Preface About the AP CSA exam
This curriculum will prepare you for the Advanced Placement Computer Science A Exam which tests your programming skills in Java.
The AP CSA exam is 3 hours long and has two sections: multiple choice and free-response. You will be given one hour and 30 minutes for each part. The first part has 42 multiple-choice questions worth 55% of your grade, and the second part has 4 free response questions (FRQs), where you write Java code, worth 45% of your grade. During the exam, you will have access to the AP CSA Java Quick Reference Sheet.
The 4 free response questions are shorter than previous years and cover the following areas to total 25 points (from AP CSA Free Response):
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Free Response Question 1 Methods and Control Structures (7 points): Students will write two methods or one constructor and one method of a given class based on provided specifications and examples. In Part A (4 points), the method or constructor will require students to write iterative or conditional statements, or both, as well as statements that call methods in the specified class. In Part B (3 points), the method or constructor will require calling String methods.
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Free Response Question 2 Class Design (7 points): Students will be instructed to design and implement a class based on provided specifications and examples. A second class might also be included. Students will be provided with a scenario and specifications in the form of a table demonstrating ways to interact with the class and the results. The class must include a class header, instance variables, a constructor, a method, and implementation of the constructor and required methods.
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Free Response Question 3 Data Analysis with ArrayList (5 points): Students will be provided with a scenario and its associated class(es). Students will write one method of a given class based on provided specifications and examples. The method requires students to use, analyze,and manipulate data in an ArrayList structure.
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Free Response Question 4 2D Array (6 points): Students will be provided with a scenario and its associated class(es). Students will write one method of a given class based on provided specifications and examples. The method requires students to use, analyze,and manipulate data in a 2D array structure. (This usually requires the use of nested loops.)
As of the 2025-26 school year, the College Board specifies the AP CSA course in the 4 units shown in the table below. On the College Board’s AP Portal they provide formative assessments called Personal Progress Checks for each unit. BHSawesome does not follow exactly the unit structure in the order laid out by the College Board but covers all the same material.
The College Board also requires AP CSA courses to provide at least 20 hours of lab time for you to practice Java programming.
| Unit | Title | Exam Weight | Class Days | Lab Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Using Objects & Methods | 15-25% | 32-34 | |
| 2 | Selection & Iteration | 25–30% | 29-31 | 7-10 |
| 3 | Class Creation | 10-18% | 20-22 | 3-6 |
| 4 | Data Collections | 30-40% | 50-52 | 13-21 |
For more information on the exam see the College Board AP CSA site and the AP CSA Course and Exam Description 2025-2026 (CED). The AP CSA Past Free Response Questions are available online. Here is an FRQ resource that categorizes the past FRQs by topic and provides links to their solutions (which are available online in many places). The College Board provides a question bank and formative assessment quizzes for each unit online for registered AP classes.
Also check out this list of CS Careers that taking CSA can lead to. Learning to code is an increasingly important skill that has applications in many careers!
