Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science A (also known as AP CompSci, AP CompSci A, APCS, APCSA, AP Computer Science Applications, or AP Java) is an

AP Computer Science In the United States, Advanced Placement Computer Science (commonly shortened to AP Comp Sci) is a suite of Advanced Placement courses and examinations covering areas of computer science. They are offered by the College Board to high school stud ...

course and examination offered by the

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

students as an opportunity to earn college credit for a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

-level

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

course. AP Computer Science A is meant to be the equivalent of a first-semester course in computer science. The AP exam currently tests students on their knowledge of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

. AP Computer Science AB, which was equal to a full year, was discontinued following the May 2009 exam administration.

Course

AP Computer Science emphasizes

object-oriented programming Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of pr ...

methodology with an emphasis on problem solving and

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...

development. It also includes the study of data structures and abstraction, but these topics were not covered to the extent that they were covered in AP Computer Science AB. The

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

-sponsored program Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) aims to increase the number of students taking AP Computer Science classes. The units of the exam are as follows:

Case studies and labs

Historically, the AP exam used several programs in its free-response section to test students' knowledge of object-oriented programs without requiring them to develop an entire environment. These programs were called Case Studies. This practice was discontinued as of the 2014–15 school year and replaced with optional labs that teach concepts.

Case studies (discontinued)

Case studies were used in AP Computer Science curriculum starting in 1994.

Big Integer case study (1994-1999)

The Big Integer case study was in use prior to 2000. It was replaced by the Marine Biology case study.

Marine Biology case study (2000-2007)

The Marine Biology Case Study (MBCS) was a program written in

C++ C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...

until 2003, then in

, for use with the A and AB examinations. It served as an example of

(OOP) embedded in a more complicated design project than most students had worked with before. The case study was designed to allow the

to quickly test a student's knowledge of

object oriented programming Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of pro ...

ideas such as

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...

and encapsulation while requiring students to understand how objects such as "the environment", "the fish", and the simulation's control module interact with each other without having to develop the entire environment independently, which would be quite time-consuming. The case study also gives all students taking the AP Computer Science exams with a common experience from which to draw additional test questions. On each of the exams, at least one free-response question was derived from the case study. There were also five multiple-choice questions that are derived from the case study. This case study was discontinued from 2007, and was replaced by

GridWorld Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science A (also known as AP CompSci, AP CompSci A, APCS, APCSA, AP Computer Science Applications, or AP Java) is an AP Computer Science course and examination offered by the College Board to high school students as ...

GridWorld case study (2008-2014)

GridWorld is a computer program case study written in

that was used with the

program from 2008 to 2014. It serves as an example of

(OOP). GridWorld succeeded the Marine Biology Simulation Case Study, which was used from 2000–2007. The GridWorld framework was designed and implemented b
Cay Horstmann
based on the Marine Biology Simulation Case Study. The narrative was produced by Chris Nevison and Barbara Cloud Wells,

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

. The

Case Study was used as a substitute for writing a single large program as a culminating project. Due to obvious time restraints during the exam, the GridWorld Case Study was provided by the College Board