AP Coordinators and the PPR in the AP CSP Exam

During Section II of the AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) end-of course exam, students will refer to their Personalized Project Reference (PPR) to complete their written responses.   

To ensure students have their PPR on exam day, AP coordinators are responsible for completing these tasks:  

• Prior to exam day, you need to print out the PPR, which students must submit through the AP Digital Portfolio by April 30, 11:59 p.m. ET. It’s important to print out the PPR for each student before exam day, whether the school is testing on digital or paper.  
• As an AP coordinator, you can monitor student activity in the AP Digital Portfolio and verify that the Create performance task components have been submitted as final by the April 30 deadline. If you discover that students haven’t submitted a final PPR by April 30, 11:59 p.m. ET, contact the student and their teacher as soon as possible before exam day. If an individual student had an unexpected issue that prevented them from completing their submission by the final deadline, you can request an extension on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio.   
• On exam day, you must provide the PPR for each student taking the exam to the proctor along with the AP CSP Exam packets.   

Read instructions on pages 132-134 of the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for additional details about the PPR, including guidance about printing.  

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If your school offers AP Computer Science Principles, you need to submit exam orders for students and ensure students submit their Create performance task on time (by the April 30 submission deadline). The Create performance task will be sent for scoring only if an exam has been ordered for the student. Only components of the Create performance task that have been submitted as final will be sent for scoring.  

Note: If students fail to submit their Personalized Project Reference (PPR) as final by the submission deadline, their written response portion of the end-of-course exam will not count toward the final score.   

Each student taking the AP CSP Exam at your school needs their printed PPR to complete Section II: Written Response. To prepare for exam day, AP coordinators need to:  

• Log in to the AP Digital Portfolio after the April 30 Create performance task submission deadline.   

• Go to the Progress page and print the PPR for each student taking the exam, whether the school is testing on digital or paper.  

• Organize the PPR sheets to ensure all pages are included for each student.   

• Store the PPR sheets securely before exam day, along with the AP CSP Exam packets.   

• On exam day, give the printed PPR sheets to the proctor with the exams.   

During the exam, the proctor will distribute the PPR sheets to students following the directions in the AP Exam Instructions. The proctor must collect each student’s PPR back at the end of the exam and return them to the AP coordinator; they must be kept on file at the school for six months.   

IMPORTANT: It’s important to print out a PPR for each student before exam day, whether the school is testing on digital or paper.  

If you discover that students haven’t submitted a final PPR by April 30, 11:59 p.m. ET, contact the student or their teacher as soon as possible before exam day. If an individual student had an unexpected issue which prevented them from completing their submission by the final deadline, you can request an extension on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio. If the student did not submit the PPR by the final deadline for any other reason, their written response won’t count toward their final score.  

Information on the PPR is also published on pages 132-134 of the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2.   

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A student’s printed Personalized Project Reference (PPR) will include their name and AP ID.   

• Consult with your AP Computer Science Principles teachers to determine if the PPR should be printed in color or in black-and-white. Color printing may be preferable for students whose programs were written in block-based programming languages (e.g., Scratch, Snap!).   
• The PPR is typically 2–5 pages. It’s recommended to print single-sided to ensure there’s no bleed-through.   
• You have the option to print the PPR for each student one-at-a-time, or in bulk. Whichever printing option you choose, ensure that you assemble the correct pages associated with each student’s PPR by reviewing the student’s name and AP ID on each printed page. Then, staple the multiple pages together for each individual student.  

This information is published on pages 132-134 of the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 along with other details about the Personalized Project Reference.  

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If you find that a student’s Personalized Project Reference (PPR) is illegible, contact the student and their teacher immediately. It is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that a student’s final submission is legible and doesn’t contain any comments. Here are the steps to take:  

• AP coordinator requests extension for the student on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio   

• Teacher returns PPR to student for them to update  

• Student updates the PPR and resubmits as final  

• AP coordinator reprints PPR prior to the exam administration  

• If the PPR cannot be reprinted prior to the exam administration, the AP coordinator should order a late-testing exam for the student  

Students should read the Personalized Project Reference Tip Sheet for instructions on how to adhere to the guidelines for the creation of the PPR and create a readable document that can be used on exam day. 

