The Colorado School of Mines recently updated its recommended high school course list, which helps high schools determine which courses to offer and guides students in determining which courses to take, including computer science electives.
“Being more literate in computer science is
becoming increasingly critical to succeeding in both work and higher
education,” computer science professor and division director Tracy Camp said.
“Our nation’s youth need to have the opportunity to learn how to code, as
computing has become ubiquitous in our world. Coding also helps develop
critical thinking skills.”
The Compute Colorado task force -- formed by the Colorado Technology Association, the Colorado Education Initiative, the National Center for Women & Information Technology, and Oracle Academy -- identified a gap in the course offerings for computer science. While the field is experiencing high growth and offers high-wage and high-demand jobs, high school offerings to introduce students to computer sciences are still limited.
“We believe that clear recommendations to
include STEM electives, especially computer science electives, will not only
encourage K-12 schools to continue to expand their STEM-related electives and
students to take them, but will also help students be career-ready for the
growing number of high-paying STEM jobs,”
Colorado Technology Association chief development officer Wendy
Nkomo said.
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