AP Computer Science Principles score calculator 2027

How the CSP exam is built

Section I: Multiple choice70 questions · 70 %

57 single-select, 5 single-select on a reading passage about a computing innovation, and 8 multi-select (choose two). Exam reference sheet provided. (2 hours)

Section II: Create performance taskprogram code, video, Personalized Project Reference · part of 30 % (3 points with written response 1)

A program of the student's choice with a list, a procedure, selection and iteration, demonstrated in a video. (at least 9 hours in class)

Section II: Written responses2 questions, 4 prompts · part of 30 % (3 points for written response 2)

Program design and purpose; algorithm development; errors and testing; data and procedural abstraction, answered with the Personalized Project Reference. (60 minutes at the end of the exam)

The College Board page for May 2027 lists the 70-30 split, the three multiple-choice question types and the 9 in-class hours for the Create task. The course and exam description's scoring guidelines give the task 6 points: three for the video, the program requirements and written response 1, and three for written response 2's three prompts. Each point is a yes or no on one criterion.

That makes the task's 30 % lumpy: each of the six points is worth 5 composite, against 1 for a multiple-choice question. Losing one criterion (for example a video that does not show input) costs as much as five wrong answers.

Source: College Board, AP exam page, read 10 Oct 2026.

Worked CSP examples

50/70 multiple choice, 4/6 Create task

50.0 + 20.0 = 70.0, an estimated 4, 2 points short of a 5 at 72. Two more multiple-choice answers would cross; so would one more task point (5.0).

56/70, 5/6

56.0 + 25.0 = 81.0, a clear 5.

35/70, 3/6

35.0 + 15.0 = 50.0, an estimated 3 with 4 points of margin. Half marks on both parts is the typical shape of the exam's largest band.

How CSP scores were distributed

CSP is a 3-centred exam with a thin top: 31.2 % of students scored a 3 in 2025 and 10.7 % a 5, the lowest 5 rate among the AP computing and maths exams and one of the lowest of any AP (Seminar's 9.4 % is lower). The pass rate slipped from 64.0 % to 61.9 % and the mean from 2.90 to 2.87. The College Board's July 2025 table lists CSP at 64 % both years.

The entry was flat (175,261 to 175,174), and the College Board's post lists CSP among the four AP courses with declining participation, alongside CS A.

Sources: College Board, Student Score Distributions, AP Exams May 2025, read 10 Oct 2026; College Board, Student Score Distributions, AP Exams May 2024, read 10 Oct 2026; College Board, 2025 AP Exams: Scoring, Standards, and Security in a New Digital Era (Trevor Packer, 1 July 2025), read 10 Oct 2026; College Board, AP Computer Science Principles Course and Exam Description, Scoring Guidelines, read 10 Oct 2026.

What a CSP score is worth for credit

CSP credit is flat and introductory: the non-majors course at Texas, a first course at Washington, general credit at Florida, with nothing more for a 5. It does not map to the majors' sequence anywhere on this page; CS A is the exam that does.

Read from each university's own credit page on 10 Oct 2026: University of Florida, Exam Credit (undergraduate catalog); University of Texas at Austin, Student Testing Services, credit by exam; University of Washington, Advanced Placement exams for credit. Policies change; check the page linked in the table before you plan a schedule around a score.

How the CSP curve on this sheet is estimated

The cutoffs under the sheet, 72 % for a 5, 60 % for a 4, 46 % for a 3 and 34 % for a 2, are estimates set against the 2025 distribution: a third of students at 3 and a tenth at 5 means a 3 band that spans a wide stretch of the composite. The sheet takes the Create task as its 6-point score. The College Board does not publish cut scores.

Because one task point is 5 composite, the sheet moves in steps on that side; within five composite points of a line, read the result as either score.

Questions about the CSP exam

How is the Create task scored?

On 6 points, per the course and exam description's scoring guidelines: 3 for the video, the program requirements and written response 1, and 3 for written response 2's three prompts. Each point is a single criterion met or not.

When do I answer the written responses?

In a 60-minute section at the end of the exam, with the Personalized Project Reference you prepared, per the College Board page. The program itself is built during at least 9 hours of class time.

What is a multi-select question?

One of 8 questions on the exam where two answers are correct and both must be chosen, per the College Board page. The other 62 are single-select, five of them on a reading passage about a computing innovation.

Why is the 5 rate so low?

The published distributions show 10.7 % at 5 in 2025 and 10.9 % in 2024, with a third of students at 3. The College Board does not publish a reason.

Does CSP count toward a computer science major?

Not at the three universities on this page: Texas gives its non-majors course, Washington a first course, Florida general credit. AP Computer Science A is the exam that maps to the majors' sequence at Texas.