Reimagining CS Pathways

Every student prepared for a world powered by computing

Today’s high school students will face pervasive questions that require foundational knowledge of computer science (CS) for them to answer.

I don’t know if my personal data is safe if I use this sleep app – Could I create my own app?

An ad just recommended
that I try that bakery – Is something tracking my location?

Tracking data for my soccer team takes a lot of time – Should I automate the process?

Should I vote for the candidate who promises to regulate AI?

These situations illustrate the need for early, universal CS education, which will only become more important as society continues to increasingly rely on computing technologies.

Vision for the Future of K-12 CS Education

In a world increasingly powered by computing, students of all identities and chosen career paths need quality CS education to become informed citizens and confident creators of content and digital tools. Our vision for K-12 CS education is to ensure:

The Need to Reimagine CS Education

Many factors will likely shape the next decade of CS education:

Surge in Interest

A burgeoning number of secondary and postsecondary students is interested in minoring or majoring in CS or just taking individual CS courses in college.

Graduation Requirements

States are increasingly adopting policies that require CS learning for high school graduation.

Greater Diversity

The recent K-12 CS movement has led to a population of secondary students interested in CS that is more diverse in demographics and interests and has more CS experience than previous generations of students.

Advances in Computing

There is a growing significance of and need for CS skills including high-demand topics such as artificial intelligence, data science, and cybersecurity.

Reimagining CS Pathways is a community-wide project that explores how CS learning opportunities can be reenvisioned for high school students. CSTA and IACE co-led the project, in partnership with ACM, Code.org, College Board, CSforALL, and ECEP Alliance.

We convened representatives from K-12, higher education, and industry across the U.S. to develop community definitions that answer two key questions:

Outcomes

This project resulted in:

Recommendations on the foundational content that should be included in courses or experiences satisfying a high school graduation requirement;
Examples of high school CS pathways that extend beyond the foundational content;
Guidance for implementation of these pathways and how to integrate CS content into other subject areas; and
A framework that enables a systematic and deliberate process for examining and re-creating similar pathways in the future.

These results will directly inform a planned revision to the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards and future updates to Advanced Placement CS courses, which will guide what students learn in the classroom.

Foundational Content

The foundation defines essential computer science learning outcomes for all high school students. Topics emerged through analysis of convening data and review of relevant research. Foundational content is organized into Topic Areas, Pillars, and Dispositions.

Learning Beyond the Foundation

There are many possible pathways stemming from this foundational content, ranging from cybersecurity and artificial intelligence to X + CS (where another subject, such as journalism or biology, is integrated with the study of computing). We defined content progressions for seven specialty areas, plus example course pathways that align to these progressions.

Guidance for Implementation

Implementation will vary significantly depending on community priorities and school contexts. Schools could teach the foundational content and resulting pathways in several, potentially complementary, ways, including offering discrete courses and integrating CS into other subject areas. We suggest schools develop multi-year plans to enable thoughtful implementation.

Integrating CS into Other Subject Areas

While there are some substantial challenges to integrating CS into other subject areas, there are also distinct advantages, including creating authentic learning opportunities and broadening the reach of CS instruction. We offer observations and examples about when and how CS content might meaningfully integrate into a variety of other subject areas.

Centering Equity

Throughout its history, CS and CS education have not been representative of the broader population. Underrepresented groups include students with disabilities, students from minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds, students who identify as women or girls, students from rural areas, and students who are multilingual learners. In contrast, CSTA’s vision is for all students to be supported in learning CS, including those from groups that have historically been marginalized in computing. As a result, equity was a central focus throughout the articulation of foundational content and resulting pathways.