Communications of the ACM
Code.org Targets High School Computer Science
Code.org is collaborating with College Board to try to expand the teaching of computer science in U.S. high schools.
Code.org is collaborating with College Board to work to expand computer science in U.S. high schools and increase the number of female and minority students taking computer science courses.
Under the new partnership, high schools in 35 of the U.S.'s largest districts will be encouraged to offer Code.org's computer science course this fall. Targeted school districts are in cities including New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi says the nonprofit will provide the curriculum, tools, training, and funding to school districts that qualify, while the College Board will help fund the work if a school district agrees to use the PSAT to identify students who have potential in computer science.
Code.org says it wants to build on the track record of its Code Studio, which offers online tutorials in the basics of coding. Partovi says one out of 10 elementary and middle school students nationwide have created accounts with Code Studio. He notes of those students, 43 percent are female, 22 percent are Hispanic, and 15 percent are African American.
A recent report from the Level Playing Field Institute found that in California public school students, African-American and Latino students make up 59 percent of the student population but took just 11 percent of the Advanced Placement Computer Science tests in 2014.
From USA Today
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