This report proposes a model curriculum that can be used to integrate computer science fluency and competency throughout primary and secondary schools, both in the U.S. and throughout the world. It is written in response to the pressing need to provide academic coherence to the rapid growth of computing and technology in the modern world, alongside the need for an educated public that can utilize that technology most effectively to the benefit of humankind.
Computer science is an established discipline at the collegiate and post-graduate levels. Oddly, the integration of computer science concepts into the K-12 curriculum has not kept pace in the United States. As a result, the general public is not as well educated about computer science as it should be, and a serious shortage of information technologists at all levels exists and may continue into the foreseeable future. This curriculum model aims to help address these problems. It provides a framework within which state departments of education and school districts can revise their curricula to better address the need to educate young people in this important subject area, and thus better prepare them for effective citizenship in the twenty-first century.
This curriculum model provides a four-level framework for computer science, and contains roughly the equivalent of four half-year courses (many of these can be taught as modules, integrated among existing science and mathematics curriculum units). The first two levels suggest subject matter that ought to be mastered by all students, while the second two suggest topics that can be elected by students with special interest in computer science, whether they are college-bound or not. The Appendix to this report provides “proof of concept” by outlining existing courses and modules that are now being taught in different school districts at each of the four levels.
These recommendations are not made in a vacuum. We understand the serious constraints under which school districts are operating and the up-hill battle that computer science faces in the light of other priorities, as well as time and budget constraints. Thus, we conclude this report with a series of recommendations that are intended to provide support for a long-term evolution of computer science in K- 12 schools. Many follow-on efforts will be needed in order to sustain the momentum that this report will hopefully create. Teacher training, curriculum innovation, in-class testing, textbook and Web site development, and dissemination are but a few of the challenges. We hope that this report will serve as a catalyst for widespread discussions and the initiation of many pilot projects that can take the evolution of K-12 computer science to the next level. We invite you to read the entire report, and then to take part in this discussion in a way that mutually benefits both you and the K-12 education community.