No change: Males still dominate AP CS

Disappointing but true.

AP CS does matter to us. The College Board says that the probability is higher for an AP CS student to go on to take more CS, than it is for just about any other AP (e.g., Biology, Statistics) to go on to take more of that subject.  In Allison Elliott Tew’s studies of CS1 and CS2 students, she found that AP CS students did better (on average) on her measures of learning than students coming out of GT’s other CS1 courses. Therefore, AP CS students are likely to go to more CS, and they’re likely to be good.

Most STEM fields are likely to remain predominantly male. Boys take more AP physics and computer science exams, while girls now dominate AP biology (59 percent), notes Curriculum Matters, who’s been reading the AP Report to the Nation. While Calculus AB exam-takers are evenly split, 59 percent of those who tackle the more advanced Calculus BC are male.

Males make up 58 percent of AP music theory exam-takers, 74 to 77 percent in physics and 80 to 86 percent in computer science.

via Boys dominate AP physics, computer science — Joanne Jacobs.