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If a student’s Personalized Project Reference (PPR) is unavailable on exam day, they have the option to take the exam without their PPR. If a student says they want to take the exam without their PPR, tell them that a PPR must have been submitted as final in the AP Digital Portfolio for the written response section of the exam to be scored. If their PPR wasn’t submitted as final, their written responses won’t count toward their final score. The AP coordinator can confirm submission status in the AP Digital Portfolio. 

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If the student intentionally did not submit their Personalized Project Reference (PPR) as final, the proctor should advise the student on exam day that they can proceed with the exam without the PPR. In this case, the AP Coordinator will submit an Incident Report.   

Note: If the student proceeds without the PPR because they didn’t submit it, their written responses won’t count towards their final score. 

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If a student’s Personalized Project Reference (PPR) is missing because there was a submission error when submitting as final in the AP Digital Portfolio, the student has two options, depending on school policy:  

• The student can be dismissed from the exam so they can work with the AP coordinator to resubmit the PPR and take a late-testing exam.  

OR  

• The student can proceed with taking the exam without the PPR. Inform the student that their written responses won’t count toward their final score. If the student proceeds with taking the exam, the AP coordinator will submit an Incident Report.   

If the student is dismissed from the exam, the following steps should be taken:  

• AP coordinator requests extension for the student on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio  

• Teacher returns PPR to student for them to update  

• Student updates the PPR and submits as final  

• AP coordinator reprints PPR prior to the late-testing exam administration  

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If the student accidentally submitted an incorrect version of their Personalized Project Reference (PPR), not their final version, the student has two options, depending on school policy:   

• The student can be dismissed from the exam so they can work with the AP coordinator to resubmit the PPR and take a late-testing exam.  

OR  

• The student can proceed with taking the exam with the PPR they have. If the student proceeds with taking the exam, the AP coordinator will submit an Incident Report.  

If the student is dismissed from the exam, the following steps should be taken:   

• AP coordinator requests extension for the student on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio   

• Teacher returns PPR to student for them to update  

• Student updates the PPR and resubmits as final  

• AP coordinator reprints PPR prior to the late-testing exam administration  

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The proctor will notify the AP coordinator immediately to print the student’s entire Personalized Project Reference, or the missing pages, before Section II begins. 

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If the Personalized Project Reference (PPR) is found illegible because of a printing issue, the AP coordinator must reprint the student’s PPR before Section II begins.   

If the AP coordinator discovers that the PPR is illegible because of the way it was submitted as final by the student, and that it can’t be printed in a clearer way, depending on school policy, the student can either:   

• Be dismissed from the exam so they can work with the AP coordinator to resubmit the PPR and take a late-testing exam.  

OR  

• The student can proceed with taking the exam with the PPR they have. If the student proceeds with taking the exam, the AP coordinator will submit an Incident Report.  

If the student is dismissed from the exam, the following steps should be taken:  

• AP coordinator requests extension for the student on the Progress page of the AP Digital Portfolio   

• Teacher returns PPR to student for them to update  

• Student updates the PPR and resubmits as final  

• AP coordinator reprints PPR prior to the late-testing exam administration  

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At the end of the exam, the proctor must collect each student’s Personalized Project Reference (PPR) back and return them to the AP coordinator. All PPR must be kept on file at the school for six months.  

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Read page 132 of the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for instructions on how to best support independent study, or homeschooled AP CSP students.  

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Read page 132 of the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for instructions on how to best support students taking an AP CSP course through an online provider.   

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Review the FAQ section titled AP CSP: About Accommodations for details on how to best support students needing accommodations. 

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