A major attempt to broaden participation in computer science has centered on the design and development of a new high school Advanced Placement (AP) course, AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). This course was created to intentionally engage a wider and more diverse group of students in learning about computing than those who had historically enrolled in programming-focused AP Computer Science "A" (CSA). After several years in the pilot phase, the course was officially offered by the College Board in 2016-17. This paper uses nationwide Freshman Survey data to examine the demographics and characteristics of students who took either CSA, the new CSP course, or both courses by the time they entered college in Fall 2017. Using crosstabs, z-tests, and one-way ANOVA, this study uncovered the similarities and differences between students who had participated in one or both of these courses. Our findings suggest that while students who took only CSP were more diverse than those who took only CSA, they exhibited less computing confidence and less interest in computing majors and tech careers. This study suggests that while CSP may be recruiting more females and racially diverse students into the course, this course alone may not serve as a direct pipeline into computing majors and careers.

What can we learn by considering differences in women across STEM fields? Following a discussion of theoretical perspectives on disciplinary classification and a review of literature on women across STEM, this chapter uses nationwide survey data to highlight the unique nature of women intending to major in biological science, computer science, engineering, math/statistics, and physical science.

The Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (APCSP) course was introduced in 2016 to address long-standing gender and racial/ethnic disparities in the United States among students taking Advanced Placement Computer Science (APCS) in high school, as well as among those who pursued computing majors in college. Although APCSP has drawn a more diverse population of course takers than the traditional Advanced Placement Computer Science A (APCSA) course, questions remain about whether the new course portends students’ longer-term interest in computing and technology. This study used data from more than 120,000 first-year college students in the United States to understand the relationship between taking APCSA, APCSP, or both APCS courses and students' aspirations to major in computing or to pursue a computing or technology career. Our results indicated that taking APCSA or taking both APCS courses positively predicted students’ major or career aspirations in computing and technology, but that taking only APCSP did not predict long-term computing interest (although positive associations were identified for women). The findings identify a possible tension in the function of APCSP, as it appears to broaden access to computing knowledge, but may not necessarily encourage longer-term computing aspirations for all groups of underrepresented students.

While introductory computing courses (i.e., CS1) continue to enroll large proportions of first-and second-year computing majors, more non-majors than ever before are enrolling in CS1 at later points in their college careers. These "latecomers" to computing are a unique population that may be more diverse, given that prior research indicates students from historically underrepresented groups often develop an interest in computing later than White and Asian men. Thus, as computing departments grapple with the pressures to broaden participation, latecomers to CS1 may be a population from which to recruit women and underrepresented students of color. Using survey data from a nationwide study of CS1 course takers, this study explores the demographic and academic background characteristics of students who took CS1 in their third year or beyond. We also analyzed the characteristics and CS1 experiences that predict latecomers' decisions to major or minor in computing. Findings indicate that latecomers came from a variety of academic disciplines and were more likely than computing majors who take CS1 courses earlier in college to be women. However, latecomers who were women were less likely than men to be recruited to a computing major or minor. Additional findings and implications for practice are discussed.

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