K-12 Computer Science Standards in Colorado

Colorado’s economic vitality would greatly benefit from the implementation of comprehensive K-12 computer science education. There are literally thousands of computer science jobs in Colorado and only hundreds of Colorado college graduates to fill those positions. Additionally, Frey and Osborne (2013) estimate that 47% of current employment in all sectors of the economy will be replaced by technology in 10 to 20 years. Professionals in all disciplines will be more successful with knowledge and skills in computer science. Citizens will make more informed choices with foundational understanding of computer science. Students have been learning how to use computers for many years (digital literacy), computer science is a discipline in which students explore foundational concepts related to creating hardware, software, programming, and user interfaces. We owe it to students to prepare them adequately for future employment. CodeWithUs' program conforms to the Colorado state's K-12 Computer Science standards.

Goals with Colorado K-12 Computer Science Standards

Develop, utilize and evaluate algorithms, to model and solve problems.

Systematically analyze a problem using decomposition and abstraction to formulate a solution.

Represent and analyze data in order to generate new knowledge and capability.

Use systems thinking to describe networks and common software and hardware components.

Develop systems solutions from a set of specifications to complete a design process.

Recognize and analyze security concepts.

Design and create programs, individually and collaboratively, for a variety of disciplines.

Create computational artifacts that consider security from tampering, malicious or otherwise.
 

Standards in Computer Science

The Colorado Computer Science High School Standards are voluntary and focused on grades 9-12 as a continuous experience rather than specific grade levels. Standards are the topical organization of an academic content area. The three standards of computer science are:

Computational Thinking
Includes concepts related to the use of algorithms and data in different ways to generate new knowledge and articulate solutions to real world problems.

Computing Systems and Networks
Includes concepts related to the development and communication between software and hardware, and systems thinking around data protection and recovery.

Computer Programming
Includes concepts related to creating computer programs and applications, working collaboratively to engage in client-based problem solving, and internet security.