AP Computer Science A Changes for 2020
Hello, friends!
Do you fantasize about building websites or apps for a living?
Do you dream in Java script?
Were you born to code?
If the answer to any of those questions is a resounding YES, then it was pretty smart
of you to sign up for AP Computer Science A. Of course, taking the course also means
you’ll have to face the AP exam.
Lucky for you, I’m going to talk about that very test in this very video.
What an insane coincidence.
You may be watching this because the AP exams are changing as of May 2020.
While AP Computer Science A won’t be changing as dramatically as some of its counterparts,
there will be some changes to the free-response questions — or, FRQs for short.
In the new version, the 4 FRQs will consist of 4 specific types: Methods and Control Structures,
Class, Array/ArrayList, and 2D Array.
Also, the FRQs will now measure various performance levels (unlike before, where all FRQs were
high level).
More on all of that later.
For now, here’s a little rundown of what you can expect come May.
For starters, the Computer Science A exam is a tidy three hours.
Thankfully, it’s also given at the humane hour of noon.
The exam consists of multiple choice and free-response questions.
Each section is an hour and a half long and accounts for 50% of your score.
The multiple choice section will contain 40 questions.
While most of these will be individual questions, you’ll definitely encounter a few sets of
2–3 questions each.
The multiple-choice questions typically cover the following computational thinking practices:
Program Design and Algorithm Development — wherein you’ll have to determine the code segments
necessary to generate a given output.
This will account for roughly 30–35% of the section.
Code Logic — wherein you’ll have to figure out the value, output, or result of a given
program code from the initial given values.
This will account for roughly 40–45% of the section.
Code Testing — wherein you’ll be asked to analyze code for errors, correctness, and/or
equivalence.
This will account for roughly 12–18% of the section.
Documentation — wherein you’ll need to describe the conditions and behavior that
will produce a program’s identified results.
This will account for roughly 12–18% of the section.
Ready to move on to the free-response section?
I hope so, because here we go.
In this section you’ll be asked to answer four questions.
They’ll all have to do with code implementation.
More specifically:
Question 1 is all about Methods and Control Structures.
You’ll have to write a program code in which you create objects of a class and call methods.
What’s more, you will need to satisfy method specifications using conditional statements,
iterative statements, and expressions.
Question 2 will address Classes.
Be ready to write a program code that defines a new type by creating a class.
Once again, you’ll have to satisfy method specifications using conditional statements,
iterative statements, and expressions.
Question 3 covers Array/ArrayList.
Yet again you’ll have to write a code that satisfies method specifications using conditional
statements, iterative statements, and expressions.
But there’s more!
You’ll also be expected to create, traverse, and manipulate elements in either 1D array
or ArrayList objects.
Finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for — we’ve arrived at question 4, which
is all about 2D Array.
And, as you might have guessed, not only will you need to write program code that satisfies
method specifications using conditional statements, iterative statements, and expressions, but
it will also have to create, traverse, and manipulate elements — this time in 2D array
objects.
If you’re anxious to start kicking your test prep into high gear, I’ve got great
news!
We here at The Princeton Review have released a fully-updated-for-2020 Cracking the AP Computer
Science A guidebook, complete with 2 full-length practice tests and all the content review
you need, and it is available now wherever books are sold.
Thanks so much for watching!
As always, be sure to subscribe to our channel.
We’re always updating it with new videos, so stay on top of the latest developments
in AP-land.
Until next time, folks!