Equal accessibility to computer science classes in high schools in California

Abstract

In this paper, we provide a statistical analysis of data from the California Department of Education to determine whether students of different ethnic and gender backgrounds are equally represented in high school computer science classes in California. Contrary to public perception, we found that every ethnic demographic was accurately represented in the classroom. The percentage of students of each demographic matched in the classroom the percentage of students in each demographic for the state. We found that this representation does not depend on gender. The ethnic distribution of male students in computer science matches the ethnic distribution of the state of California. Similarly, the ethnic distribution of female students in computer science matches the ethnic distribution of the state of California. We found that, despite inclusion efforts, female students are still a minority in these classes. Only 15% of schools with computer science programs have enrollment of at least 50% female. Related research suggests that the most effective way to include female students is to integrate STEM programs into the school curriculum at an early age before girls start to associate with gender stereotypes.