Feb. 2, 2024 - Two San Antonio ISD high schools have earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles. CAST Tech High School and Highlands High School were honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding girls’ access in AP computer science courses.
“We’re thrilled to congratulate our female AP computer science students and their teachers on this step toward gender parity in computer science education,” said Dr. Johnny Vahalik, SAISD assistant superintendent for College, Career and Military Readiness. “We’re honored that two of our high schools earned this distinction and look forward to seeing these young women and others pursue and achieve success in computer science education and careers.”
“Computer science is the source code of our economy and much of the career landscape,” said Trevor Packer, Head of the AP Program. “In the six years since we began the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award, it’s been heartening to see schools like CAST Tech and Highlands welcome so many more young women into this vital field.”
Providing female students with access to computer science courses, said Packer, is critical to ensuring gender parity in the industry’s high-paying jobs and to driving innovation, creativity, and representation. The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $100,530 in May 2022. However, women represent just 24% of the five million people in computing occupations.
According to College Board research, female students who take AP Computer Science Principles in high school are more than five times as likely to major in computer science in college, compared to female students of similar background and academic preparation who did not take the AP course. The study also finds that students who take the course are nearly twice as likely to enroll in other AP computer sciences courses, and these courses serve as a stepping stone to other advanced AP STEM coursework.
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