Computer Science

This course introduces students to the foundational concepts of computer science and challenges them to explore how computing and technology can impact the world. Computing is so fundamental to understanding and participating in a society that it is valuable for every student to learn as part of modern education. Computer science can be viewed as a liberal art, a subject that provides students with a critical lens for interpreting the world around them. Computer science prepares all students to be active and informed contributors to our increasingly technological society whether they pursue careers in technology or not.

AP Computer Science Principles introduces students to the breadth of the field of computer science. In this course, students will learn to design and evaluate solutions and to apply computer science to solve problems through the development of algorithms and programs. They will incorporate abstraction into programs and use data to discover new knowledge. Students will also explain how computing innovations and computing systems, including the Internet, work, explore their potential impacts and contribute to a computing culture that is collaborative and ethical. It is important to note that the AP Computer Science Principles course does not have a designated programming language. 

AP Computer Science A introduces students to computer science through programming. Fundamental topics in this course include the design of solutions to problems, the use of data structures to organize large sets of data, the development, and implementation of algorithms to process data and discover new information, the analysis of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing systems. The course emphasizes object-oriented programming and design using the Java programming language.