CSforEL: Increasing Participation and Achievement in AP
Computer Science Principles
Computer science is the fastest-growing subject in the US, yet English learners are dramatically underrepresented in these courses. CSforEL is a new 4-year research project funded by the U.S. Department of Education, to attract, retain and engage English learners (EL) in AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) in Arizona, New Mexico and San Diego.
We are currently looking for district and school-level participation in the CSforEL project in terms of relationship and partnership building, data gathering efforts, and conversation with our Evaluation Team Leads to help determine treatment and control schools and to identify schools and teachers to participate in our first PD cohort during the 2021-2022 school year.
If you are interested in more information about the CSforEL project, please contact Larae Butcher, Project Manager, CSforEL, at larae.butcher@csteachers.org.
Together the grant team and participating districts will see:
● Increased enrollment of English learners in AP CS Principles
● Increased number of qualifying scores by English learners in AP CS Principles
As a participating district, you will receive:
● Expert led CS Course Placement Review to understand current access to CS courses for EL students and develop
strategies to attend to barriers to course placement.
● 70+ hours of professional development over two summers and throughout the year for participating AP CSP
teachers, with stipends included, paid directly by CSTA to teachers.
● 10+ hours of professional development over the summer for at least one principal and counselor per participating
school
● Access to cutting edge resources and guidance around supporting ELs in AP CSP
● Local facilitator development to ensure professional development can continue sustainably beyond the life of the
grant.
● Regular formative evaluation feedback from leading educational researchers.
● Expert led CS Course Placement Review to understand current access to CS courses for EL students and develop
strategies to attend to barriers to course placement.
● 70+ hours of professional development over two summers and throughout the year for participating AP CSP
teachers, with stipends included, paid directly by CSTA to teachers.
● 10+ hours of professional development over the summer for at least one principal and counselor per participating
school
● Access to cutting edge resources and guidance around supporting ELs in AP CSP
● Local facilitator development to ensure professional development can continue sustainably beyond the life of the
grant.
● Regular formative evaluation feedback from leading educational researchers.
As a participating district you commit to:
● Identifying treatment and control school(s) in the district that will offer AP CSP in partnership with the grant
team.
○ Control schools will have the opportunity to participate after the end of the grant through local
facilitators developed over the course of the grant.
● Identifying treatment and control school(s) in the district that will offer AP CSP in partnership with the grant
team.
○ Control schools will have the opportunity to participate after the end of the grant through local
facilitators developed over the course of the grant.
● Participating in the CS Course Placement Review, with engagement from district and school leadership
● Ensuring all participating teachers have at least one section of AP CS Principles, deliberately scheduled to ensure
possible participation by EL students.
● Ensuring all participating teachers have at least one section of AP CS Principles, deliberately scheduled to ensure
possible participation by EL students.
● Ensuring participating teachers, principals, and counselors attend all professional development.
● Participating in program evaluation
● Participating in program evaluation
Program Evaluation Details
As part of the program evaluation, partner districts will:
● Participate in teacher/administrator interviews, teacher surveys, CSP classroom observation student focus groups.
● Provide data needed to evaluate the effects of the program annually:
○ Longitudinal student-level data will be requested from grade 6 forward for all students in both treatment
and control schools to help the team to match students by their predicted likelihood of taking a computer
science course:
As part of the program evaluation, partner districts will:
● Participate in teacher/administrator interviews, teacher surveys, CSP classroom observation student focus groups.
● Provide data needed to evaluate the effects of the program annually:
○ Longitudinal student-level data will be requested from grade 6 forward for all students in both treatment
and control schools to help the team to match students by their predicted likelihood of taking a computer
science course:
■ Information on grade level
■ School attended
■ Transcripts
■ Test scores
■ School attended
■ Transcripts
■ Test scores
○ Demographic data for students in, or projected to be in, the graduating classes of 2016 and later through
the class of 20271
the class of 20271
■ whether the student is currently an English Learner
■ was an English Learner in the past and if so, the initial year of EL classification and year of
reclassification
■ race/ethnicity, home language and one or more measures of socioeconomic status as available,
such as free-/reduced-price meal eligibility or parental education level.
reclassification
■ race/ethnicity, home language and one or more measures of socioeconomic status as available,
such as free-/reduced-price meal eligibility or parental education level.