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We started Object-Oriented Programming last week. We just finished arrays of objects, and now we’re getting into JavaDocs, ArrayLists, and computer anatomy. We should be half way through the course by the end of the month.
The comp sci test is changing next year…should I be worried? I wanted to take the class but the ap comp sci teachers sucks and the idea of her teaching an entire new curriculum scares me
Guys, what do we have to know regarding privacy issues, legal issues, and “social and ethical ramifications of computer use”?
Is there anything special because I’m looking through my online class and the information is just useless knowledge like “anyone could be watching you.”
my teacher does not teach ANYTHING and i’m really freaking out because the tests are all composed of trick questions and not actual knowledge-testing questions!! Is the AP test like this too? And if so what do you reccomend I do to study for the tests and the AP exam?
@alphatr0n I really recommend going to this website called edhesive for AP Computer Science help. You can sign up for free and get direct help from the class forum. @ObitoSigma What were the prerequisites for your school? We just started arrays a few days ago. The only requirement for my class was that you had already taken or are currently enrolled in Geometry.
Is anyone interested in the new AP Computer Science Principles course? I might try to convince my teacher to have the school offer it next year.
@Honickmonster Same here. I love this class, but some of the concepts go over my head. I was borderline B+/A- all of last semester and I’m not sure if I should take the AP exam because I tend to panic and forget everything I do know when I have to write FRQs. I’m going to start studying from Barron’s and Litvin’s this weekend to try and catch up and fill in any gaps I have.
Got a 5 last year. Terrible teacher, but I tried to catch up to a regular course. Ended up using Barron’s
Thought it was decent but pretty brief to learn from. Ok to cram from
Haven’t tried Princeton by the way, but in my experience Princeton is usually easier to understand for any topic while Barron’s has harder tests
The MC is bs. Most of it is tracing (following through code and looking for a specific output). There were some conceptual questions but tracing takes forever as you have to keep track of each variable. Opened the test, finished the first 10 problems, chilled too much, freaked when the middle questions took longer, and ran out of time (guessed on one or two I think)
The FR blindsided me. Mostly because our teacher was crap. But after getting a drink of water I got down and focused and managed to bang out some lines of code.
There are specific things that readers look for.
For instance, if your method has some return type, simply putting return and a variable that sounds like the output name will get you point.
It’s little things like these that add up.
@blueice1 Does that mean that the AP exam is easier than the class? I asked a junior and they said they didn’t even finish half of the MCs, but still scored a 3 on the exam. There was a different teacher the year they took it and I’m really glad because everyone used to complain about the class. Do you have any other tips for studying?
@Hamlon It depends on your class. Every AP exam is graded on a curve, some more generous than others. I wouldn’t bank on comparing the AP exam to your class; instead, really try to understand what’s going on and if you really really really want that 5, you would sit down and go through the barron’s and princeton’s or any other review book’s tests, and go through as many mc and free response questions as you can. I remember if I didn’t really know, I would look at the answer key, assume I would figure it out under pressure, and move on. You could do that. Or if you really wanted that 5, you would sit yourself down and try as hard as you can as you would on the AP exam. There’s nothing worse than assuming you know it; I got lucky.
@ObitoSigma What is your class doing now? I can’t believe that you guys were covering array lists in November because my class just started covering that. I’m so glad I started looking through Barron’s. Honestly, I should have been using it as a supplement this whole time. My class just get handouts because the current textbooks are out of date. I understand so much more after just looking through Barron’s for a week.
Does anybody know about summer programs related to coding? The ones I found were either non-residential, too expensive, or less than a week long.
Since then, we worked on Recursion, Polymorphism / Inheritance, Static vs Instant, Class Constants, this variable, and Abstract Classes / Interfaces. This week, we are starting “Standard Algorithms” (Insertions, Deletions, Traversals, Replacements) and then we’ll get into Sorting and Searching. She says that we are almost done with the content. You should be doing the Computer Science Labs as well: Magpie, Picture, and Elevens.
Algorithms cover a huge part of the exam and is divided in three parts: Data Structure Algorithms, Sorting Algorithms, and Searching Algorithms. Algorithms should be the last you cover before Program Analysis. My teacher is saying that there is nothing much to Program Analysis besides Assertions and Exceptions which will be really quick. We should be done by late-March.
