How can we improve teacher effectiveness and attitudes to increase student achievement in Arizona’s high-needs K-12 public schools?
Arizona ranks near the bottom nationally in student achievement and teacher satisfaction. In the 2007 Arizona Teacher Working Conditions Survey, Arizona teachers reported feeling frustrated with a lack of professional development, absence of a mentoring system, low pay and few opportunities for professional growth.
Rural school districts offering computer science education encounter challenges that many urban districts don’t. A 2013 survey by Science Foundation Arizona reported that less than half of students in Arizona’s 13 rural counties have internet access at home. Other obstacles include:
Women are underrepresented in the field of computer science in the U.S., and their numbers are declining. A study by the National Science Foundation found the percentage of females among computer science majors in 2014 was 18, down from 35 percent in 1985. The underrepresentation begins in high school — girls are much less likely than boys to take an advanced-placement computer science test — and even middle school, when many girls lose interest in science in general and decide not to enroll in high school computer courses.