Giving Compass' Take:

• As technology’s role continues to grow in the Californian, national and global economy, accessible computer science education is a critical foundation for broadening participation in the tech workforce.

• California seriously lags in allowing students to learn computational thinking, tech literacy, and programming skills. What are policymakers doing to provide and invest in more opportunities? 

• Here's how to support STEM and tech education. 

In California, we know the value of technology. Thanks largely to the world’s largest tech companies right in our backyards, California leads the nation in overall economic output. Technology has made our state one of the world’s leading hubs of innovation and creativity, across multiple industries.

Yet, when we shift our view from tech’s present to its future, the Golden State’s outlook isn’t so robust.

Today, our kids aren’t learning the computer science knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in the future tech-driven workforce.

Just three percent of California’s 1.9 million high school students took a computer science course in 2017. This is one of the startling findings of a recent Kapor Center study of K-12 computer science education in California’s schools. The study took a comprehensive look at computer science access, enrollment and equity in statewide classrooms.

Read the full article about teaching California students tech by Allison Scott and David W. Gordon at EdSource.