“The course emphasizes teamwork, collaboration, creativity, and opportunities for students to follow their individual passions,” said Packer. The course consists of projects that students create throughout the year and submit to receive an AP score for college credit in addition to the end-of-course exam. So far, 27,000 students are working on their digital portfolios for CSP. In its first year, 2,600 teachers are authorized to teach it, while the prior largest new AP course, AP World History, had 1,000 teachers. The College Board reports that Computer Science Principles is the largest debut of an AP course in the 60-year history of the AP program. Girls’ participation was 28 percent in AP CSP compared to 22 percent in CSA.Hispanic student participation was 18 percent in AP CSP compared to 9 percent in CSA.African-American participation was 16 percent in AP CSP compared to 4 percent in CSA.The course is also attracting more girls and underrepresented minorities.ĭata collected by the College Board during the 2015-16 pilot phase of CSP show:
The College Board notes that these schools saw growth in both the number of teachers offering CSA and the number of CSA exams taken by students. Other schools in the pilot program have seen similar trends. “Those numbers have increased dramatically since we started piloting this program,” said Lopez. Sweetwater High participated in the CSP pilot program prior to the nationwide rollout of the course, so his students began taking it in the 2013-14 school year. Lopez said that’s something he’s already seeing at this school. The College Board’s expectation is that as more students take CSP, more students will go on to take AP Computer Science A, or CSA. And, boys make up more than 75 percent of the students who take the course. Prior to the College Board offering this new course, students’ only other option for an AP computer science class was AP Computer Science A, an intensive Java-programming course that tends to attract students with prior knowledge of the subject.
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