not bring food or drink into the exam room. College Board deems this "misconduct", and it can result in score cancellation.

More information on all of this is available on the College Board website.

AP Exam Terms and Conditions

Prior to taking the AP Exam, you will need to agree to the AP Exam Terms and Conditions. They can be found here if you wish to review them.