How Does CS Education Vary by District across Illinois? Part 5 of The State of Computer Science in Illinois High Schools Series
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| Title: | How Does CS Education Vary by District across Illinois? Part 5 of The State of Computer Science in Illinois High Schools Series |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Stephanie M. Werner, Ying Chen, Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) |
| Source: | Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative, Discovery Partners Institute. 2025. |
| Availability: | Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, State of Illinois for Discovery Partners Institute. 200 South Wacker Drive, 20th Floor, Chicago, IL 60304. Tel: 217-766-6779; e-mail: IWERC@mx.uillinois.edu; Web site: https://dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-research/iwerc/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 35 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | High Schools Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | High Schools, Secondary School Curriculum, Computer Science Education, Enrollment, Trend Analysis, Demography, Course Content, School Districts, Differences, State Standards, State Legislation, Educational Legislation |
| Geographic Terms: | Illinois |
| Abstract: | The purpose of The State of Computer Science in Illinois High Schools Series is to analyze the landscape, structures, and pathways of computer science (CS) education in Illinois and to create a baseline by which to measure the expansion of CS education in the coming years. Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, all districts in the state that serve grades 9-12 must offer every student the opportunity to enroll in a CS course. Because not all districts in the state had CS offerings before this school year, it is imperative to measure Capacity for, Access to, Participation in, and Experiences in CS education (i.e., CAPE framework) before and after the mandate went into effect. Analyzing trends through the lens of the CAPE framework will highlight progress while identifying existing gaps in providing equitable access and outcomes for all students. The first report of this Series provided an overview of the CS education landscape in the state by analyzing overall participation trends and details about the most enrolled CS courses. The second report analyzed the CS student body, focusing on students from historically marginalized backgrounds, including trends in their participation in general and rigorous coursework and course outcomes. The third report uncovered the characteristics and assignability patterns of high school CS teachers to assess the state's capacity to deliver equitable CS education. The fourth report explored what factors predicted student learning outcomes and continued enrollment in CS courses. This fifth and final report of the Series examines how CS offerings vary by districts and district characteristics, as well as highlight districts in the state that have robust and equitable CS programs. Parts 1-4 of this Series touched on different aspects of CS education in the state: course offerings, student body, teacher workforce, and student outcomes. Part 5 of this Series takes pieces from each of these reports and brings them together to explore differences in CS programming at the district level. The first half of this report examines districts' readiness to meet state mandates on CS course offerings. In March 2021, Governor J. B. Pritzker signed into law Public Act 101-0654, or the Education and Workforce Equity Act. Public Act 101-0654 was brought forth by the Illinois legislative Black Caucus and was aimed at bringing equity to various spaces of K-12 education and the Illinois workforce. Most relevant to this work, one such mandate regarding CS education was that all districts serving grades 9-12 were required to offer students the opportunity to take at least one CS course beginning in the 2023-2024 school year (SY 2024). This mandate underscores the importance placed on CS education in the state, but could be a daunting feat if most districts in the state did not already offer CS coursework. As such, an exploration of CS coursework before the mandate went into effect is warranted to determine which districts need additional support to meet the requirement. Moreover, if the state wishes to continue expanding CS education, a baseline is needed by which to measure future CS learning opportunities and associated outcomes. This report examines which districts offered CS education during SY 2022, two years before the mandates went into effect, and how CS programming, including various offerings and staffing of qualified CS teachers, may differ by district characteristics like geography, evidence-based funding (EBF) tier, and percentage of low-income students in the district. Because earlier reports in this Series indicated that overall CS enrollment was moderate but steady and CS offerings were vast between SY 2018 and SY 2022, there must be districts in the state already doing CS education well. As such, the second half of this report highlights districts that have robust and equitable CS programs. These districts, or Cases of Excellence, were selected based on a rubric using components of the CAPE framework. Previous reports looked to the CAPE framework as a way to measure equity in CS education for the state in terms of capacity for, access to, participation in, and experiences in CS education. This report takes this framework one step further and applies it to it every district in the state. The authors highlight districts' hiring, training, and supporting of CS teachers, their methods of advising, enrolling, and igniting interest in their students, and their policies and strategies for providing equitable CS education. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED679336 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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