Understanding the CS Standards

Successful implementation of computer science programs in the K-12 space requires a general understanding of requirements and desired outcomes. To establish a set of standards for all programs, the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) released the CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards (CS Standards) in 2017. These standards serve as a resource to all administrators and educators looking to integrate CS curriculum into their course offerings. Shortly after releasing these K-12 standards, CSTA released a set of Standards for CS Teachers, which establish robust standards for the teachers who will prepare their students to meet the outlined learning outcomes.

Why are the CS standards necessary?

Learning standards are descriptions of what students should know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. Learning standards such as the CS Standards describe learning goals—i.e., what students should have learned by the end of a course, grade level, or grade span— and are not a curriculum. Per the CSTA, the CS Standards delineate a core set of learning objectives that, in turn, provide the foundation for a complete CS curriculum and its implementation at the K–12 level.

Just be sure to remember, standards outline what students need to know and be able to do, and curriculum is how students will learn it.

How to Use the CS Standards

The key to effectively using the CS Standards is knowing how to interpret them. Many learning standards are visualized as a progression of skills that build from one year to another, creating a picture of what a student should know and be able to do to achieve mastery of a concept. The CS Standards are no different in that regard. CSTA has created a progression chart to show you how the CS Standards build off one another; you can use this progression chart to unpack each standard, or in other words, you can use this chart to dissect essential information from each standard.?

The progression chart organizes the CS Standards into Levels by suggested age groups which detail when a specific standard should be introduced to students. In each of these groupings, you will find the list of standards that are developmentally accessible to students at this age/grade. What does this mean? The Level 1A standards are accessible to students as young as kindergarten because the standards in this group deal with concrete ideas and things. The Level 1B standards are accessible to students in third grade and up when their thinking becomes more organized and logical. The Level 2 standards start to dabble in areas of abstract thoughts and, as such, are recommended to be taught no earlier than 11 years old or, roughly, 6th grade. Finally, the Level 3 standards are geared towards high school students.?

Teaching younger students standards from a higher Level may prove very difficult; however, high school students can process all standards based on their cognitive ability. Level 3 standards, though, do assume that your students can grasp this information based on knowledge from the previous Levels. The most important thing here is that students with little to no exposure to CS concepts should still learn Level 1A, 1B, and 2 standards. Therefore, it is possible to see introductory high school CS courses built entirely from the Level 1A, 1B, and 2 standards. Those concepts provide the foundation for almost all 3A and 3B standards.

Concepts

The CS Standards are organized into five overarching areas of interest: computing systems, networks and the internet, data and analysis, algorithms and programming, and impacts of computing. These concept areas are further broken down into subconcepts. This organization allows you to see how each concept progresses over time.

Missing Group

Not all of the standards are placed on the official progression chart. You will notice that the standards in the 3B category are missing. That is not something that should deter you from using them. You can still access them on the standards page on CSTA’s website.

How to Unpack Standards

The goal of unpacking standards is to create a map of prior knowledge and skills required to introduce new learning concepts. Fortunately, there are many ways to extract this information so you may teach from a standard. Ultimately, unpacking the CS Standards will allow you to develop new content and curriculum or do a deep dive into preexisting coursework.?

Let’s get started. One way to begin unpacking a standard is to identify where it falls in the progression chart. For example, let’s look at standard 1B-CS-01. You will notice that standard 1A-CS-01 is before it, and 2-CS-01 is after it. That means that the learning expected in 1A-CS-01 provides the prior skills and knowledge a student needs before addressing the new concept in 1B-CS-01. Similarly, the learning outlined by 1B-CS-01 will become the prior skills and knowledge for the next standard in the progression, 2-CS-01.

Once you’ve identified the required prior learning for a standard, you can begin to unpack the new knowledge introduced by a standard.?

Let’s use 1A-CS-01 as an example. In 1A-CS-01, there is no prior learning, so you don’t have to worry about that part. To distinguish between those concepts a student needs to know and what they should be able to do, let’s underline the noun phrase and circle the verb in the standard.

In this standard, a student must be exposed to and use various types of software to perform various tasks. Familiarity with each type of software will help students better understand when one would be used over another.?

Now, take a look at the table below. Given the standard and the explanation that CSTA gives you, you should be able to fill in the blanks.

With this blueprint, you will be able to create a lesson that addresses what students need to know and be able to do to master this standard.?

Have questions about this process and need assistance? Contact us at [email protected].