Alps vs CMU CS Academy
Both help schools teach computer science. Here’s what each one is for, and where they differ.
What each one is for
Alps
Alps helps every CS student reach mastery: practice matched to each student, help when they’re stuck, and a view of who needs help and why. It runs on open textbooks, publisher titles and your own material.
Who it serves: CS classes from block coding through AP and college CS.
CMU CS Academy
A free Carnegie Mellon outreach program that teaches Python through graphics, with notes, autograded exercises, creative tasks and a teacher portal.
Who it serves: Middle and high school classes, and homeschool teachers.
How they compare
| Topic | Alps | CMU CS Academy |
|---|---|---|
| What you teach from | ||
| Course material | ||
| Course material | 40+ open and publisher titles, 10,000+ practice problems, and your own material. | CMU’s own Python courses; teachers can add their own exercises. |
| Several sources in one class | ||
| Several sources in one class | Several titles and your own activities in one class; each section sees the units you choose. | One CMU course per classroom, plus teachers’ own exercises. |
| Languages and tools | ||
| Languages and tools | Python, Java, C/C++, SQL, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, notebooks, block coding and a cyber range, in the browser. | Python with CMU’s graphics library, in the browser. |
| Practice and help for each student | ||
| Mastery tracking | ||
| Mastery tracking | Estimated skill by skill from every run, hint and test result, and shown by unit in the Gradebook. | Points toward targets for each exercise set, plus unit quizzes. |
| Practice at each student’s level | ||
| Practice at each student’s level | Alps matches each student’s practice to their mastery, from 10,000+ leveled problems with verified solutions and tests. | Exercises worth 1 to 3 points in a set sequence; students reach a point target the teacher sets. |
| Differentiated assignments | ||
| Differentiated assignments | Alps groups the class by mastery and engagement, then builds each group’s work in under a minute; you review first. | The teacher sorts students into Pods and sets each Pod’s pacing, point targets and hidden exercises. |
| Help when a student is stuck | ||
| Help when a student is stuck | On by default on most coding problems: a hint, an outline, then the step as a puzzle; help, not the answer. | Students see the solution’s output; Check Code lists what differs from it and highlights the failing test. |
| Grading | ||
| Code grading | ||
| Code grading | Unit tests on submit, written for you on your own activities, plus checks on how Python and Java code was written. | Test cases on every exercise compare the program with the solution; teachers can give partial credit. |
| Written answers | ||
| Written answers | AI grading against a rubric, criterion by criterion, with feedback; your score stands. | Quizzes scored automatically; creative tasks graded by hand. |
| Insights for the teacher | ||
| Live view during class | ||
| Live view during class | Who is working, reading or stopped, and on what; students who stall rise to the top. | A green bar in the gradebook marks anyone active on the site in the last five minutes. |
| Why a student is stuck | ||
| Why a student is stuck | Groups students by what stops them (a failing test, a repeated error, lost working code), each with a next step. | Each student’s time per exercise; College Programming teachers can run an AI Debugger on a student’s code. |
| Where the class is stuck | ||
| Where the class is stuck | Wrong answers and errors many students share, what to revisit and why, and how other classes did. | Points by student and unit; each exercise’s median time for the class and across CMU CS Academy. |
| How the work was done | ||
| How the work was done | A replay that flags the same error run after run, working code that broke, or a large paste. | Code History of every version; outside pastes are blocked; CS1 and AP CSP creative tasks get similarity checks. |
| Running it in a school or district | ||
| Sign-in and rosters | ||
| Sign-in and rosters | Google, Microsoft, Clever or ClassLink sign-in; rosters from Google Classroom or your LMS, not Clever or ClassLink. | Clever, Google, ClassLink and LMS sign-in; rosters from Clever and the LMS. |
| Grades to your LMS | ||
| Grades to your LMS | Google Classroom and any LTI 1.3 LMS; assignments appear there and grades sync back automatically. | LTI 1.3 to Canvas, Schoology and others; the teacher publishes each item’s scores, once or continuously. |
| Student data privacy | ||
| Student data privacy | FERPA and COPPA compliant; signs district DPAs and the NDPA. | Signs district privacy agreements; keeps minimal student data. |
| Reporting for leaders | ||
| Reporting for leaders | Progress and mastery by school, course and section, with dashboards built to your questions. | Reports per classroom, for its teachers and mentors. |
| Training and support | ||
| Training and support | Office hours and email support; training and PD by quote. | Free PD courses, workshops, live sessions and support. |
| Other differences | ||
| College credit | ||
| College credit | No courses for college credit. | An optional CMU exam ($200) for credit on a CMU transcript. |
| Spoken languages | ||
| Spoken languages | The app is in English. | Introductory courses in Spanish, some in German. |
| Price | ||
| Price | A free plan runs a whole class with practice, hints and auto-grading; paid plans, at published prices, add licensed titles, rubric grading and LMS sync. | Free, including training and support; the optional credit exam is $200. |
Where each one is a strong fit
Where CMU CS Academy is a strong fit
If you want a free, complete Python sequence from Carnegie Mellon, with training and support included, graphics-first lessons, Spanish editions and a route to CMU credit.
Where Alps is a strong fit
If you want practice matched to each student and help when they’re stuck, across several languages and grade levels, or on your own textbooks.
As of October 2026. Details about CMU CS Academy come from its own public pages, listed below, and details about Alps from this site. If something here has changed, email support@alps.2sigma.us.