Computer science teachers may be better qualified than their peers

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —  Educators and researchers have had longstanding concerns about the quality of computer science instruction in U.S. schools. A recent study exploring student learning and computer science teachers’ qualifications in one state suggests that these teachers may be better qualified than those teaching other subjects, even within the same schools.

Paul Bruno, a professor of education policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, analyzed North Carolina’s statewide data on computer science teachers and assessed student learning in terms of their scores on advanced placement tests for the school years from 2006-07 to 2017-18.

Bruno found that these teachers had greater education and classroom experience compared with those who taught other courses. The data also suggested that student learning in terms of the ratio of pupils taking advanced placement exams in computer science and their exam scores were not significantly affected if teachers were not licensed in computer science specifically, although teachers’ experience in the classroom and their experience teaching computer science each had a positive impact.

The findings ― published in the journal Computer Science Education ― could help allay concerns about student learning and computer science teachers’ credentials. Bruno said the research provides some of the most detailed information to date about computer science teachers’ qualifications and the factors that appear to matter most in ensuring high-quality learning experiences for students, and is likely generalizable because it aligns with prior research in other subject areas.

“The policy conversation has focused heavily on having schools teach ever-growing numbers of computer science courses,” Bruno said. “We haven’t focused nearly as much on how to staff those courses with qualified teachers.”

While computer science education has expanded dramatically in U.S. high schools in recent decades, states’ efforts to train and certify greater numbers of teachers in that subject area have not kept pace with demand. As a result, these courses may be taught by staff with education and experience in loosely related fields such as science, technology, engineering or math, Bruno and U. of I. computer science professor Colleen Lewis found in a 2021 study of California high schools. That paper was published in Educational Administration Quarterly.

For the new study, Bruno used statewide data on computer science students and teachers, including course enrollment information, obtained from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center. Bruno used numerous variables to link students and their teachers. “The identifiers allowed me to track students and teachers over time, and I could link the students to teachers in course membership files ― a level of detail that was not common in previous research on computer science instructors, allowing analyses that would not be possible otherwise,” Bruno said.

Along with student and teacher demographic statistics, the data contained details about teachers’ education, including whether they had graduate degrees; their years of prior teaching experience in general and in teaching computer science specifically; and if they were licensed to teach career technical education courses such as computer programming or network engineering technology, or non-CTE subjects such as math, business or science. The data also indicated if a teacher had earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

To measure students’ learning, Bruno tracked the number of students who took the standardized exams given at the end of advanced placement computer science courses, students’ exam scores and their demographic characteristics.

Across the school years in the study, Bruno found that 67% of the computer science courses in North Carolina high schools were taught by individuals who were licensed in business and information technology education, suggesting computer science courses rely heavily on career technical/vocational education teachers. During this time period, computer science courses in the state’s high schools were 2.5 times more likely to be taught by teachers with math licenses than by teachers licensed in non-CTE business.

Computer science courses are more likely than all other subjects to be taught by teachers with graduate degrees and to be led by those with national board certification, according to the study.

Although computer science courses were relatively new additions to schools’ curricula during this time period, the average computer science course was taught by a veteran teacher who had three years more teaching experience in general compared with those teaching other courses, Bruno found. Once teachers began instructing computer science courses, they tended to stay, and there were clear implications for student learning, Bruno said.

When computer science instructors had an additional year of experience teaching that subject, their students were more likely to take the advanced placement exam, and they also scored slightly higher.

“Even when veteran teachers lack formal experience with or specialized training in computer science, they may have other attributes that make them effective instructors,” Bruno said. “Staffing these courses with veteran teachers may be a reasonable way for schools to expand their computer science curricula, when recruiting faculty who have specialized training in this subject is challenging.”

At the same time, Bruno cautions about implications for the supply of teachers as a whole. “If experienced and highly qualified math and career technical education teachers are teaching computer science courses, who’s teaching math and career technical education?”

The effects of teacher racial and gender diversity were less clear. During the 2018-19 academic year, the proportions of white instructors for computer science courses were nearly equivalent to those teaching all courses, at about 78%.

Although about 17% of computer science courses were taught by a Black instructor, Bruno found having a teacher of the same race did not significantly affect Black students’ achievement.

When computer science courses were taught by male teachers, boys in their courses scored from 0.16-0.23 points higher on the advanced placement exams, yet Bruno found little evidence that having a female teacher significantly benefitted girls.

“Given how important we know teachers are for student success, I hope policymakers and school leaders are thinking carefully about how to get great teachers into computer science classrooms. There is some potential guidance for them from my results, but I also hope researchers keep looking at these issues,” Bruno said.