How the Exam and FRQs Are Scored

rubric thinking

Part of: Exam Workshop: FRQ Strategies

The Shape of the Exam The AP CSA exam has two sections. The multiple choice section is 40 questions worth half your score. The free response section is 4 questions, also worth half. Each free response question (FRQ) is graded out of 9 points against a public rubric. Your goal on the FRQ section is not elegant code. It is collecting rubric points. Rubric Thinking Graders do not read your code looking for beauty. They hold a checklist. Each line of that checklist is worth a point, and you earn it if your code does that one thing correctly. A method that is 80 percent right can still score 7 out of 9. A method that never compiles can still score points, because the rubric awards ideas, not a clean run. That changes how you should write. Attempt every part. Never leave a method blank, because a blank method earns zero rubric points while a partial attempt can earn several. Even if you forgot the return, you would still earn the points for declaring the counter, looping over the array, and the correct if test. Write the parts you know. What Loses Points The rubric also lists ways to lose points that you already earned. The most common one is a change that breaks working code, like modif

Challenge: Total the Rubric Points