2020 State of Computer Science Education

Today, Code.org, the Computer Science Teachers Association, and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance released the 2020 State of Computer Science Education: Illuminating Disparities. The report describes the policy trends and momentum over the past 12 months and includes an in-depth view of each state’s policy and implementation, as well as data on disparities in access to and participation in computer science.

New Additions to the Report in 2020

• Broader Data: enrollment in computer science courses by students with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students for 11 states, as well as a count of all high schools in the U.S. that teach computer science. 
• Deeper Analysis: access and participation data broken down by demographics including race and ethnicity, and breakdowns for male and female students from each racial and ethnic group.
• Equity Examples: specific examples of how each state policy promotes access to and equity within computer science education.

Key Findings

• Across all 50 states plus D.C., only 47% of high schools teach computer science. Students receiving free and reduced lunch, and students from rural areas are less likely to attend a school that provides an opportunity to learn this critical subject.
• Access and participation vary widely across students from different racial and ethnic groups. Even when students are equally likely to attend a school that teaches computer science, participation among Black/African American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino/Latina, and Native American/Alaskan students is lower than their white and Asian peers.
• Overall participation in AP CS continues to improve, as does the percent of female students, yet there are major disparities in both access and participation.
• States that have adopted more of the nine policies recommended by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition have a greater percentage of high schools teaching computer science.
• Since the 2019 State of Computer Science Education report was published, 28 states passed 42 new laws and regulations promoting computer science.

Here is the Maine-specific information and you can access the full report here.

Increasing opportunities to learn computer science can address the many equity issues we see reflected in society. We celebrate the broad network of partners working on this problem, and we are thankful for every organization and individual who continues to make computer science a priority.  

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