Kalaraslaura Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Hi, My DS is in 7th grade and we are planning to go for the AP Computer Science Principles in 9th. He is already doing Python coding with CodeHS. He will also start their AP course after this. He doesn't want to switch to Java yet. He loves Python. I was looking at PA's courses, but I am still on the fence. I researched about Ms Rebekah Lang but from the course description, it doesn't sound more impressive than other, cheaper versions (without a live teacher support). Is it worth it? Is it something he could tackle on his own considering we have 1.5 years left? And this is a subject he understands easily because he likes it. He's doing Geometry for math and loves high school math. He is very logical and he learns quickly. Also, we are international (we live in Eastern Europe) and I am worried about the time difference. This is one of the reasons why I am reluctant to invest in courses he will most likely not be able to attend live. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 (edited) He could probably do AP CS P next year and do fine, it's an easy course meant for students who haven't coded at all yet. If you do choose to go self-paced, check out these courses: https://www.edx.org/xseries/harvardx-cs50-ap-computer-science-principles It should be a good challenge even if they already know how to program Edited January 5 by Malam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 For a kid who is already studying python I would skip AP CS principles. It will be way too easy for him, won't add much to his programming experience, and I've heard weird things about earning credit for the exam, like you have to some place to upload your projects? I would skip it. Yes, Java kinda sucks for students who love python, but learning Java after python will be pretty easy and he'll grab an easy 4-5 (probably a 5) on AP CS A exam, and it will be more meaningful. TL;DR Skip AP CS principles, and take AP CS A instead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) 16 hours ago, daijobu said: Skip AP CS principles, and take AP CS A instead. I think this depends on why the kids is taking the AP courses - if it's to improve their programming skill, then a python course like the one I linked can still be valuable Edited January 5 by Malam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalaraslaura Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 (edited) We are in Europe so the AP here is more like an IB. He needs minimum 3 APs for a good university in Europe. It's not for college credit. They don't do that here. They need APs to have access to colleges. I did think the first AP CS would be easy. But I have 2 options: - he can go for it next year (8th grade) as an exam experience. He has always been homeschooled and never participated in an official test. So this would be a warm-up for high school. - he can go for AP CS A in 9th. I am pretty undecided here. Edited January 5 by Kalaraslaura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 On 1/5/2024 at 8:23 PM, Kalaraslaura said: We are in Europe so the AP here is more like an IB. He needs minimum 3 APs for a good university in Europe. It's not for college credit. They don't do that here. They need APs to have access to colleges. I did think the first AP CS would be easy. But I have 2 options: - he can go for it next year (8th grade) as an exam experience. He has always been homeschooled and never participated in an official test. So this would be a warm-up for high school. - he can go for AP CS A in 9th. I am pretty undecided here. I think you should check with your country to make sure that AP CS principles would count toward the three required APs/Alevels/IBHLs Why not both? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieta_cassiopeia Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Some universities count Computer Principles and Computer Studies as the same subject (since they are both computing qualifications). Some universities don't count Computer Principles as valid for entrance to computing specifically, although it is possible some of them might count it towards other subjects. They are not necessarily the same universities, and this far out, it's possible the answers could change between now and graduation. (For example. of the five nearest universities to me (in the UK), 1 accepts both courses towards the 3 it requires provided the other one is in maths, 1 accepts both with no other conditions regarding AP subjects, 1 accepts either Computer Principles or Computer Studies but not both (and offering Computing Studies for that university allows 4s instead of 5s on the non-IT APs), 1 will only accept the Computer Studies, 1 appears to require completion of year 1 of a 4-year degree or equivalent (without accepting APs). This far from likely graduation, I would suggest that study be aimed at the child in front of you, rather than the child who will go to university in 4-5 years' time. If you think your child would benefit from doing Computer Principles now, go ahead. If something else looks more appropriate for right now, do that instead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalaraslaura Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 5 hours ago, Malam said: I think you should check with your country to make sure that AP CS principles would count toward the three required APs/Alevels/IBHLs Why not both? He will definitely sit through both. My idea with the first one (since it's easy) was to get him used to a formal exam. I don't mind him going through more than 3 APs. He doesn't know exactly if he will follow an IT or science route but the requirements for both are pretty clear: strong math and science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieta_cassiopeia Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 That sounds like a strong vote for "yes because this child needs it now". First formal exams go better if they're with material the student knows well and also still finds sufficiently interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalaraslaura Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 5 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said: Some universities count Computer Principles and Computer Studies as the same subject (since they are both computing qualifications). Some universities don't count Computer Principles as valid for entrance to computing specifically, although it is possible some of them might count it towards other subjects. They are not necessarily the same universities, and this far out, it's possible the answers could change between now and graduation. (For example. of the five nearest universities to me (in the UK), 1 accepts both courses towards the 3 it requires provided the other one is in