Can Computing Be Diversified on “Principles” Alone? Exploring the Role of AP Computer Science Courses in Students’ Major and Career Intentions

Abstract

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.

Gender Disparities in AP Computer Science Exams: Analysis of Trends in Participation and top Achievement

“…For example, Brown and Brown (2020) found that females who participated in the AP CS Principles program were more motivated to take the AP CS A exam and likely to go to college when compared to students who didn’t participate in the AP CS Principles programs. Similarly, Sax et al (2022) found positive associations between participation in AP programs and majoring in computing fields for girls. In another study, Boda and McGee (2021) found that students who enrolled in early CS programs increased girls’ participation in AP CS programs.…”

“…However, to the best knowledge of the authors, no current studies investigated the direction and magnitude of gender disparities in AP CS exams. Given that the AP CS program is a major pipeline for the computing workforce, such an investigation also helps to understand current and future directions of gender disparities in K–12 CS education and beyond (Sax et al, 2022).…”

“…One program that has been regarded as the industry standard for pre-college CS education is the AP Program (College Board, 2021b). It is widely acknowledged that AP courses play a critical role in majoring in computing-intensive fields and broadening the participation of women in the computing workforce (Brown & Brown, 2020;Howard & Havard, 2019;Sax et al, 2022;Sax et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2015). However, to the best knowledge of the authors, no current studies investigated the direction and magnitude of gender disparities in AP CS exams.…”

“…Further, some researchers have related the gender disparities in the STEM workforce to the gaps in college and pre-college-level educational attainments as the earlier gender disparities mirrored and were exacerbated in the industry (NCWIT, 2021). Additionally, research suggests that participation in Advanced Placement (AP) CS programs is a strong predictor of pursuing majors in computing, particularly for girls (Babes-Vroman et al, 2017; Sax et al, 2022). In line with this perspective, we aimed to investigate the gender gaps in pre-college CS education to manifest an in-depth understanding of the existing trends in gender disparities.…”

An outline of the professional quality of teachers who teach children with special needs

“…This is because the goal of the CS was to determine whether respondents were satisfied with the path they were taking in their separate jobs. (Sax et al, 2022). People who have high CS scores are not only able to demonstrate that they are capable of experiencing positive emotions, but they also demonstrate that they are content with the career path that they have chosen for themselves.…”