Have you become familiar with the new CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards? I’m sure you are aware that the standards were revised and published in December 2011. Do you know that the standards are organized into five strands: Collaboration; Computational Thinking; Computing Practice and Programming; Computers and Communications Devices; and Community, Global, and Ethical Impacts? The standards for learning are scaffolded in each of the strands, from Level1:3 (Grades 1-3) to Level 1:6 (Grades 3-6), to Level 2 (grades 6-9) to Level 3A (grades 9 and 10); and then to level 3B (grades 11 and 12). There are beautiful and descriptive graphics in the Standards Document that depict this scaffolding of standards.
So, if any of this is news to you, you might want to download and read and download the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards from the CSTA website.
Have you been asked to demonstrate how your Computer Science courses contribute to the teaching of other national standards? The great news today is that the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards have now been correlated with the Common Core State Standards, the STEM Cluster Topics, and the Partnership for 21st Century Essential Skills. The downloadable documents that match the CSTA standards to the above national standards are available on the Curriculum webpage of the CSTA website.
Many thanks to Debbie Carter, former CSTA Board Member, who painstakingly compared the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards to each of the other three sets of national standards! Thanks also to the Curriculum Committee who reviewed Debbie’s meticulous crosswalks and collaborated with Debbie on the final crosswalks.
These “crosswalk” documents will be exceedingly helpful to classroom teachers who are asked to state how what they teach reinforces national standards. Be the first in your school or district to check out these useful crosswalk documents and put them to good use. Then spread the word!
Deborah Seehorn
CSTA State Department Representative, Chair Elect
Curriculum Committee Chair