Computer Science (CS) courses classified as Career Technical Education (CTE) make up over half of all CS courses offered in high schools in California as of the 2018-2019 school year and are eligible for funding through CTE grants. There has been a growing focus on creating equitable access to CS as well as recommendations to use CTE funds for this purpose. This paper examines whether there is an increase in CS course offerings or CS enrollment as an effect of receiving CTE funding in California. Publicly available data from the California Department of Education (CDE) was used to conduct a two-way fixed effects analysis. Results indicate a null effect from these grants on CS course offerings and enrollment. These results raise questions as to other factors that might have played a larger role in the recent increase in CS course offerings and expansion of CS courses classified as CTE.
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Generating Interest in Foundational Computer Science in High Schools: A Northwest Florida Case Study
Computer Science drives innovation and discovery, and Computer Science classes in High Schools, particularly AP Computer Science Principles, have also been linked to better performance in other High School courses, but a Code.org report shows that the state of Florida, particularly the Northwest Florida region, is far behind the rest of the nation in offering Computer Science classes at the High School level. This paper discusses strategies that are can be implemented to improve High School Computer Science offerings in like-regions that have lower Computer Science offerings. The paper also discusses the challenges that come up in addressing this issue and presents potential avenues for addressing these challenges. One major challenge that is addressed is creating the culture of inclusive computing by getting more women and under-represented groups interested in taking Computer Science courses. Though this is a Northwest Florida case study, most of the strategies discussed in this paper would be applicable to any other part of the country with low Computer Science offerings with a similar socio-economic background.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2122393
- PAR ID:
- 10555228
- Publisher / Repository:
- IJONEST
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International Journal on Engineering, Science and Technology
- Volume:
- 4
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2642-4088
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 254 to 268
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Computer Science Education Foundational Computer Science AP Computer Science Principles High Schools Underrepresented Groups
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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