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School leaders aim to establish a clear pathway through the computer science curriculum that fosters student success. The problem is that the College Board offers no guidance on which of the two AP computer science courses should be taken first, and this action potentially causes problems among high school students in a Central New Jersey school district. Gaps in the literature focusing on the recommended course sequence were identified. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study is to examine the problem of the College Board offering no guidance on which of the two AP computer science courses should be taken first among high school students at a Central New Jersey high school. The theoretical framework that guided this research was TPACK and pragmatism. Two research questions explored the relationship between course sequence or grade level and success on the AP exam. A quasi-experimental study of 1,029 high school students used archival data to examine the impact of course sequence and grade level on AP exam performance. AP exam scores served as the data instrument, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied for data analysis. Results indicated statistically significant differences between course sequence and grade level, which support the recommendation that earlier enrollment in AP Computer Science A leads to greater student success thereby is recommended as early as possible. Findings contribute to curriculum planning by reinforcing the value of early, well-sequenced access to rigorous computer science instruction.