The Impact of Access: Expanding Opportunities for African-American, Latino/a, and Female Students to Learn Higher Level Computer Science in High Schools

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

In 2004, an alliance between faculty from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS), the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science (HSEAS), and officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)-the Computer Science Equity Collaborative (CSEC)--was formed. The purpose of the alliance is to address the under-representation of female, African-American, and Latino/a students in computer science (CS) at the high school level. The first endeavor of the CSEC was a summer institute for LAUSD Advanced Placement (AP) CS teachers that resulted in 11 brand-new AP CS courses in LAUSD high schools with high minority student populations. Teachers were given instruction in Java as well as being engaged in discussions on recruiting and retaining underrepresented students. As a result of the summer institute, the number of AP CS courses in the LAUSD doubled, the number of LAUSD female students enrolled in AP CS tripled, the number of LAUSD Latino/a students tripled, and the number of LAUSD African-American students enrolled in AP CS doubled. Principals of the schools committed to providing support for these courses. UCLA has been awarded Special Projects funds to support its participation in a second summer institute, to provide a UCLA-based summer conference meeting of principals and other critical stakeholders who are interested in expanding access to AP CS for under-represented students, to conduct follow-through research in year-round schools that continue to operate through the summer, and to further develop new collaborative initiatives.