Need for standards in computer education

Computer Science is a field that teaches the critical thinking and problem solving skills that are very valuable today, especially in STEM fields. The quality of computer science education in K-12 varies greatly based upon what state and even what school district you belong to. Standards that govern computer science are often bundled with technology standards, causing a majority of states and school districts to treat them as free electives. Groups like the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), Microsoft, and Code.org have begun an initiative to change this by pushing states to offer computer science courses as a core course rather than elective. From 2013 to 2014 the number of states that include computer science as a core discipline increased from 9 to 25 states, a positive trend but not enough given the demand. Computer science jobs are growing at more than 2 times the national average in most states and over 4 times the national average in states like NY, NJ, and California. Data from Code.org shows that by 2020, there will be over 1 million computer science jobs than there are students with computer science degrees if the current education trajectory continues. 90% of schools nation wide still do not offer any form of computer science courses. States who leave these standards decisions to the school districts have been the slowest at adapting to this critical 21^st century need.

There has been a major rebranding of computer science over the last few years to make it more accessible and desirable to today's youth. Fred Humphries, Microsoft vice president of government affairs, during a recent panel discussion at Washington “The fact of the matter is if you’re going to have the job of the future, you better have some type of background in computer science”. A study on student interest in STEM fields by students conducted by the ACT shows that interest is high and improving (over 50% of students taking the ACT were interested in pursuing STEM) . This study also found that students who are interested in pursuing a carrear in STEM scored higher in all sections on the ACT and were more engaged in leadership programs. Computer science skills are directly applicable to all STEM fields and give an advantage to those students who pursue a higher education. I believe that a national standard that states would be incentivised to follow is needed in order to speed up the inclusion of computer science programs in schools. Computer science teachers often feel discouraged as their classes are often looked at as being less important than core discipline classes. Courses are often designed for smaller class sizes which bring a slew of logistical problems that need be addressed. State standards need to adhere to the CSTA criteria as many believe that basic usage (i.e. being able to use a web browser for research or a word processor) is enough. Initiatives like “hour of code” which have been attempted by 48 million students and the code.org intro CS curriculum which 99% of teachers recommend need a backing in standards else their effects are constrainded to the single session. Being able to critically think about technology and the social effects that it has is a necessary skill that is being overlooked in schools. I want to live in a world where legislation about technology is questioned by the masses to prevent those in power from taking advantage of them.

http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/11/25/making-it-count-computer-science-spreads-as-graduation-requirement?int=a13909

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/12/27/tech-companies-work-to-combat-computer-science-education-gap

http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/11/19/act-student-interest-in-stem-remains-steady-for-2014-graduates