<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
Advanced	B-General_Concept
Placement	I-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
(	O
commonly	O
shortened	O
to	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Comp	I-General_Concept
Sci	I-General_Concept
)	O
is	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
Advanced	O
Placement	O
courses	O
and	O
examinations	O
covering	O
areas	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
was	O
taught	O
in	O
Pascal	B-Application
for	O
the	O
1984	O
–	O
1998	O
exams	O
,	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
for	O
1999	O
–	O
2003	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
Java	B-Language
since	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
A	O
is	O
a	O
programming	O
class	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
course	O
emphasizes	O
object-oriented	B-Language
programming	I-Language
methodology	O
,	O
especially	O
problem	O
solving	O
and	O
algorithm	O
development	O
,	O
plus	O
an	O
overview	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
structures	I-General_Concept
and	O
abstraction	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
A	O
exam	O
tests	O
students	O
on	O
their	O
knowledge	O
of	O
Java	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
meant	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
equivalent	O
of	O
a	O
first-semester	O
college	O
course	O
in	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microsoft-sponsored	O
program	O
Technology	O
Education	O
and	O
Literacy	O
in	O
Schools	O
(	O
TEALS	O
)	O
aims	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
students	O
taking	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
classes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
AB	O
included	O
all	O
the	O
topics	O
of	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
A	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
more	O
formal	O
and	O
a	O
more	O
in-depth	O
study	O
of	O
algorithms	O
,	O
data	B-General_Concept
structures	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
data	B-Application
abstraction	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
binary	O
trees	O
were	O
studied	O
in	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
AB	O
but	O
not	O
in	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
A	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
recursive	O
data	B-General_Concept
structures	I-General_Concept
and	O
dynamically	B-Application
allocated	I-Application
structures	O
were	O
fundamental	O
to	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
AB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
AB	O
was	O
equivalent	O
to	O
a	O
full-year	O
college	O
course	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
low	O
numbers	O
of	O
students	O
taking	O
the	O
exam	O
,	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
AB	O
was	O
discontinued	O
following	O
the	O
May	O
2009	O
exam	O
administration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
Principles	O
is	O
an	O
introductory	O
course	O
to	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
,	O
"	O
with	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
how	O
computing	O
powers	O
the	O
world	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
designed	O
as	O
a	O
complement	O
to	O
AP	B-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
Science	I-General_Concept
A	O
,	O
to	O
emphasize	O
computational	O
thinking	O
and	O
fluency	O
.	O
</s>
