Surveying the Landscape: Statewide Data on K-12 CS Education Implementation

In the past decade, there have been increasing efforts and initiatives to increase participation in computer science worldwide. In the U.S., these efforts have resulted in national curricula and increased local expectations. The research on actual implementation often reports on efforts of single schools or districts. This paper provides a high-level description of the practices and challenges of teaching CS in K-12 across an entire state. To better understand how these efforts might increase CS education for all, we surveyed every public school in the state of Utah and analyzed enrollment data for all 19 Utah CS courses. The survey consisted of closed and open-ended questions about each school's current CS practices and personnel. Schools from 39 of 42 public school districts responded (including charter schools) representing 46.3% of the state's high schools, 39.3% of middle/junior high schools, and 28% of elementary schools. Course data indicated that enrollment in CS courses increased considerably in the past five years after the introduction of newer, more fundamental courses. Despite the general enrollment increase, there has been a markedly smaller increase in student enrollment in more advanced CS courses. In this paper, we discuss these and other surprising results, as well as challenges that educators reported in promoting and teaching CS.