High School CS Teacher Certification

Abstract

CS Education in primary and secondary schools has experienced a renaissance in the last few years as the CS for All initiative has gained traction across the nation. CS curricula abound and a new AP course, CS Principles, has been deployed that aims to broaden participation. Lack of consensus exists however in what constitutes a qualified CS teacher. A widely accepted and adopted modern certification/licensure process (CSTA 2013) must be developed. Professional development that can be rapidly scaled to build CS teacher capacity is required to realize the vision of CS for All across the nation. In this session we will engage state and national CS thought leaders to discuss the CS certification process, educator standards, and certification tests across various states to determine opportunities for future collaboration. What are the content standards that all beginning CS teachers must meet? What if any specific CS pedagogical topics need to be assessed? Applications today are built in teams and often deployed and distributed in the cloud. Are these topics too advanced for high school CS or should they be integral? How can professional development be designed to help teachers across multiple states meet certification standards? The existing standards from the ETS CS Certification test (Texas Education Agency, 2010) currently used in multiple states will serve as the baseline for group discussion and feedback.