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By Megan Tagami at Honolulu Civil Beat
Hawaii has a mandate that all schools offer computer science classes by the 2024-25 school year, but the quality and accessibility of these courses remains unclear.
Read the full articleAt Molokai Middle School, robots and drones have a permanent place in Kaeo Kawaa’s computer science classroom. As his eighth grade students learn the basics of coding and programming, they apply their skills by flying drones through obstacle courses and navigating small robots through complex mazes on the classroom floor.
These lessons are a big hit with his students who love puzzles and video games, Kawaa said. But he also hopes these basic software and data skills will carry them through their high school classes and professional careers.
“They’re basically learning, but on the surface, they’re playing video games,” he said.
High-paying jobs involving computer science and technology are in high demand across Hawaii and the nation. The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization recently ranked computer and information sciences as one of the top 10 most lucrative college majors in the state, with a projected mid-career salary of over $95,000.
The Hawaii Department of Education is now facing a state mandate from 2021 requiring all Hawaii schools to offer at least one computer science course by the end of the 2024-25 academic year. DOE won’t publish its annual overview of campuses offering computer science classes until the summer and did not respond to requests for an updated count of schools, but principals and advocates are optimistic that most schools will meet the state’s ambitious goal this year.
David Sun-Miyashiro, executive director of HawaiiKidsCAN, said computer science provides students a range of skills they can use in future jobs and everyday life, from analyzing data to using technology safely and ethically. With the continued rise of artificial intelligence like ChatGPT, it’s especially important for students to understand how to responsibly use and then develop similar tools, he added.
Last year, roughly 75% of Hawaii schools offered at least one computer science class, with more principals planning to offer graded courses in the current school year.
But the rapid expansion of computer science classes hasn’t been consistent throughout the state. Small schools struggle to hire more staff members to teach new courses, and students in rural communities sometimes lack the internet access or computers needed to complete assignments at home.
Just over half of rural high schools in Hawaii offered computer science in the 2022-23 academic year compared to 72% of suburban campuses, according to the educational nonprofit Code.org.
Hawaii is making progress in the right direction, said Daniel Hoffman, an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Hawaii Manoa. But DOE also needs to assess the quality and accessibility of its classes, he said, adding that there’s little data available on which students are benefiting most from the push for more computer science in schools.
“It’s possible that we’ve exacerbated inequities unintentionally,” Hoffman said. “But the truth is, we just don’t know right now.”