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Course 2 · Spring · AP credit

AP Computer Science A

The College Board's Java course,
built so every student who works has a real shot at the exam.

Students read, trace and write Java every day, with exam-style practice every week,
and sit the AP exam on Wednesday, May 12, 2027.

Standards roadmap

Every topic in the College Board's course framework,
and the week this course teaches it.

Unit 1: Using Objects and Methods 15–25% CED pp. 30–50

  • 1.1 Algorithms, programming and compilersWeek 1
  • 1.2 Variables and data typesWeek 1
  • 1.3 Expressions and outputWeek 1
  • 1.4 Assignment statements and inputWeek 2
  • 1.5 Casting and range of variablesWeek 2
  • 1.6 Compound assignment operatorsWeek 2
  • 1.7 API and librariesWeek 2
  • 1.8 Documentation with commentsWeek 2
  • 1.9 Method signaturesWeek 3
  • 1.10 Calling class methodsWeek 3
  • 1.11 Math classWeek 3
  • 1.12 Objects: instances of classesWeek 4
  • 1.13 Object creation and storageWeek 4
  • 1.14 Calling instance methodsWeek 4
  • 1.15 String manipulationWeek 4

Unit 2: Selection and Iteration 25–35% CED pp. 61–72

  • 2.1 Algorithms with selection and repetitionWeek 5
  • 2.2 Boolean expressionsWeek 5
  • 2.3 if statementsWeek 5
  • 2.4 Nested if statementsWeek 5
  • 2.5 Compound Boolean expressionsWeek 5
  • 2.6 Comparing Boolean expressionsWeek 5
  • 2.7 while loopsWeek 6
  • 2.8 for loopsWeek 6
  • 2.9 Implementing selection and iteration algorithmsWeek 6
  • 2.10 Implementing string algorithmsWeek 6
  • 2.11 Nested iterationWeek 7
  • 2.12 Informal run-time analysisWeek 7

Unit 3: Class Creation 10–18% CED pp. 80–90

  • 3.1 Abstraction and program designWeek 7
  • 3.2 Impact of program designWeek 7
  • 3.3 Anatomy of a classWeek 7
  • 3.4 ConstructorsWeek 8
  • 3.5 Methods: how to write themWeek 8
  • 3.6 Methods: passing and returning referencesWeek 8
  • 3.7 Class variables and methodsWeek 8
  • 3.8 Scope and accessWeek 8
  • 3.9 this keywordWeek 8

Unit 4: Data Collections 30–40% CED pp. 100–121

  • 4.1 Ethical and social issues around data collectionWeek 9
  • 4.2 Introduction to using data setsWeek 9
  • 4.3 Array creation and accessWeek 9
  • 4.4 Array traversalsWeek 9
  • 4.5 Implementing array algorithmsWeek 10
  • 4.6 Using text filesWeek 10
  • 4.7 Wrapper classesWeek 10
  • 4.8 ArrayList methodsWeek 11
  • 4.9 ArrayList traversalsWeek 11
  • 4.10 Implementing ArrayList algorithmsWeek 12
  • 4.11 2D array creation and accessWeek 12
  • 4.12 2D array traversalsWeek 12
  • 4.13 Implementing 2D array algorithmsWeek 13
  • 4.14 Searching algorithmsWeek 13
  • 4.15 Sorting algorithmsWeek 13
  • 4.16 RecursionWeek 13
  • 4.17 Recursive searching and sortingWeek 13

Unit weights are each unit's share of the multiple-choice section.

The skills the exam scores

Five computational thinking practices. Analyze Code, reading and tracing, is the largest share, so every lesson has students trace code. The free-response section scores Develop Code only.

  • 1 Design Code2–10% of MC
  • 2 Develop Code22–38% of MC
  • 3 Analyze Code37–53% of MC
  • 4 Document Code and Computing Systems10–15% of MC
  • 5 Use Computers Responsibly2–10% of MC

The four free-response questions

  • 1 Methods and Control Structures · 7 pointsWeek 14
  • 2 Class Design · 7 pointsWeek 14
  • 3 Data Analysis with ArrayList · 5 pointsWeek 14
  • 4 2D Array · 6 pointsWeek 14

Sources: AP Computer Science A Course and Exam Description (effective fall 2025) (topics p. 15 on, practices p. 14, weights p. 146, free response pp. 145 and 147) and the AP Computer Science A exam page, AP Central.
Students: start here

Bookmark this page. Press Ctrl and D (or click the star at the right end of the address bar), then Done.
Press Ctrl, Shift and B to show your bookmarks bar, so it is one click away every day.

