1. Passion, Beauty, Joy, and Awe Continued
SIGCSE 2009
Chattanooga, Tennessee
March 5, 2009
Eric Roberts
Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University
Past Chair of the ACM Education Board

2. In Our Last Episode . . .
That there is currently a crisis in computing education is not in doubt.
McGettrick et al., SIGCSE 2007 —
As everyone has now been aware for some time, computing enrollments in the United States and most of Europe have plummeted since 2001.
This drop is of significant economic concern because those same countries are training far fewer people than they need to fill the available positions. In the United States, there are now many more jobs in the IT sector than there were at the height of the dot-com boom, with all projections pointing toward continued growth.

3. What a Difference a Year Makes
That there is currently a crisis in computing education is not in doubt.
McGettrick et al., SIGCSE 2007 —
As everyone has now been aware for some time, computing enrollments in the United States and most of Europe have plummeted since 2001.
This drop is of significant economic concern because those same countries are training far fewer people than they need to fill the available positions. In the United States, there are now many more jobs in the IT sector than there were at the height of the dot-com boom, with all projections pointing toward continued growth.
In Silicon Valley and at Stanford, the answers are clear:
Demand for talented software developers is as high as it’s ever been.
CS enrollments are skyrocketing, nearly erasing any previous loss.
Are enrollments still falling?
Is this still true after the meltdown?

4. Introductory Course Enrollment Trends
1800
1600
All CS intro courses
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
CS106A (our CS1)
200
projected

5. The Reasons for the Downturn
Fears about the long-term economic stability of employment in the computing industry continue to have a profound effect on student interest in our discipline. 1.
The kind of exposure students get to computing at the elementary and secondary level tends to push people away from the discipline long before they reach the university. 2.
The image of work in the field—and, more importantly, all too much of the reality of work in the field—is unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun, particularly in comparison to other opportunities that bright students might pursue. 3.

6. The Single Best Enrollment Predictor
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
500
400
300
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
A statistical analysis undertaken by my colleague, Mehran Sahami, found that 88% of the enrollment variance at Stanford can be explained by the NASDAQ average of the preceding year.
But the NASDAQ—along with other markets—has been declining steadily over the last year. If enrollments have historically tracked the high-tech economy, why are enrollments rising?

7. There are Fewer Places to Go7 7

8. We Still Have Work To Do 2.
The kind of exposure students get to computing at the elementary and secondary level tends to push people away from the discipline long before they reach the university. 3.
The image of work in the field—and, more importantly, all too much of the reality of work in the field—is unattractive to most students and no longer seems fun, particularly in comparison to other opportunities that bright students might pursue.
reality

9. Computing Faces Huge Challenges in Schools
People who have software development skills command high salaries and tend not to teach in schools.
In many schools, computing courses are seen as vocational rather than academic. The NCAA has eliminated academic credit for most computing courses on this basis.
Students who are heading toward top universities are advised to take non-CS courses to bolster their admissions chances.
Because schools are evaluated on how well their students perform in math and science, many schools are shifting teachers away from computer science toward these disciplines. Those disciplines, moreover, often oppose expanding high-school computer science.
Administrators find tools like PowerPoint more
sexy
and
exciting. J
Computing skills in general—and programming in particular—have become much harder to teach.
Teachers have few resources to keep abreast of changes in the field.

10. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .
A Tale of Two Meetings
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .
—Charles Dickens
On September 13 and 14, Jan Cuny at the National Science Foundation organized a meeting in Atlanta to think broadly about new designs for the AP CS exam. This meeting, which was chaired by Owen Astrachan, was one of the best and most exciting meetings I have ever attended. 1.
On September 13 and 14, Jan Cuny at the National Science Foundation organized a meeting in Atlanta to think broadly about new designs for the AP CS exam. This meeting, which was chaired by Owen Astrachan, was one of the best and most exciting meetings I have ever attended. 1.
On the weekend of October 24, the College Board held the AP Computer Science National College Faculty Colloquium in Chicago to discuss the AP exam. I didn’t attend, but reports from several attendees indicated that the energy they took with them from the Atlanta meeting was lost after Chicago. 2.
On the weekend of October 24, the College Board held the AP Computer Science National College Faculty Colloquium in Chicago to discuss the AP exam. I didn’t attend, but reports from several attendees—and Chris Stephenson in particular—indicated that much of the energy they took from the Atlanta meeting was lost after Chicago. 2.

11. The Seven Big Ideas from the Atlanta Meeting
Computing is a creative activity that draws on a wide variety of fields, such as natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, social sciences, business, and the arts. 1.
Abstraction is a central problem-solving technique in computer science. 2.
Algorithms are the essence of computational problem solving. 3.
Writing programs is an integral part of solving computational problems. 4.
Theoretical and practical limitations affect what can be solved computationally. 5.
Computing enables and empowers innovation, exploration, and creation of knowledge. 6.
Computing drives and is driven by economics, culture, society and ethics. 7.

12. Jan Cuny’s “Clean Slate” Project

13. The End

14. AP CS Is Relatively Small

15. AP CS is Losing Ground
The Computer Science exam is the only Advanced Placement exam that has shown declining student numbers in recent years.
Eliminated in 2009

16. Degree Production vs. Job Openings
160,000
Ph.D.
140,000
Computer Science
Master’s
120,000
Bachelor’s
100,000
Projected job openings
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
Engineering
Physical Sciences
Biological Sciences
Sources:
Adapted from a presentation by John Sargent, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Commerce, at the CRA Computing Research Summit, February 23, Original sources listed as National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources Statistics; degree data from Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Completions Survey; and NSF/SRS; Survey of Earned Doctorates; and Projected Annual Average Job Openings derived from Department of Commerce (Office of Technology Policy) analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics projections. See