The State of K-12 Computer Science

Education

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Cameron Wilson, ACMcameron.wilson@acm.org

Department of EducationMath and Science Partnership Meeting

February 16, 2011

• Major Organizations Involved in K-12 CS• State of K-12 CS• Issues in K-12• Approaches to instruction

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Major Players in K-12 CS

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

• ACM– International Professional Society for Computing– Special Interest Group for Computer Science Education

• Computer Science Teachers Association– Leading K-12 Computer Science Organization

• National Center for Women and Information Technology– Leading Equity/Gender Issues Organization

• Computing Research Association– Leading computer science research institutions

• Anita Borg Institute• Dot Diva

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Major Non-Profits with Education Focus

We have disconnect

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The Data Paradox

• Projected Strong Job Growth

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The Data Paradox

• Projected Strong Job Growth• Demand for Graduates

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

CS & CE majors are in demand

{

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The Data Paradox

• Projected Strong Job Growth• Demand for Graduates• Driving Many Fields of Science

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

That’s nice data, but so what?

*Slide is from Ed Lazowska The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The Data Paradox

• Projected Strong Job Growth• Demand for Graduates• Driving Many Fields of Science-----------------------------------------------------------• Stress in the pipeline

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Interest In Majoring in CS AmongIncoming Freshman

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The Data Paradox

• Projected Strong Job Growth• Demand for Graduates• Driving Many Fields of Science-----------------------------------------------------------• Stress in the pipeline• Fading courses

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

2007 2009

Yes -6% -17%

Access to Rigorous CS is Diminishing

Schools offering introductory (or pre-AP) Computer Science courses, change from 2005 baseline:

Schools offering AP Computer Science courses, change from 2005 baseline:

2007 2009

Yes -20% -33%

Source: Computer Science Teachers Association survey data of high schools

Source: Computer Science Teachers Association survey data of high schools

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The Data Paradox

• Projected Strong Job Growth• Demand for Graduates• Driving Many Fields of Science-----------------------------------------------------------• Stress in the pipeline• Fading courses• Terrible record on diversity

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Issues

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CS in the Education Policy Landscape

• Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) != Computing (conditional)

• Often in the T, but a poor fit– Doesn’t technology literacy, technology IN education =

computer science knowledge?– Computing in T often focused on the use of technology word

processing/spread sheets/web surfing– Definition of technology is slippery at best– T course are often focused on voc. edu., not college-bound

students

•Key Issue: CS is not part of the core

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Ingredients for Success

•Education policy must support:

– Curricular standards and curriculum

– Courses/Credit for courses

– Teachers

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

•Survey of state education authority documents in all fifty states to answer two specific questions:

– To what extent have states adopted the ACM/CSTA model curriculum standards?

– How does the state treat high school computer science courses in terms of what it “counts” for a student’s graduation requirements?

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

What is Computer Science Education?

• ACM/CSTA has grade appropriate model standards for computer science education help define computer science. (Figure 1)

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Findings: Standards

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Findings: Standards

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Findings: Standards

• Skills:– Use content-specific technology tools (calculators, digital

probes, web) to support learning (92%)

• Capabilities:– Identify and solve routine hardware and software problems

(37%)

• Concepts:– Basic steps in algorithmic problem solving (45%)

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Findings: Graduation Credits

8

35

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Teacher Certification

• In 2008, CSTA released a major report assessing state certification programs for computer science teachers:

– The current computer science teacher certification system lacks clarity, understanding, and consistency.

– Where certification or endorsement requirements do exist, they often have no connection to computer science content.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Terminology Issues

• A deep amount of confusion with terms:– Computer science– Technology literacy and fluency– Information Technology– Education technology/computing across the curriculum– Computing education

• Computer Science– An academic discipline that encompasses the study of

computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their hardware and software designs, their applications, and their impact on society.

Reform is underway

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

This priority is designed to support initiatives in any or all core academic subjects, consistent with section 9101(11) of the ESEA, including English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign language, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography. Consistent with the Race to the Top Fund program, the Department interprets the core academic subject of “science” under section 9101(11) to include STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) which encompasses a wide-range of disciplines, including computer science.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

http://www.exploringcs.org/

http://www.mediacomputation.org

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Others Approaches

• Gaming:– Game Maker software (light edition) provides an

environment that is intuitive and easy to use and that introduces students to programming using an objects-first approach. Game Maker is particularly suitable for novice programmers because it allows them to develop games without a previous programming background.

– Game Maker: http://www.yoyogames.com/

• Storytelling with Alice:– Alice uses the context of animation to excite students about

the possibilities of computing. In Alice, students author and implement their own 3-D animated movies and design and build their own 3-D interactive games as they learn to program

– www.alice.org

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

A New AP

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/computerscience/index.html

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Note: The AP Computer Science: Principles framework has been endorsed by ACM’s Education Board

Computer Science Education Week (CSEDWeek.org)

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Concluding Messages

• CS drives industry and innovation• CS Education = Students gaining critical 21st

Century skills and knowledge• But CS is fading from K-12• This is a national failing we cannot afford as

computing is now central to society and worldwide economic growth.

• We need to ensure CS education is part of the core that students must take to be considered educated.

• Tangible and scalable educational approaches are underway that can teach core CS concepts.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by ACM or the U.S. Department of Education.

Questions?

• cameron.wilson@acm.org

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown are not an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education.