New Google for Education report on K-12 CS Ed: Parents want it, Principals don’t get it

Google has just released a new report on K-12 CS Education.  It’s linked at the bottom.  I’m going to quote from a new Wired article that describes one of the big bottomlines.

In a big survey conducted with Gallup and released today, Google found a range of dysfunctional reasons more K-12 students aren’t learning computer science skills. Perhaps the most surprising: schools don’t think the demand from parents and students is there.

Google and Gallup spent a year and a half surveying thousands of students, parents, teachers, principals, and superintendents across the US. And it’s not that parents don’t want computer science for their kids. A full nine in ten parents surveyed viewed computer science education as a good use of school resources. It’s the gap between actual and perceived demand that appears to be the problem.

via Huh? Schools Think Kids Don’t Want to Learn Computer Science | WIRED.

Searching for Computer Science: Access and Barriers in U.S. K-12 Education

To understand perceptions of computer science and associated opportunities, participation, and barriers, we worked with Gallup, Inc. to survey over 1,600 students, 1,600 parents, 1,000 teachers, 9,600 principals, and 1,800 superintendents. We found:

• Exposure to computer technology is vital to building student confidence for computer science learning.

• Opportunities to learn computer science at schools is limited for most students. When available, courses are not comprehensive.

• Demand for CS in schools is high amongst students and parents, but school and district administrators underestimate this interest.

• Barriers to offering computer science in schools include testing requirements for other subjects and limited availability and budget for qualified teachers.

via Google for Education: Computer Science Research.