Association for Computing Machinery

A new ACM report urges states to provide more opportunities for students to gain the skills and knowledge needed to compete for high-wage computing positions. The report, "Rebooting the Pathway to Success: Preparing Students for Computing Workforce Needs in the United States," says state education professionals, business leaders, and public policy officials should collaborate in developing comprehensive computer science education and workforce development plans. The report offers suggestions to help these leaders create pathways that will expose all K-12 students to computer science, provide increased access to more intense computer science courses, offer more opportunities for students to pursue post-secondary degrees, and match up education pathways with computing careers. By 2020, 50 percent of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) will be in computing. "This concentration of computing positions in STEM makes it imperative for K-12 students in academic and career technical education programs to gain more opportunities to learn computer science," says ACM Education Policy Committee chair Bobby Schnabel.  To read further, please visit http://www.acm.org/press-room/news-releases/2014/pathways-report/view.