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College Board Mainstreams AP Computer Science (collegeboard.org)
New submitter Pollux writes: In the Fall of 2016, the College Board will begin a new course titled "AP Computer Science Principles," designed to "introduce students to the central ideas of computer science, instilling the ideas and practices of computational thinking and inviting students to understand how computing changes the world." This course will not replace the existing "AP Computer Science A" course, but has been added, "To appeal to a broader audience, including those often underrepresented in computing." A short list of differences between the two courses notes that instructors can choose a language of their choice. The curriculum framework directs the focus of instruction away from programming as a skill and towards programming as an activity, "enabling problem solving, human expression, and creation of knowledge (PDF)."
>> Since when does learning about Java or the verifiably type-safe subset of C# mean not learning about pointers?
When all you know about handling exceptions is to Google for the next bit of code you should toss at them until they go away. (Citation: half of StackOverflow)
I see that they're hell-bent on watering down the computer science exams as much as possible. First they ax the AB exam (which had some real meat to it), and now they introduce a non-computer-science programming class. I'm not opposed to the test per se, but don't call it computer science. It sounds like something between a problem-solving challenge and weak vocational training. Again, that's not a bad thing, but call it what it is: AP Computer Literacy.