AP CS Principles Create PT Part 1 - Full Project Guide

Main ideas / lessons

The AP CSP Create Performance Task (Create PT) is a graded, exam-based project where you:

1. Write/program the solution
2. Create a video explanation of the program
3. Build a Personalized Project Reference (PPR) containing code snippets to use during the exam

The video emphasizes that, despite the amount of information involved, the Create PT boils down to three components:

• Code
• Video explaining the code
• Personalized Project Reference (snippets used to answer exam questions)

During the exam, students answer four free-response questions using the code shown in the PPR.

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What the presenter says is “enough” to earn full points (core requirements distilled)

Code requirements (the key parts)

• Use a list in a meaningful way
  • Example approach: maintain a list such as “top games” and display it.
• Create a student-developed function that:
  • Has one or more parameters
  • Implements an algorithm with:
    • Selection (conditionals like if)
    • Iteration (loops like for)
  • Is a function you wrote (not an event handler).

Video / presentation requirements (high-level)

• The video must clearly explain the app using inputs and outputs
  • Example: user enters a game → the list updates on screen.

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Methodology shown by the example project (step-by-step, detailed)

The presenter walks through building a simple Code.org / App Lab (JavaScript) project that meets the Create PT criteria.

A. Build the UI (one-time setup)

Create:

• Text input for the next game name
  • ID: gameInput
• Add button
  • ID: addButton
• Text area / display area to show the list
  • ID: gameList
• Clear button
  • ID: clearButton
• Optional labels describing what to do (recommended for clarity in the video)

B. Initialize a list (global list)

Create a global list:

• games = [] (empty list initially)

C. Create the required student-developed function with parameter + iteration + selection

Define a function:

• Name: addGameToList (student-created procedure)
• Parameter: the game being added (e.g., game)

Inside the function:

• Read the input text from the UI
  • Use getText from the input element
• Avoid duplicates by calling another student-developed function:
  • If the game already exists, do not add it
  • Otherwise, add it

D. Implement the “iteration + selection” function used for the algorithm

Create a function like:

• existsInList(game)

Function behavior:

• Parameter: game
• Iteration: loop through all elements in games
  • Example: for loop from 0 to games.length - 1
• Selection: check equality for each item
  • If an item equals game, return true
• If no match is found:
  • return false

E. Update the displayed list output

Define a function like updateGames():

• Convert list items into a display string
• Use join so each item appears on its own line (newline separator)
• Set the text area (gameList) to that resulting string

F. Wire the “Add” button to call the student-developed function(s)

When Add is clicked:

1. Read the text from the input
2. Call addGameToList using that value

G. Add “Clear list” behavior

When Clear is clicked:

• Set games = []
• Call updateGames() to refresh what’s shown

H. Add optional input validation (extra conditional)

Prevent adding empty items:

• If input is empty, don’t add it
• (Shown with a console log for developer debugging)

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How the code maps into the Personalized Project Reference (PPR)

The presenter explains how to select code segments for different PPR fields.

PPR Part 1: Student-developed procedure segment

Must show a student-developed procedure that:

• Has a procedure name and parameters
• Implements an algorithm including:
  • selection
  • iteration

Suitable segment in the example:

• existsInList
  • Has parameter (game)
  • Has loop (iteration)
  • Has conditional equality check (selection)

PPR Part 2: Procedure call segment

Must show where you call the student procedure.

Suitable segment:

• Inside addGameToList, where existsInList(game) is used inside the if/else logic.

PPR List storage segments

Need code showing how data are stored in the list.

Suitable segment examples:

• Where you add to the list, e.g., appendItem(games, game)
• Or code showing list use for its intended purpose, such as:
  • Populating output in updateGames with join
  • Using existsInList to check list membership

Emphasis for the video portion

• Show inputs and outputs clearly in the video
  • Example: type a game and demonstrate it appearing in the displayed list.

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Speakers / sources featured

• Speaker: The presenter (unnamed in the subtitles) giving the “AP CS Principles Create PT Part 1 - Full Project Guide” instructions
• Source/tool referenced: Code.org App Lab (JavaScript) used for the example project