The most-asked-about part of AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) is the Create Performance Task: a through-course assessment where the student submits a program they built themselves. This guide summarizes the components, rules, and the points that most affect your score, from a teacher's perspective.
What is the Create Performance Task?
The Create Performance Task is where the student picks a programming problem, develops their own program, and documents it. Students are given 9 hours of in-class time to write the program, record a video of it running, and build the reference document. All components must be submitted as final through the AP Digital Portfolio by the deadline (April 30, 2026 for the 2026 administration).
The three components
- Program Code: The full code of the program you developed.
- Video: A recording of your program running that clearly shows the input, the output, and the program's functionality.
- Personalized Project Reference (PPR): A personal reference document made of screen captures showing your list and your procedure. You use this document as a reference while answering questions about your own program on the exam.
Personalized Project Reference (PPR) rules
The PPR looks small but is where most mistakes happen. Watch out for:
- Use at least 10-point font in your application for the screen captures, and display the screen at 100%; small or blurry captures are unreadable.
- The PPR contains images of the code segments for your list and procedure.
- Critical: Do not include course content or code comments in the PPR. Doing so results in a score of 0 on the Create performance task.
- Submit each component as final before the deadline and attest to the originality of your work.
What should a strong program include?
The program that earns points isn't the flashiest — it's the one that clearly meets the rubric requirements. It should contain:
- A list or collection used in a meaningful way — not just declared, but actually used in how the program works.
- A procedure you developed that takes a parameter that affects its behavior.
- Use of selection and iteration inside that procedure.
- A call to that procedure within the program.
A simple program that meets these requirements cleanly scores higher than a complex but incomplete one.
Tips for the video
- Show that the program actually runs: give an input, show the processing and the output.
- Stay within the time and size limits; keep the screen clear and readable.
- No narration is required; what matters is that the functionality is visible.
Common mistakes
- Using small fonts or below-100% screen captures in the PPR.
- Adding comments or course content to the PPR (risk of a 0).
- Declaring a list but not using it meaningfully in the program.
- Writing a procedure with no parameter, or a parameter that doesn't affect behavior.
- Leaving the "final" submission of components to the last day.