The premise for the development of the Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science Principles course was aimed at broadening participation in computing, as a high school level CS course. Since AP courses carry credibility with millions of students who take AP Exams as they are recognized with prospects of obtaining a college education, the hope was that the AP CS Principles course would lead to increased participation in AP CS Exams, especially with students historically excluded in CS including girls, Black, Hispanic, and Native American students, as well those with disabilities. The course raises opportunities and access to CS in higher education. The AP CS Principles curriculum framework is used in the development of the Exam which is significant in the creation college credit and placement policies. Nearly 1,300 colleges and universities have created policies providing students with opportunities to receive college credit or placement for scoring a 3 or higher on the AP CS Principles Exam [12]. The AP CS Principles curriculum framework is also used to define the learning outcomes for the course and stands as a pivotal tool in shaping high school CS education pathways to post-secondary introductory CS courses: It was designed to meet rigorous content requirements of an innovative first semester college-level introductory CS course. It exposes students to demanding expectations of building high levels of computational thinking skills and practical applications of programming that are valuable as they advance in their academics. It provides opportunities for students to connect fundamental programming concepts with important topics such as understanding the role of data in programming, and how data is processed and analyzed. AP CS Principles also recognizes the societal impacts of technology and teaches students about ethical considerations that may arise when analyzing bias in technological systems so that students develop a well-rounded perspective on technology's role in society [5]. Additional themes such as the infrastructure of the Internet including networks and protocols are also included. This paper focuses on the vision of the AP CS Principles course underpinnings (a) being engaging and appealing to a wider range of students, (b) making it accessible for a more racially, ethnically, and gender-identity diverse population of high school students, and (c) providing the benefits of the AP label on students' high school transcripts gives them options to consider a pathway into college CS studies with an enhanced admissions appeal, potential academic scholarships, and/or careers in the field. We investigate the structure of the AP CS Principles curriculum framework as a key resource that impacts the kinds of teaching and learning that is promoted in the Course and Exam Description. We discuss our experiences with the imbalanced emphasis on inclusive pedagogy and building community within the classroom to directly increase sense of belonging with students historically excluded from computing. Lastly, while the AP CS Principles Exam continues to flourish in participation numbers, we question the effectiveness of policies to promote broadening participation in computing. We review policies from three different states and discuss how they leverage the AP CS Principles course to promote teacher certification and student enrollment but do not necessarily ensure equitable practices to promote diverse representation in terms of gender, race, socioeconomic background, and disability.

The expansion of Advanced Placement (AP) programs to include students from underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities and those from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds has made it crucial to assess how effective AP courses and exams are for these groups. As AP programs become more popular, more high school students–especially freshmen and sophomores–are signing up for AP courses. Despite this growing trend, there’s still not enough research on how early AP participation affects these particular students. This study fills this research gap by exploring the benefits of early AP involvement for students considered academically underprepared based on prior test scores. We find that early AP course participation leads to higher scores on state exit exams, greater enrollment in early college credit courses, and increased college attendance and completion rates, particularly at four-year institutions. These findings challenge the reliance on prior test scores as the sole predictor of AP success and future academic achievements, suggesting a need for a more comprehensive approach to evaluating students’ readiness for the rigors of AP coursework.

... advanced placement experience and early college success. (available at k.klopfenstein@tcu.edu) Lee, V. E., Burkham, D.T., Chow-Hoy, T., Smerdon, B. A., & Geverdt, D. (1998). High school curriculum structures: Effects on coursetaking and ... Children spend more time in school than in any social institution outside the home. And schools probably exert more influence on children’s development and life chances than any environment beyond the home and neighbourhood. The purpose of this book is to document some important ways schools influence children’s development and to describe various models and methods for studying schooling effects. Key features include: Comprehensive Coverage – this is the first book to provide a comprehensive review of what is known about schools as a context for human development. Topical coverage ranges from theoretical foundations to investigative methodologies and from classroom-level influences such as teacher-student relations to broader influences such as school organization and educational policies

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