AP® Computer Science Principles —CS++ Syllabus - Syllabus version v1 .1 - 2026-05-04

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

AP® Computer Science Principles CS++ syllabus specifies course alignment to the AP CSP 2025–26 Course and Exam Description, mapping five Big Ideas (Creative Development, Data, Algorithms and Programming, Computing Systems and Networks, Impact of Computing) to six Computational Thinking Practices. It documents instructional schedule options for block and traditional modes, requirements coverage (CR1–CR11), and dedicated Create Performance Task time. It also details college-level resources including a paired primary textbook and an interactive csplusplus.com platform with IDE, Web App Builder, mock exams, practice drills, and print-ready learning materials.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Curricular Requirements

Course Resources

Course Framework

AP® Computer Science Principles —CS++ Syllabus | Provider: Yellow Dart Publishing (DBA of Kevin P Hare LLC) Course platform: CS++ ([csplusplus.com](csplusplus.com)) Syllabus version: v1 .1 (2026-05-04) Aligned to: AP CSP 2025–26 Course and Exam Description (5 Big Ideas, 6 Computational Thinking Practices) Schedule modes (selectable in / csp-curriculum ): • Block schedule —90 instructional days × 90 min = ~ 135 hrs • Traditional schedule — 180 instructional days × ~50 min = ~ 150 hrs (each block-day lesson is split across 2 traditional periods) | | --- | | Curricular Requirements | | | Requirement | Met on page | | --- | --- | --- | | CR1 | The teacher and students have access to college-level computer science resources, in print or electronic format. | Resources | | CR2 | The course provides opportunities to develop student understanding of the required content outlined in each of the big ideas described in the AP Course and Exam Description. | Course Outline | | CR3 | The course provides opportunities to develop student understanding of the big ideas, as outlined in the CED. | Course Outline (every unit, with Big Idea labels) | | CR4 | CTP1: Computational Solution Design. | Course Outline (Unit 5 dataviz design; Create PT design phase) | | CR5 | CTP2: Algorithms and Program Development. | Course Outline (Unit 4 Secret Number Game; Unit 7 Lists & Dictionaries) | | CR6 | CTP3: Abstraction in Program Development. | Course Outline (Unit 4 proceduralabstraction activity; Unit 7 user-deﬁned procedures) | | CR7 | CTP4: Code Analysis. | Course Outline (Unit 4 debugging activity; Unit 6 Internet code-trace) | | CR8 | CTP5: Computing Innovations. | Course Outline (3 IOC investigations) | | CR9 | CTP6: Responsible Computing. | Course Outline (Unit 7 inclusive-design retrospective) | | CR10 | The course provides a minimum of three opportunities for students to investigate diﬀerent computing innovations. | Computing Innovation Investigations (3 IOCs) | | CR11 | Students are provided at least 9 hours of dedicated class time to complete the AP Create Performance Task. | Create PT Schedule (7 block days × 90 min = 10.5 hrs, or 14 traditional | | | Requirement | Met on page | | --- | --- | --- | | | | periods × 50 min = 11.7 hrs) | Course Resources The course uses a paired primary textbook + interactive online "textbook " model. Both are authored by the course instructor and are kept in lock-step (unit/topic order, vocabulary, examples, and pseudocode notation match across the two) . Primary textbook (print + Kindle): Hare, Kevin P. (2024) . Computer Science Principles: The Foundational Concepts of Computer Science —For AP® Computer Science Principles (5th ed.) . Yellow Dart Publishing. ISBN 978- 1734554960. Online "textbook" / instructional platform —co-equal primary resource. The CS++ platform ([csplusplus.com](csplusplus.com)) is a complete, college-level interactive text covering every CED Big Idea and topic. Students and teachers have continuous access to all of the following: | Resource | Where it lives in the
platform | | --- | --- | | CS++ AP CSP Course Pages —full college-level CSP curriculum aligned to the 2025–26 CED 5 Big Ideas; mirrors the chapter / unit structure of the printed textbook |
/ csp-curriculum ,/ csp/ units/{1 . .10} | | Pseudocode IDE (block + text)—the oﬃcial AP CSP pseudocode in both block-drag and text modes, with execution and step-debugging | / pseudocode-ide | | Web App Builder — block-coded HTML/JS for sustained programming across the year and Create PT delivery | /web-builder | | Mock Exam Bank —5 full-length CSP mocks (70 MCQ each) with timed sessions and rubric scoring | / csp-mock-exam | | In-course MCQ + Tracing Drills — per-unit practice MCQs and pseudocode tracing exercises | / csp/ practice | | Lockdown Quiz Mode — proctored quiz-bank backup for unit assessments | / lockdown-quiz | | Printable Classroom Resources — print-ready PDF handouts, worksheets, activity

FAQs

How does the CS++ syllabus align to the AP CSP 2025–26 CED?

The syllabus aligns to the 2025–26 CED by mapping the five Big Ideas and six Computational Thinking Practices to course units and activities, with explicit Big Idea labeling and coverage noted under course framework and requirements.

What schedule options does the syllabus provide for delivering the course?

It offers two interchangeable schedule modes: a block schedule (90 instructional days × 90 minutes, about 135 hours) and a traditional schedule (180 instructional days × about 50 minutes, about 150 hours), including guidance on splitting lessons for traditional periods.

What resources support CR1 and instruction in the CS++ course?

The course uses a paired primary textbook model and an interactive online textbook platform. Together they provide college-level computer science instructional materials, supported by a pseudocode IDE, web app builder, mock exam bank, practice and tracing drills, lockdown quiz mode, and printable classroom resources.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

AP® Computer Science Principles —CS++ Syllabus - Syllabus version v1 .1 - 2026-05-04_Page 1

Open in WPS to view all 10 pages