March AP CSA Insider: Course Pacing, PD Resources, and More!
🗓️ Course Pacing: Where Students Should Be
March is crunch time. Classes following the College Board's recommended pacing should now be deep into Unit 4, the largest unit at ~50–52 class periods and 30-40% of the exam.
Aim to finish Unit 4 by early-to-mid April to leave enough time for cumulative review and practice exams before May. If you're running behind, prioritize Arrays, ArrayLists, and 2D arrays — all three are tested directly on the FRQs — but don't neglect searching and recursion (or assign as homework), as they still will appear in the multiple-choice section.
✅ Resources For AP Exam Review
As you work your way towards the AP exam, it is important to take time to review with students. Much of this review can be handled in class, but it can also be assigned for homework.
AP Computer Science A Review Course
The review course is broken out by unit and offers multiple-choice and short practice problems. It also has several CodeHS original practice FRQ questions.
In the AP CSA FRQ Center, you will find FRQ questions from past exams presented in different formats (text and runnable) and ready to assign to your class.
The AP CSA Cortado course contains additional MC and FRQ practice activities in its Supplement.
AP Classroom
In addition to CodeHS resources, be sure to utilize resources from the College Board. AP Classroom has hundreds of practice multiple-choice questions as well as some full-length practice tests.
📋 Teaching Tip: Student-Created Data Files
Instead of providing students with a prepared dataset, have them generate their own text files and then write programs to analyze them. For example, students could record results from a short classroom activity – such as reaction times, favorite snacks, or the number of steps taken during a quick walk – and save the results as a simple text file. Their Java program then reads the file and computes statistics such as totals, averages, or counts that meet certain conditions.
This approach reinforces the idea that programs often process data collected from real-world sources, while also helping students think more carefully about how information is structured before it is read by a program. It also strengthens algorithm design when students must plan how their program will interpret the data they created.
⭐️ Free AP CSA Webinar
Join this interactive webinar to learn strategies for helping your students prepare for the AP Computer Science A exam. Our team will walk through AP test prep tips and resources available in the CodeHS AP CSA Hub, including the practice exam, sample College Board questions, and review course.
Date: March 26th, 2026
Time: 4:00pm CT
🧑🏫 2026 Virtual Teacher Conference
Registration is now open for the 2026 CodeHS Virtual Teacher Conference! Join fellow educators Saturday, April 11th 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM CT and attend sessions like the Using Data to Predict AP Readiness session. Attendees will receive:
A trial of CodeHop, Tynker, or CodeHS Pro until June 30th
An exclusive Digital Swag Bag featuring CodeHS virtual backgrounds, posters, and more
Entry into a raffle for a chance to win an iPad
💸 CodeHS Student Scholarships
Calling All High School Seniors - Now Accepting Applications!
CodeHS is proud to invite all eligible students to apply for the CodeHS Scholarship! We will award $1,000 grants to 10 students who plan to study computer science and related fields at the post-secondary level.
Review the scholarship eligibility requirements and learn how your students can apply today. All applications are due by May 20th, 2026 @ 11:59 PM CT.
💬 Stay Connected
Explore the AP CSA Hub
-The CodeHS Team