ALBANY — More than half of new STEM jobs in New York are in computer science, data shows, but few public high schools in New York offer advanced computer science classes and students are graduating high school ill-prepared to join the booming technology industry.
With the goal of narrowing this gap, the Board of the Regents this week moved to approve learning standards for computer science and digital fluency for K-12 schools.
The standards were conditionally approved by the Board of Regents P-12 Committee on Monday, leaving additional time for the state Education Department (SED) to engage with early learning experts to ensure the K-2 standards are developmentally appropriate and implemented equitably across the state. The standards will be returned to the Board later this year for final adoption, state education officials said.
“We know that computer science and STEM fields are the jobs of the future, so it’s important that we invest in our children and provide them with access to training in these areas to ensure that all of New York’s students are prepared to compete for 21st-century jobs,” Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa said.
State education officials sought feedback from experts over a 15-month period before creating the curriculum standards to consider how to best meet the needs of students in various regions and communities across the state.
In New York, just 44 percent of all public high schools teach computer science, according to 2018 data from Code.org. Compounding the problem is the state's shortage of educators with the skills to teach computer science to K-12 grades.
Siena College, in Loudonville, this summer became the first institution in the state to be authorized to certify educators to teach K-12 computer science. A new program at the Loudonville school integrates its teacher training program with its computer science department to train K-12 teachers who specialize in the field.
One challenge in computer science education is the allure of high-paying technology jobs that often pull experts away from the classroom.
"For people who do graduate with a computer science degree, there are a lot of opportunities besides teaching," Siena computer science Professor Robin Flatland said. "We are working specifically with teachers that have computer science experience, but are committed to teaching."
For children who do not wish to pursue careers in the tech sector, computer science skills are vital for participation in 21st-century life, work and civic engagement, state officials said. To comply with a 2018 state law requiring the development of computer science standards, and to fulfill the expectation outlined in the 2010 USNY Statewide Technology Plan that “students, teachers, and leaders will have clear standards for what students should know and be able to do with technology,” the Department engaged with workgroups of stakeholders to create the guidelines.
The state K-12 computer science and digital fluency standards are organized into five categories: Impacts of Computing, Computational Thinking, Networks and Systems Design, Cybersecurity, and Digital Literacy. The standards will be finalized in August 2020, education officials said. They anticipate the rollout of an awareness-building campaign, curriculum development and implementation will occur over a three year period, with all schools in compliance by September 2024.
“When we expose New York’s students to the exciting world of computer science and technology early in their school careers, we are encouraging and enabling more of our students to engage in a career path where they can not only compete, but they can flourish,” State Education Interim Commissioner Shannon Tahoe said.
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January 15, 2020 at 02:46AM
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N.Y. Board of Regents approves computer science education standards - Times Union
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