On October 22, the Code.org Advocacy Coalition, alongside the Computer Science Teachers Association and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance released the 2024 State of Computer Science Education report. Published annually, the report analyzes progress in computer science education featuring national and state-level policy and implementation data. This year’s iteration also offers perspective on the meteoric rise of AI in education and its impact on the broader computer science landscape. 

By the numbers: Since 2017, we’ve seen investments in expanding access to computer science education skyrocket. More students have access to and are enrolling in computer science courses than ever before: nearly twice as many high schools offered computer science in 2023-24 as they did in 2017-18 and 82% of U.S. high school students now have computer science classes available at their schools.

Despite the progress made, there are still millions of students without the opportunity to take foundational computer science. Findings from this year’s report reveal that year after year, the same student populations are facing barriers to access:

  • Young men are twice as likely to take foundational computer science as young women. 
  • Hispanic/Latine students are 1.7x less likely to take computer science than their white and Asian peers. 
  • Rural high schools, urban high schools, and smaller high schools (<500 students) are less likely to offer foundational computer science.

What’s next: The data make one thing clear: computer science graduation requirements work. States that have adopted graduation requirements have 76% of their high schools offering computer science, compared to just 62% in states without. In these states, we also see more young women enrolled in computer science courses. The report projects that if every state adopted graduation requirements, national annual enrollment in computer science would surge to 25%. 

For states looking to expand access to computer science education, the Code.org Advocacy Coalition recommends 10 foundational policy ideas as a framework to ensure clarity, capacity, leadership, and sustainability.