Unintentional Barriers for AP Computer Science Principles: A Course Designed for Every Student

In 2016, College Board launched Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science Principles (CSP) as a college-level introductory course to the breadth of Computer Science (CS). This was a joint effort with National Science Foundation to produce a course with a lower barrier of entry to create new pathways of introducing CS to traditionally underrepresented groups in computing; a high school course designed for every student. The sole recommended prerequisite for the course is Algebra I; however, we found that often additional prerequisites and barriers have been imposed. These additional requirements can inadvertently undermine the inclusive vision that underpinned the course's creation. We focus on public high schools in Georgia and discuss different policy barriers that can impact enrollment in AP CSP.