Courses

Why Take Computer Science Classes?

  • Computer Science has become a fundamental subject
    • Computer Programming is becoming a core skill and tool for all different professions.
    • Sharpen logical thinking and problem solving skill
    • Be challenged and reach higher!
  • Why learn Java?
    • Java is the most popular computer programming language. Read more about it.
    • Java is the official language required and tested for AP Computer Science A
    • Java is becoming the most used language in USACO
  • Why Learn AP Computer Science A
    • Our AP Computer Science A course prepares students to succeed in the AP Computer Science A exam from CollegeBoard.  Students must already possessed basic Java programming skills to continue into this course, which covers advanced topics such as object-oriented methodologies, fundamental data structures and algorithms, and more.
  • Why Learn USACO
    • USACO stands for USA Computing Olympiad. The best contestants participate in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), the most prestigious international computing contest at the high school level.
    • Our USACO courses provide rigorous training to students for advanced logical thinking and problem solving, a skill that is extremely valuable and much seeked after to prepare students for higher level educations.

** All references to AP CS here assumed to be AP Computer Science A.

Our Courses

Ascende Learning focuses on serving students in grade 6~12 and offers the following Computer Science classes in the CS domain. We offer the following computer science and programming classes.

  • Fundamental Java Programming:  Java is a general-purpose language was designed to easy to use and portable. 90% of the Fortune 500 companies have since used Java to develop desktop apps and website backend systems. Java is the designated language used in AP Computer Science A, and Android apps are also developed using Java since the Android Operating System runs on a Java language environment. Our Java Programming class doesn’t require any prior programming background, and teaches students all the fundamental knowledge and skills to program comfortably in Java.
  • Intermediate Java Programming: This course is targeted to students who have completed our fundamental Java Programming course and yearns to further solidify their learning and sharpen programming skills.  The course will teacher more advanced Java topics, with an emphasis on hands-on practices and projects.  It will prepare students to be more confident and successful in the AP Computer Science A course, or the USACO Bronze course.
  • AP Computer Science A: This course covers advanced Java topics specified by College Board for AP Computer Science A, with an emphasis on object-oriented programming. Students build a variety of complex projects while learning about objects, classes, scope, and inheritance. This course also covers basic searching and sorting algorithms in Java. This course prepares students for the AP Computer Science A exam, which is administered in May of each year.
  • USACO (Computing Olympiad) Bronze Class : All beginner students start in the Bronze division and can be promoted to upper divisions based on their contest scores. Our bronze class requires students to already possess fundamental programming skills since our curriculum focuses on training students to work through complex problems and developing their problem-solving skills, and will teach them all algorithms and techniques that they need to know to be pass the Bronze level.
  • USACO (Computing Olympiad) Silver Class : USACO Silver division is considerably more difficult than the bronze level, and a well designed and target curriculum is the key for students to prepare for Silver division contest efficiently and effectively.  Our curriculum is designed in an extremely targeted manner and precisely contains everything students need to learn to be successful for their efforts to overcome the Silver level challenge, no more, and no less. 
  • USACO (Computing Olympiad) Gold Class : After student passed the USACO Silver contest and entered the Gold division, the game is a completely different beast. Problems get much more challenging and requires the students to learn a new set of advanced algorithms and data structures. Again, our curriculum is designed in the same extremely targeted manner as the other levels, and precisely contains the knowledges and skills students need to study and practice, to reach the prestigious USACO platinum level.

Useful Information