Capacity-related factors associated with computer science access and participation in Georgia public high schools

Abstract

States across the United States are enacting policies aimed at increasing computer science (CS) courses and content in K–12 schools. We explore the relationship between such policy with the capacity of high schools to teach CS courses and student access to and participation in CS courses. To do this, we focus on Georgia, a state that has had a robust CS education movement over the past two decades. This paper investigates two research questions: 1) What factors at the school or district level are related to whether a high school teaches CS in Georgia? 2) What factors are related to CS enrollment rates in Georgia high schools? We examine these questions within the context of national and state policy factors that increase capacity of schools to teach CS. We describe the results of correlation and regression analyses of publicly available data for each school and district from 2016 and school CS enrollment from 2012 to 2016 in answering these questions. Results indicate that the odds of a school offering CS in 2016 were greatest for schools that taught CS the prior year, although median income and school size were also significant factors when prior CS was not considered. For CS enrollment, the model that included prior CS enrollment rates explained the most variance, although school size, median income, and the percentage of students who identify as Asian were also significant when prior CS enrollment was not included in the model. CS-specific policy has the potential to mitigate the effects of school size and income by offering capacity supports to schools that do not currently offer CS and can contribute to the sustainability and growth of CS offerings. These results have implications for policy efforts beyond the state of Georgia and provide direction for future research examining the causes of sustained CS offerings and enrollment patterns.