0 AP CS: Past, Present & Future Directions

Chris Stephenson, CSTA
www.csta.acm.org

Why a New AP CS course?

• AP enrollment has stayed stagnant over the last ten years
• Compared to other AP disciplines, the female participation is PITIFUL
• African Americans - Enrollment: 17%, APCS exams 3%

We need a more engaging course

• In many states APCS is the only CS course that counts for "anything"
• This isn't just an equity issue, it is a survival issue
• We are failing to engage young women and minority students
• Students are concerned that the APCS class will take their GPA's down
• AP CS is a "gatekeeper" course; perceived to be more difficult than other AP classes
• Designed as a college level course
• Never meant to be the first CS course a student ever takes
• Sets the students up for failure and convinces them CS is not the field for them

Systemic issues

• - unless we increase the number of students taking hs cs, our enrollments will languish at the post-secondary level
• because CS is an elective and not a core course
• - states are increasing the number of math and science credits students must have in order to graduate

Need to prove that CS is relevant

• establish that CS is a science and not a technology
• need to make what we teach connect with kids today
• need a sensible, age level appropriate series of courses that students can take and that colleges can depend upon to be consistent and rigorous

Background

1. last year the college board announced they were eliminating the AP CS AB exam, leaving only the AP CS A exam
2. the AP CS A exam will continued to be reviewed and updated based on these changes and previous issues

Current Players
- AP CS Development Committee: review content and specifications, make suggestios for research studies
- AP CS Development Commission: writing the new AP CS principles course
- Chis Stephenson & Rich Lamb is on this committee (CS Dev Commission); "want a language neutral course"
- AP CS Advisory Committee: advising the commission on the big ideas of the new AP CS Principles course, advising regarding the supporting concepts; providing key feedback


Where is the Commission now

• developed and revised big ideas
• developed and revised key concepts
• developed and revised supporting concepts
• revising skills and practices document

The big ideas (shshhh!)

• Computing is a creative human activity.
• Abstraction is the process of reducing information and details to solve problems.
• Humans use computer programs to manipulate data
• Algorithms are tools for developing and expressing solutions to computational problems
• Programming is a tool for computational problem solving and the exploration and creation of knowledge
• Computer systems and networks facilitate communication and computational problem solving

Jan Cuny (NSF) - Making HS CS work for all students
BPC - Broadening Participation in Computing

Why high school?
1. We need to do much better there.
2. We need to start at high school to do much better elsewhere (eg. college, workplace)

Only 1% of students show up at college stating they want to study computer science
The number of degrees awarded is about equal to the number of students who enter

Why focus on AP?
- Only course that carries college credit?
- Attractive to students & schools
- 2,000 CollegeBoard audited teachers
- Single point of national leverage


2007 Stats about AP CS test takers
14,529 took AP CS A
~204,000 Calc AB
141,321 Bio
96,282 Stats

AP CS had the worst gender balance of any of the AP test
18% CS A
48.7 Calculus
50.2% Statistics

What's wrong with the current AP course?

• doesn't appeal to many students
• inaccessible

Math and Science in US High Schools (NRC< 2002)

AP courses should
- reflect what we know about how students learn
- build students' transferabl, conceptual understanding and inquiry skills
- convey the content and unifying themes

New AP CS course (Gold Standard Course - GSC)

• engaging, inspiring, rigorous
• focused on the fundamental concepts of computing
• target for 9-12
• pilot at the college level 2010
• pilot at the high school level 2011
• test available 2015

HS Computing Curriculum (course sequence)
- Intro Computing (for everyone)
- GSC
- AP CS A (possibly modified)

Goal: have the new curriculum taught in 10,000 schools by 10,000 well prepared teachers by 2015.

CS/10,000 Project

- Curriculum development
- Teacher preparation
* in-service preparation
* pre-service preparation
* ongoing professional development
* entree into schools

Where is CS in STEM? Everywhere!

The time is right. Get OUR foot in the door. There is a lot of talk about STEM education. Be aggressive. "We are not going to have this option again in 5 years."

(Short) Discussion

1. Why was AP CS AB canceled? Not enough students taking the exam.

Another great session!