According to The 74, 29 states currently do not officially recognize high school computer science classes for credits.

Despite President Obama’s announcement that the federal government would be committing $4 billion to help expose all K-12 students to computer science, many states do not yet recognize high school classes for college credit.

In California, 20,000 individuals have signed a petition for the independent University of California Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) to make computer science classes count for credit in state schools.

"The petition calls for BOARS, which sets the admissions standards, to accept computer science as a qualifying class for admissions to the [University of California] system,” said The 74.

Instead of being counted as an elective, the petition calls for computer science to be counted as a core math requirement. This change in categorization would then give schools, especially poorer ones, the incentive to offer computer science, said California teacher Claire Shorall, who created the petition.

Teachers and students aren’t the only ones rallying behind the petition and calling for change. Silicon Valley- the new face of powerful education reform- has given its blessings, too.

"The powers in Silicon Valley rallied behind the petition, leading California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom to voice his support in a December letter urging BOARS to change the computer science classification,” The 74 said.

While BOARS chairman Dr. Ralph Aldredge told The 74 that BOARS is constantly looking for ways to expand computer science incorporation, he disagrees that computer science should become a core math requirement because he does not feel that coding should replace basic mathematic skills like geometry or algebra.

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

2/11/2016