Click the dropdowns (+) below to learn more.

How every class runs
  1. 1

    Do Now 10 min

    Spot the trap: a few quick questions on the last lesson.

    Claim code
  2. 2

    Textbook 25 min

    What we are learning to do today, the explanation with diagrams, a worked problem one step per click, then a class problem worked together.

    No claim code
  3. 3

    Scrum pod 10 min

    Table groups work one multi-step challenge on their own screens, then a quick class review.

    No claim code
  4. 4

    You Do 30 min

    Part A, figure it out with help; Part B, test-like items alone; then a stretch. Real Java that compiles and runs.

    Claim code
  5. 5

    Exit Ticket 15 min

    A tiny AP exam: answered once, no feedback until every item is in.

    Claim code

Five steps in every 90-minute block. The Textbook, Scrum pod and You Do make one claim code; the Do Now and the Exit Ticket make their own.
Every lesson can be done alone, later: the reading, the worked problems, the bench and the code all live on one page.

Three sample lessons

Each one is a whole class day, every step working:
Do Now, Textbook, Scrum pod, You Do and Exit Ticket.

The three come from across the course, so you can see how far it goes:
one from the beginning (Week 1), one from the middle (loops),
and one from closer to the end (2D arrays).

  • Beginning · Week 1

    Steps, then Java

    From everyday steps to the first Java program: what a compiler does and how a program runs, line by line.

    Open sample lesson 1
  • Middle · Unit 2

    The for loop

    Reading and writing for loops: how many times the body runs, the off-by-one trap, and tracing the box that counts.

    Open sample lesson 2
  • End · Unit 4

    Traversing a 2D array

    Row by row and column by column through a 2D array, the way FRQ 4 asks for it.

    Open sample lesson 3

Samples run the way class does, but nothing counts: no claim code is saved and no form opens.

The whole spring, week by week

Nineteen weeks of 90-minute blocks, from January 5 to the AP exam and the course final.
Every new topic is done by early April; the weeks of Spring LEAP go to review and practice exams.

