The AP Computer Science course was added to the list of AP courses available to rising sophomores this year, expanding academic options for underclassmen.
Three school cycles ago, sophomores could choose one of three AP courses—AP US History (APUSH), AP Biology, and AP World History. Due to a lack of foundational knowledge and prior experience in US history and geography in many rising sophomores, which made APUSH especially challenging, the course was removed from the options, leaving AP Biology and AP World History. Beginning in the 2026-’27 school cycle, however, sophomores will also be eligible to take AP Computer Science.
This change followed the school’s decision to remove AP Computer Science Principles. This class, discussed to be excessively foundational given that SIS students and not necessary for success in AP Computer Science, was removed from the AP class options for SIS students. As an extension of this conversation, the HS department re-evaluated whether sophomores could manage AP computer science.
“We came to a conclusion that [AP Computer Science] does not need to be confined to grades 11 and 12,” Chris Del Vecchio, HS assistant principal, said. “So we can reintroduce a third option to the rising sophomores. Also, there’s not really any downside to it; it just provides a little bit more flexibility. And introducing flexibility where it doesn’t come with downsides is something we’ve been trying to do for the past few years.”
According to Mr. Del Vecchio, this decision reflects the school’s broader focus on whether each grade level is ready for specific AP courses.
Rising sophomores could sign up for a recommendation letter request for AP Computer Science, but only if the course is listed as their first choice on the recommendation request form. However, requesting and receiving the recommendation letter does not bind the students to take the course in their sophomore year.
“The reason why we asked it to be filled out that way is so that we can use that as an estimate of how many sophomores would ultimately register for the course,” Mr. Del Vecchio said. “It indicates that if they request and get the letter, then most likely they’re going to choose to take that one. It would possibly provide more insight into how much teaching capacity we would need to offer in that course.”
As the HS department predicts that the course’s faculty capacity would have to be adjusted when two or more AP Computer Science classes run, requiring students to list the course as a first choice was designed to get a more accurate estimate of how many students are seriously considering enrolling.
Regardless of how popular the AP Computer Science option becomes among the rising sophomores, the addition of AP Computer Science broadens academic pathways.
“Since SIS has not offered AP classes related to technology for rising sophomores, I think the addition of AP Computer Science will provide many students curious about computer science an opportunity dive deeper into their interests,” Jion Choi (10), rising sophomore, said. “Some of my friends were excited about the opportunity to take a technology-focused AP earlier, especially those interested in computer science.”
