Study shows parents want computer science in schools, but only 40% of schools teach it

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017

(WRDW/WAGT) -- A study shows Georgia has plenty of open computer science jobs, but not enough schools teach the curriculum.

According to information from Code.org, computing occupations "are the number 1 source of all new wages in the U.S. and makeup two-thirds of all projected new jobs in STEM fields, making computer science one of the most in-demand college degrees."

Yet, only 40% of schools actually teach the curriculum. 93% of parents surveyed say they want their child's school to teach it.

Only 2,033 high school students in the state took the AP Computer Science exam in 2016 and only 127 schools offered the course.

Georgia had only 1,747 computer science graduates in the whole state in 2015. Even more alarming is that universities in Georgia did not graduate a single new teacher prepared to teach computer science in 2016.

With the growing popularity of computer science and the high demand in the state, Georgia's educational standards are below-average according to Code.org. In fact, Georgia has not created a state plan for K-12 computer science courses and does not have rigorous standards publicly available.

- 50% of Americans rank computer science as one of the two most important subjects of study after reading and writing.

- 67% of parents and 56% of teachers believe students should be required to learn computer science.

- Students who learn computer science in high school are

more likely to major in it.

And yet, Georgia allows computer science to count as a core graduation requirement and admission requirement at colleges and universities. Georgia also has one of the highest salaries for those in computing occupations at $90,351 a year.

Code.org recommends that parents contact their local school districts to allow computer science courses and to find courses and curriculum from third-party providers.