In recent years, high schools across the country have added computer science courses, and there is a movement to make them ubiquitous. A new study of an unusually rich data set in Maryland found that such efforts can have a significant impact when it comes to getting more students to pursue careers in coding and bringing more diversity to the field.
The study, published as a working document this month, found that taking a high-quality computer science course in high school increased the likelihood that the student would major in computer science in college by 10 percentage points, and increased the likelihood that the student would complete a bachelor's degree program in computing by 5 percentage points.
“In some ways it's not surprising,” says the study's lead researcher, Jing Liu. “But we need the numbers to be able to demonstrate it concretely.”
Liu, an assistant professor of education policy at the University of Maryland at College Park, surmises that taking a computer science class helps some students overcome popular misconceptions about coding.
“It's like math anxiety: They think they can't do it,” the professor says of some students. And he knows that feeling firsthand. “I took my first computer science course in graduate school and before that I totally thought I wasn't a computer science person,” he says. “Simply exposing people to real curriculum can overcome fears.”
The study found that taking a computer science course had the greatest impact for female students, black students, and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Liu sees this as evidence that increasing high school computer science offerings is helping to address well-known disparities in the technology world. “We need more women and more students of color in coding,” she says. “We are far from achieving equity in this space.”
Next steps
An estimated 57 percent of U.S. high schools offer an introductory computer science course, according to an analysis last year by the nonprofit Code.org. Maryland recently made it a statewide requirement that all high schools offer at least one high-quality computer science course, although much of the data analyzed in the study covers a period before the law went into effect.
While offering courses is a key first step, says Cameron Lee Conrad, a University of Maryland doctoral student who also worked on the study, the research points to the importance of encouraging a broader mix of students to take computer science courses. “Admission rates are highest among students who score high on math tests, male students, white students, all the students you would expect them to be,” he says. This trend has also been identified throughout the country. Therefore, schools need to work harder to increase broad participation in the courses they have begun to offer, she adds. “Strengthening readiness is critical,” she argues, noting that strengthening foundational mathematics education in K-12 schools will help more students be prepared for computer science courses.
Researchers say there's another challenge as more schools across the country begin offering computer science courses: finding qualified teachers.
“Very few teachers are qualified to teach computer science,” says Liu, noting that many schools have turned to math teachers to start their computer science offerings, but more training is often needed. “How can we motivate and compensate them?”
The researchers worked with the Maryland Center for Computer Science Education to do the study, working with some state data sets that have been linked, including information from schools, universities and workforce data. They say their study is the first to offer “causal evidence” that taking a course in high school leads students to continue studying and working in computing.
