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Big Change! AP CS Principles Performance Task

Jane Lee

• 3 min read

Big change is happening. College Board recently announced that this year, the AP CS Principles Performance Task and the End of Course Exam are changing. In this video, we’ll look at the big changes and go over strategies for how we can best prepare for this.

Here's an overview of the changes:

  1. Students no longer submit a Written Response. Instead, they submit a Personalized Project Reference (PPR) which is a screen capture of their project code that contains list and procedure. No comments are allowed in the PPR!
  2. An additional Written Response hour is added to the End of Course Exam (May 15, 2024). Students respond to four questions referencing the Personalized Project Reference they submitted in the previous month (Apr 30, 2024).

The Exam Day

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

[NEW] Section II: Create Performance Task: Written Responses

  • 4 written response prompts | 60 minutes end-of-course exam | 30% of score
  • Create performance task program code, video, and Personalized Project Reference | 9 hours in-class

The Four Categories

The specific prompts will vary across the different versions of the exam. The four questions are each pulled from the four learning objective (LO) categories which are:

  1. Program Design, Function, and Purpose
  2. Algorithm Development
  3. [New] Errors and Testing
  4. Data and Procedural Abstraction

Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:

Prompt Category

Required Learning Objectives

Program Design, Function, and Purpose 

Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:  

  • CRD-2.A: Describe the purpose of the computing innovation.  

  • CRD-2.B: Explain how a program or code segment functions.  

  • CRD-2.C: Identify input(s) to a program. 

  • CRD-2.D: Identify output(s) produced by a program. 

  • CRD-2.E: Develop a program using a development process. 

  • CRD-2.F: Design a program and its user interface. 

  • CRD-2.G: Describe the purpose of a code segment or program by writing documentation. 

Algorithm Development 

Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:  

  • CRD-2.B: Explain how a program or code segment functions. 

  • AAP-2.E.b: Evaluate expressions that use relational operators. 

  • AAP-2.F.b: Evaluate expressions that use logic operators. 

  • AAP-2.H.b: Determine the result of conditional statements. 

  • AAP-2.J: Express an algorithm that uses iteration without using a programming language. 

  • AAP-2.K.b: Determine the result or side effect of iteration statements. 

  • AAP-2.L: Compare multiple algorithms to determine if they yield the same side effect or result. 

  • AAP-2.M.a: Create algorithms. 

  • AAP-2.M.b: Combine and modify existing algorithms.

Errors and Testing  

Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:  

  • CRD-2.I.a: Identify the error. 

  • CRD-2.I.b: Correct the error. 

  • CRD-2.J: Identify inputs and corresponding expected outputs or behaviors that can be used to check the correctness of an algorithm or program.

Data and Procedural Abstraction 

Students should be prepared to respond to prompts about their program that assess any of the following learning objectives:  

  • AAP-1.D.a: Develop data abstraction using lists to store multiple elements.  

  • AAP-1.D.b: Explain how the use of data abstraction manages complexity in the program.  

  • AAP-2.O.a: Write iteration statements to traverse a list. 

  • AAP-2.O.b: Determine the result of an algorithm that includes list traversals.  

  • AAP-3.B: Explain how the use of procedural abstraction manages complexity in a program. 

🗒️ Download 2023 Student Handout

How to prepare:

  1. Make sure the Code Project meets all of the required learning objectives (LOs) in the four categories.
  2. Practice answering the LOs with the Personalized Project Reference before submitting it.
  3. Practice answering the LOs with the Personalized Project Reference as you near the Exam date.

For the latest updates, visit the College Board's website: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-computer-science-principles/exam

Download Checklist

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