Introduction: Learning standards are a crucial determinant of computer science (CS) education at the K-12 level, but they are not often researched despite their importance. We sought to address this gap with a mixed-methods study examining state and national K-12 CS standards. Research Question: What are the similarities and differences between state and national computer science standards? Methods: We tagged the state CS standards (n = 9695) according to their grade band/level, topic, course, and similarity to a Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standard. We also analyzed the content of standards similar to CSTA standards to determine their topics, cognitive complexity, and other features. Results: We found some commonalities amidst broader diversity in approaches to organization and content across the states, relative to the CSTA standards. The content analysis showed that a common difference between state and CSTA standards is that the state standards tend to include concrete examples. We also found differences across states in how similar their standards are to CSTA standards, as well as differences in how cognitively complex the standards are. Discussion: Standards writers face many tensions and trade-offs, and this analysis shows how – in general terms – various states have chosen to manage those trade-offs in writing standards. For example, adding examples can improve clarity and specificity, but perhaps at the cost of brevity and longevity. A better understanding of the landscape of state standards can assist future standards writers, curriculum developers, and researchers in their work.
more »
« less
Reimagining Standards for Computer Science Education for Primary and Secondary Schools
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) K-12 Standards were last updated in 2017, when only six states in the United States had adopted learning standards for primary and secondary education (K-12) computer science. Fast forward to 2024, and 41 states now have K-12 CS standards (and one has high school CS standards only). In preparation for writing an updated set of standards, CSTA is engaging in three stages of work: reimagining CS for high school students, conducting a crosswalk of K-12 CS standards across all 50 states compared to the CSTA standards (2017), and engaging in the technical process of defining final standards content via research and revision. All three stages draw significantly from the community of practitioners, researchers, curriculum designers, postsecondary faculty, and other interested parties. They also draw significantly from research published since the last revision to take into account the current evidence on learning computer science. In this poster, we describe our process for building the groundwork of knowledge for revising the standards, share highlights of the results to date, and describe how this data will be used to inform the upcoming revision of the CSTA standards.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2311746
- PAR ID:
- 10643535
- Publisher / Repository:
- ACM
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 2
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Introduction: State and national learning standards play an important role in articulating and standardizing K-12 computer science education. However, these standards have not been extensively researched, especially in terms of their cognitive complexity. Analyses of cognitive complexity, accomplished via comparison of standards to a taxonomy of learning, can provide an important data point for understanding the prevalence of higher-order versus lower-order thinking skills in a set of standards. Objective: The objective of this study is to answer the research question: How do state and national K-12 computer science standards compare in terms of their cognitive complexity? Methods: We used Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy in order to assess the cognitive complexity of a dataset consisting of state (n = 9695) computer science standards and the 2017 Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards (n = 120). To enable a quantitative comparison of the standards, we assigned numbers to the Bloom’s levels. Results: The CSTA standards had a higher average level of cognitive complexity than most states’ standards. States were more likely to have standards at the lowest Bloom’s level than the CSTA standards. There was wide variety of cognitive complexity by state and, within a state, there was variation by grade band. For the states, standards at the evaluate level were least common; in the CSTA standards, the remember level was least common. Discussion: While there are legitimate critiques of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, it may nonetheless be a useful tool for assessing learning standards, especially comparatively. Our results point to differences between and within state and national standards. Recognition of these differences and their implications can be leveraged by future standards writers, curriculum developers, and computing education researchers to craft standards that best meet the needs of all learners.more » « less
-
K-12 computer science (CS) teachers are often the only teachers of the subject at their school. Many school-based administrators and personnel lack the content knowledge to support their ongoing professional growth. How then can an ecosystem of support be developed to support K-12 CS teachers? We have created several tools aligned to the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers that support administrators, instructional specialists, and teacher leaders to provide evidence-based feedback and promote the ongoing development of CS teachers at their schools. These tools, including a CS coaching toolkit and instructional practice evidence guide, have the potential to drive impactful, job-embedded development.more » « less
-
In the early stages of K-12 Computer Science (CS) curriculum development, standards were not yet established, and the primary objective, especially in younger grades, was to spark students' interest in CS. While this remains a vital goal, the development of the CS standards underscores the importance of standards-aligned curriculum, ensuring equitable, content rich CS education for all students. We show that standards alignment is most useful when it includes details about which aspects of the standards a curriculum aligns with. This paper describes our process of decomposing five middle school CS standards into granular learning targets using an evidence-centered design approach and mapping the learning targets onto individual lessons from one widely popular middle school CS curriculum. We discuss the potential implications of this work on curriculum design, curriculum selection, and teacher professional learning.more » « less
-
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) K-12 Computer Science Standards identify ‘Algorithms and Programming’ as a key CS concept across all grade bands that encompasses sub-concepts such as algorithms, decomposition, variables, and control structures. Previous studies have shown that algorithms and programming concepts often pose challenges for novice programmers, and that instruction in these areas is often superficial. We developed formative assessment tasks to investigate middle school students’ understanding of four CS standards related to algorithms and programming and collected responses from over 100 students associated with five different teachers. We found that students demonstrated a limited understanding of the standards. These findings contribute to the growing literature on middle school students’ understanding of algorithms and programming, and provide insights that can inform CS teacher development, instruction, and curriculum design.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

