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Highlights include no penalty for guessing, mastering String methods from the reference sheet, and recent course changes such as reading text files, handling data sets and related ethics, and updated guidance around Integer wrappers and parsing. Provides general scoring weights and strategic timing approaches for MCQ passes and FRQ coding habits to maximize partial credit.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/ap-cs-a-exam-exam-overview/315089/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/ap-cs-a-exam-exam-overview/315089.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"วิน","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-09-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",15,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What is the exam scoring breakdown for AP CS A?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"MCQ contributes x/42 (55%) and FRQ contributes y/25 (45%). The composite score is computed as 0.55(x/42) + 0.45(y/25).","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How should test-takers approach Multiple Choice questions during the first and second pass?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"On the first pass, spend time only on “easy” short problems you can confidently answer. On the second pass, work on “medium” questions you can likely get with more time, and consider strategically skipping the hardest questions then guessing them at the end.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What are the main Free Response strategies for maximizing points?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Read the questions before code, write clear simple code unless efficiency is required, don’t ignore provided classes/methods/instance variables, follow given method headers and parameter types, include required return statements, stop and think when part references are unclear, and ensure every question has some written code to avoid blank answers and gain partial credit.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},315089,1790463749,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":145,"read_time":146,"preview_page_count":4},2336475104736,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c5e0e5b17e70?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786591360781797222","AP CS A Exam Exam Overview  \nNo penalty for guessing!  \nEven though not explicitly listed, Strings are very popular on the Free Response part of the AP exams . Know the string methods listed on the reference sheet really well!  \nJava Reference Sheet  \nor here:  \n[https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-computer-science-a-java-quick-reference.pdf](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-computer-science-a-java-quick-reference.pdf)  \nWhat's New in the 2025-26 Course  \nThe course is now 4 units instead of 10. Four things changed that affect this exam:  \nGONE: inheritance and polymorphism . No extends, super, method overriding, or the Object class . Overriding toString is also out of scope .  \nNEW: reading text files . Know File, Scanner(File f), hasNext(), close() and String.split() . Reading only, since there is no file writing on the exam .  \nNEW: data sets and the ethics of collecting them, covering privacy risk, data quality, and choosing an appropriate data set for a problem . Also watch out: the wrapper constructors new Integer(5) and intValue() are off the reference sheet. Use Integer.parseInt and Integer.MIN_VALUE / MAX_VALUE instead.  \nGeneral Scoring  \nMCQ Score: x / 42 (55% of exam score) FRQ Score: y / 25 (45% of exam score) Composite: 0.55(x / 42) + 0.45(y / 25)  \nAP Score (approximate, based on past curves):  \n5 composite >= 78%  \n4 composite >= 59%  \n3 composite >= 46%  \nMultiple Choice  \nGoal: Everyone should be able to get at least 21 out of 42 questions correct .  \nDuring the first pass through the exam, only spend time on “easy” problems: problems are short and succinct and you know you can get right if you are careful. SKIP hard or wordy questions that ask about sorting algorithms(merge, selection, insertion) or binary search.  \nDuring the second pass, spend time on the “medium” questions; questions that you are confident that you can get right but might need a bit more time .  \nNote: For some, strategically it might make sense to entirely skip 4-8 of the hardest MC questions and instead spend more time on the other questions . Guess the answers to these skipped questions at the end. Each question now has 4 answer choices (down from 5), so a blind guess is 1 in 4.  \nFree Response  \nGeneral Strategies for FRQS:  \n1) Read the questions before you read the code! This will help you focus .  \n2) Unless a question specifically addresses efficiency, focus on clear, simple code rather than complicated, efficient code.  \n3) Comments are not necessary. Use only to organize your thoughts .  \n4) Pay attention to the code they give you:  \n• Do you have more than one class? Use it!  \n• Did they give you methods? You will need them!  \n• Are there instance variables that you should use? If so, use them . Do not re-declare .  \n• Only use accessor and mutator methods to access private instance variables .  \n• Do not re-write or change method headers .  \n• Use parameters (names and types) as given  \nFree Response  \nGeneral Strategies for FRQS:  \n5) If part (b) references a method written in part (a), you will likely need to use this method. If it is not clear to you how, stop and think before you write .  \n6) Pay attention to the return type. If it is not void, be sure to include a return statement!  \n7) If a method comment says /* Implementation not shown */ . You do not to implement the method. But you'll likely need to use the method in your code at least once .  \nFree Response  \nGeneral Strategies for FRQS:  \n8) Write down some code for every question! Leave Nothing Blank! Get partial credit if not full credit!  \n• does it need a loop?  \n• an if statement?  \n• return statement or assignment statement?  \nExample 1:  \npublic double funMethod(){ double result;  \n…  \nreturn result;  \n}","cbCaicLuigtu1zeo","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaicLuigtu1zeo","pdf",513223,46,"English","# What's New in the 2025-26 Course\n## General Scoring\n## Multiple Choice\n## Free Response\n### General Strategies for FRQS","[{\"question\":\"What is the exam scoring breakdown for AP CS A?\",\"answer\":\"MCQ contributes x/42 (55%) and FRQ contributes y/25 (45%). The composite score is computed as 0.55(x/42) + 0.45(y/25).\"},{\"question\":\"How should test-takers approach Multiple Choice questions during the first and second pass?\",\"answer\":\"On the first pass, spend time only on “easy” short problems you can confidently answer. On the second pass, work on “medium” questions you can likely get with more time, and consider strategically skipping the hardest questions then guessing them at the end.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the main Free Response strategies for maximizing points?\",\"answer\":\"Read the questions before code, write clear simple code unless efficiency is required, don’t ignore provided classes/methods/instance variables, follow given method headers and parameter types, include required return statements, stop and think when part references are unclear, and ensure every question has some written code to avoid blank answers and gain partial credit.\"}]","AP CS A Exam - Exam Overview | PDF",1789903131,116]