Collaborative Research: CAFECS: Developing Equitable Computer Science Pathways from High School to College

2020年6月，芝加哥公立学校（CPS）有14000多名学生毕业，获得了一年的高中计算机科学学分，以满足CPS最近的计算机科学毕业要求。这是芝加哥计算机科学公平联盟（CAFÉCS）十多年来在整个地区实施探索计算机科学（ECS）课程和伴随的教师专业发展计划的成果。ECS课程支持同等的评估结果，无论学生的种族/民族和性别，也同样增加了他们学习额外计算机科学课程的兴趣，包括大学先修课程。该项目以这项工作为基础，扩大了CPS的早期大学学分计算机科学课程，并让学生参加当地大学的活动，通过计算机科学途径招募和激励他们。该项目以有色人种学生和第一代大学生为重点，为学生提供广泛的指导和准备，帮助他们完成高中、社区大学和四年制大学计算机科学课程的过渡。尽管有证据表明这种高中计算机科学途径对大学早期学分的有效性，但只有大约四分之一的CPS高中提供AP计算机科学课程，不到10%的学校提供计算机科学双学分课程。此外，关于早期大学学分课程如何激发计算机科学专业学生的兴趣并为他们在大学取得成功做准备的机制，研究也很缺乏。该项目特别关注有色人种学生，重点关注在CPS中扩大高中早期大学学分的机会，并支持学生在社区大学的计算机科学道路上取得成功。该项目旨在了解ECS实施的特点，这些特点使高中能够成功地引入早期大学学分机会，例如AP和双学分课程，以及现有的AP计算机科学专业发展计划在多大程度上充分准备了未经认可的教师，以实现与计算机科学认可的教师相同的学生成果。该项目还在探索早期大学计算机科学学分机会在多大程度上增加了人们对该领域的兴趣，从而导致他们注册计算机科学路径课程，以及社区大学可以减少障碍并增加学生在计算机路径上的成功的潜在机制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In June 2020, more than fourteen thousand students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduated with one year of high school computer science credit in fulfillment of CPS’ recent computer science graduation requirement. This was the culmination of over a decade of work by the Chicago Alliance For Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS) to implement the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) curriculum and accompanying teacher professional development program district-wide. The ECS class supports equivalent assessment outcomes regardless of students’ race/ethnicity and gender and equivalently increases interest in pursuing additional computer science coursework, including Advanced Placement courses. This project builds upon this work by expanding early college credit computer science courses in CPS and engaging students in activities at local universities to recruit and inspire them through computer science pathways. With a focus on students of color and first-generation college students, the project is providing extensive mentoring and preparation as students transition through their high school, community college, and four-year institution computer science pathways. Despite the evidence of the efficacy of this high-school computer-science pathway towards early college credit, only about a quarter of CPS high schools offer AP computer science and less than 10% of schools offer computer science dual credit courses. In addition, there is a paucity of research on the mechanisms by which early college credit courses inspire interest and provide preparation for college success in computer science majors. With a specific focus on students of color, this project focuses on the expansion of high-school early college credit opportunities in CPS and supporting students' success along computer science pathways in community colleges. The project aims to understand the characteristics of ECS implementation that enable high schools to successfully introduce early college credit opportunities, such as AP and dual-credit classes and the extent to which existing AP computer science professional development programs adequately prepare non-endorsed teachers to achieve student outcomes that are equivalent to those achieved by teachers who are endorsed in computer science. The project is also exploring the extent to which early college computer science credit opportunities increase interest in the field leading to enrollment in courses along computer science pathways and potential mechanisms in which community colleges can reduce barriers and increase success for students on computing pathways.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.