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Dear AP Computer Science Teacher:
As you know first-hand, teaching an AP course demands considerable time, effort, and dedication. The College Board applauds you for your commitment to providing rigorous, college-level coursework to your students, and we hope you find the information in this newsletter helpful.
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AP Computer Science Updates
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Students should continue to study the two standard searches, sequential search and binary search, and three standard sorts: Selection sort and Insertion sort-and the more efficient Mergesort. |
| 2. |
The use of super to invoke a superclass constructor (super(args)) or to invoke a superclass method (i.e., super.method(args)) is part of the AP Java subset. |
The original version of the Course Description that was published in May 2008 was developed prior to the announcement of the discontinuation of the AP Computer Science AB course and had included a rebalancing of the topics between the A and AB courses. As a result of the discontinuation announcement, the Development Committee requested that the topics listed above be moved back into the AP Computer Science A course. This does not represent an addition to the A course content; it is a restoration of content to the A course that had been moved to the AB course in the rebalancing effort. Teachers are advised to continue teaching the same AP Computer Science A course content as they taught for the 2008 exam.
The AP Computer Science AB course is not affected by these updates.
After the discontinuation of the AP Computer Science AB course was announced, AP teachers requested that College Board provide schools with information on the future direction of AP Computer Science and the ways schools could realign their programs to best serve students who study this discipline. A letter to this effect is being sent to principals this September. Teachers can view a copy at the link below.
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Resources for AP Computer Science Teachers
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Practice exams, first released in spring 2008, are available to authorized AP teachers through their AP Course Audit accounts. |
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AP Computer Science A Curriculum Modules. |
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Materials for the AP Computer Science GridWorld Case Study, including code for the case study, an Installation Guide , the narrative for students, a Solutions Manual with answers to the study questions in the narrative, and the Quick Reference document for the exam. (The Quick R eference, which is available to students during the exam administration, is also available on the AP student site.) Code can be selected and copied from the Solutions Manual and pasted into your compiler of choice. |
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The 2007 AP Computer Science Teacher's Guide (.pdf/2.0MB). |
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Previous years' free response questions, scoring guidelines, and commentary written by the Chief Reader. |
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Professional Development Opportunities
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The College Board offers IACET-certified professional development in hundreds of locations across the United States and around the world. All participants in College Board AP Computer Science workshops for experienced teachers will receive materials with a special focus on object-oriented design.
July 15–19, 2009, San Antonio, TX
The AP Annual Conference is the largest gathering of the AP and Pre-AP communities, bringing together thousands of AP teachers from around the world to engage, inspire, and promote innovation in our schools. Help make the AP Annual Conference an even more valuable professional development experience by submitting a session proposal today.
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Update on the AP Course Audit
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Administrators at your school are responsible for renewing any courses that were authorized last year through the AP Course Audit process and are being offered again this year. If your course was authorized in 2007-08, and you are teaching the course in 2008–09 but it has yet to be renewed, alert your school administrators to this information. If you are new to teaching the AP course at your school, and haven't yet submitted your course audit materials, you must do so no later than January 31, 2009.
The online, publicly-accessible 2008–2009 AP Course Ledger, in which all of your school's authorized courses appear, will become available on November 1, 2008.
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