maths, 1 accepts both with no other conditions regarding AP subjects, 1 accepts either Computer Principles or Computer Studies but not both (and offering Computing Studies for that university allows 4s instead of 5s on the non-IT APs), 1 will only accept the Computer Studies, 1 appears to require completion of year 1 of a 4-year degree or equivalent (without accepting APs). This far from likely graduation, I would suggest that study be aimed at the child in front of you, rather than the child who will go to university in 4-5 years' time. If you think your child would benefit from doing Computer Principles now, go ahead. If something else looks more appropriate for right now, do that instead. Thank you for taking the time to research. I am not sure what Computer Studies is. Is this CSP A? We've been homeschooling since the beginning and I learned early on that forcing/rushing things doesn't work. So that's not my purpose at all. We will definitely adapt as we go and he will only sit through exams when he is prepared. We are in no rush. He's the one in need of more challenge. I just want the whole thing to evolve naturally. I know that CSP (the first level) is all about Python. He is already writing code in Python and understands a lot of functions. He wants to explain things to me but I don't understand a thing. So getting him a proper class/course/teacher would help him not only learn new things but have someone who understands him to ask questions to. I am of no help there. Someone here sent me the details of a good tutor in private so we will start classes next week and see how it goes. We have at least 1 year until the exam if he is capable of sitting through it in 8th, if not, we postpone it until he is ready. I am in no rush or hurry to check things off a list, I just feel with minimal prep he will be ready for the exam. My main focus with IT now is to keep his passion and curiosity going and encourage him to follow this passion as well as find the right challenge and materials for him. I want him to really understand what he is doing not just memorize things. We never memorized anything without understanding first in our homeschool. So I guess the CSP AP is only a step and one that's not set in stone for a certain date. I want him to be exposed to an exam, that's all. And this one seemed like a good starting point and easy enough to put minimal pressure on him. I don't want him to graduate sooner (if anything I will probably delay college by one year if he needs to so he is mature enough for it all). I just don't want to cram everything into the last 2 years of high school if he is capable of tackling them sooner. So I will spread out whatever I can. And he can tackle whatever is accessible to him now and move on to the challenging exams as he grows. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalaraslaura Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 18 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said: That sounds like a strong vote for "yes because this child needs it now". First formal exams go better if they're with material the student knows well and also still finds sufficiently interesting. That was my thought process. I just don't want to blotch things out for him. He is very passionate about his interests to the point of obsessing over certain things he finds interesting. Typical science-passionate little dude since the first day he could talk. He is filling my head with interesting math facts, quantum and particle physics, chemistry.... and keeps calling me to show me his latest Python "game". He wrote one where you roll a dice and "move" pawns on the screen/code (I am not even sure how to explain it). Unfortunately, I have no idea what all those lines of code do and how to even begin to help him. I love that he loves these things and just want to keep supporting and help him move forward. I do keep an eye on the exams and requirements because I don't want him to have to do everything at once or for me to miss something he could have done in advance because I wasn't paying attention. I don't know what he will choose in the end, but I want to know the options we have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I don't think anyone here is suggesting you are rushing your student's academics. My own kids took AP CS A in 8th grade, and they didn't even really like computer science. I routinely advise homeschooling parents to take AP CS A as their first AP exam because it's really easy. I want to alert you to a unique aspect of APCSP which has tripped up some homeschooling parents in the past. Your student will need to upload their "AP digital portfolio" somehow. I don't know the details, nor do I know what this portfolio is, but I've heard parents complain on other lists of their difficulty in locating a school that will allow them to complete this process. You'll want to ensure your student can complete this unusual time-consuming step. Instead, you might encourage your son into joining your local CS team. The US has USACO and I think some other countries have teams as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I forgot to include this link: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/digital-portfolios/submit-ap-csp-work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalaraslaura Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 (edited) 9 minutes ago, daijobu said: I don't think anyone here is suggesting you are rushing your student's academics. My own kids took AP CS A in 8th grade, and they didn't even really like computer science. I routinely advise homeschooling parents to take AP CS A as their first AP exam because it's really easy. I want to alert you to a unique aspect of APCSP which has tripped up some homeschooling parents in the past. Your student will need to upload their "AP digital portfolio" somehow. I don't know the details, nor do I know what this portfolio is, but I've heard parents complain on other lists of their difficulty in locating a school that will allow them to complete this process. You'll want to ensure your student can complete this unusual time-consuming step. Instead, you might encourage your son into joining your local CS team. The US has USACO and I think some other countries have teams as well. Thank you for this! It's reassuring. I already contacted a local school and they assured me they can accommodate everything. I will keep an eye out for teams to see if he can join. Edited January 7 by Kalaraslaura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 https://usaco.guide/ is a great free resource for competitive programming, although I would suggest taking it after a thorough programming course like CS50 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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