Communications of the ACM
Computer Science for All: Can Schools Pull It Off?
The Computer Science for All movement must decide whether computer science education should focus on preparing students for jobs, or on teaching them new ways to think and solve problems.
Credit: Alyssa Schukar/Education Week
The nascent "Computer Science for All" movement aims to help the nation's K-12 schools prepare every student, regardless of background or career interests, to thrive in a tech-driven future.
U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both pledged support for that vision. Major technology companies have pushed the idea with hundreds of millions of dollars and an extensive lobbying campaign. Dozens of states have gotten on board, adopting new standards and allowing computer science courses to count towards graduation. As a result, K-12 computer-science offerings are taking off across the country.
However, the movement faces the difficult question of whether computer-science education should focus on preparing students for jobs, or teaching them new ways to think and solve problems. Some observers question whether the current emphasis on workforce development makes sense. Completing a brief coding tutorial will not prepare students to work as software developers, and artificial intelligence may soon take over most entry-level programming work.
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