Week 1Unit 1 · Jan 5–8
  1. Day 1
    1.1 Steps, then Java
  2. Day 2
    1.1 Three kinds of errors
  3. Day 3
    1.2 Variables and data types
  4. Day 4
    1.3 Expressions and output
Week 2Unit 1 · Jan 11–14
  1. Day 1
    1.4 Right side first: assignment
  2. Day 2
    1.5 Casting and limits
  3. Day 3
    1.6, 1.8 Shortcuts and comments
  4. Day 4
    1.7 Reading the documentation
Week 3Unit 1 · Jan 19–22
  1. Day 1
    1.9 Method signatures
  2. Day 2
    1.10 Calling class methods
  3. Day 3
    1.11 The Math class
  4. Day 4
    Review and Quiz 1 (1.1–1.11)
Week 4Unit 1 · Jan 25–29
  1. Day 1
    1.12 Objects: instances of classes
  2. Day 2
    1.13 Creating and storing objects
  3. Day 3
    1.14 Calling instance methods
  4. Day 4
    1.15 String methods
  5. Day 5
    Review and Quiz 2 (1.12–1.15)
Week 5Unit 2 · Feb 1–3
  1. Day 1
    2.1, 2.2 Algorithms and boolean expressions
  2. Day 2
    2.3, 2.4 if and nested if
  3. Day 3
    2.5, 2.6 Compound and equivalent conditions
Week 6Unit 2 · Feb 15–19
  1. Day 1
    Review and Quiz 3 (2.1–2.6)
  2. Day 2
    2.7 while loops
  3. Day 3
    2.8 for loops
  4. Day 4
    2.9 Selection and iteration algorithms
  5. Day 5
    2.10 String algorithms
Week 7Unit 2 → 3 · Feb 22–26
  1. Day 1
    2.11 Nested iteration
  2. Day 2
    2.12 Informal run-time
  3. Day 3
    Review and Quiz 4 (2.7–2.12)
  4. Day 4
    3.1, 3.2 Abstraction and program design
  5. Day 5
    3.3 The anatomy of a class
Week 8Unit 3 · Mar 1–5
  1. Day 1
    3.4 Constructors
  2. Day 2
    3.5, 3.6 Writing methods; passing and returning references
  3. Day 3
    3.7 Class variables and methods
  4. Day 4
    3.8, 3.9 Scope, access and this
  5. Day 5
    Review and Quiz 5 (Unit 3)
Week 9Midterm · Unit 4 · Mar 8–15
  1. Day 1
    Midterm review
  2. Day 2
    Midterm (Units 1–3)
  3. Day 3
    4.1, 4.2 Data ethics and data sets
  4. Day 4
    4.3 Array creation and access
  5. Day 5
    4.4 Array traversals
Week 10Unit 4 · Mar 16–19
  1. Day 1
    4.5 Array algorithms
  2. Day 2
    4.6 Using text files
  3. Day 3
    4.7 Wrapper classes
  4. Day 4
    Review and Quiz 6 (4.1–4.7)
Week 11Unit 4 · Mar 22–23
  1. Day 1
    4.8 ArrayList methods
  2. Day 2
    4.9 ArrayList traversals
Week 12Unit 4 · Mar 31–Apr 2
  1. Day 1
    4.10 ArrayList algorithms
  2. Day 2
    4.11 2D array creation and access
  3. Day 3
    4.12 2D array traversals
Week 13Unit 4 · Apr 5–9
  1. Day 1
    4.13 2D array algorithms
  2. Day 2
    Review and Quiz 7 (4.8–4.13)
  3. Day 3
    4.14 Searching
  4. Day 4
    4.15 Sorting
  5. Day 5
    4.16, 4.17 Recursion, recursive search and sort
Week 14FRQ practice · Apr 12–16
  1. Day 1
    Quiz 8 (4.14–4.17)
  2. Day 2
    FRQ 1: methods and control structures
  3. Day 3
    FRQ 2: class design
  4. Day 4
    FRQ 3: data analysis with ArrayList
  5. Day 5
    FRQ 4: 2D array
Week 15Practice exam · Apr 19–23
  1. Day 1
    Practice exam: multiple choice
  2. Day 2
    Practice exam: free response
  3. Day 3
    Review by weakest skill
  4. Day 4
    Review by weakest skill
  5. Day 5
    Review by weakest skill
Week 16Review · Apr 26–30
  1. Day 1
    Units 1–2 review
  2. Day 2
    Unit 3 review
  3. Day 3
    Unit 4 review
  4. Day 4
    FRQ practice
  5. Day 5
    Multiple-choice practice
Week 17Review · May 3–7
  1. Day 1
    Practice exam 2
  2. Day 2
    Review by weakest skill
  3. Day 3
    Review by weakest skill
  4. Day 4
    FRQ practice
  5. Day 5
    Final push
Week 18AP exam · May 10–14
  1. Day 1
    Exam-week review
  2. Day 2
    Exam-week review
  3. Day 3
    AP Computer Science A exam (Wed May 12, afternoon)
  4. Day 4
    Course final review
Week 19Final · May 17–19
  1. Day 1
    Course final
  2. Day 2
    Course final
  3. Day 3
    Wrap-up

A plan built on the school calendar and the College Board's course framework. Quizzes come about every nine class days, where a section of content ends.

The exam

AP Computer Science A · Wednesday, May 12, 2027, afternoon

42 multiple-choice questions (55%) and 4 free-response questions (45%) · 3 hours · on Bluebook

What the multiple choice weighs, by unit

  • Unit 1: Using Objects and Methods 15–25%

    Algorithms and compilers, variables and types, expressions and output, assignment, casting, the API and documentation, method signatures, class methods, Math, objects, instance methods, Strings.

  • Unit 2: Selection and Iteration 25–35%

    Boolean expressions, if and nested if, compound conditions, while and for loops, selection and iteration algorithms, String algorithms, nested loops, run-time.

  • Unit 3: Class Creation 10–18%

    Abstraction and program design, the anatomy of a class, constructors, writing methods, passing references, class variables and methods, scope, this.

  • Unit 4: Data Collections 30–40%

    Data ethics and data sets, arrays, text files, wrapper classes, ArrayList, 2D arrays, searching, sorting and recursion.

Weights from the College Board's AP Computer Science A Course and Exam Description.

Where it comes from

Course 1 · Fall · Tech+ IBC

CompSci 1 / Tech+

Its daily bench is the on-ramp: students arrive reading and tracing Java.

See CompSci 1

Course 3 · Spring · advanced IBC

CompTIA A+

The other spring course: devices, networks, operating systems and security at technician depth.

See CompTIA A+