We talked about setting kids up to fail in math. What about CS? Well, it's a little subtler. I started thinking about this after a conversation with one of my graduates about Harvard's famous CS50. Since that conversation, I've spoken to a number of my kids that have gone through CS50 and most seem to say the same things: They don't really teach anything The kids rely on a group member who already knows stuff or will learn all the stuff on their own If it weren't for my StuyCS background my group would have really struggled.

"Four in ten NYC high schools don't offer Algebra 2 and both Physics and Chemistry." At least that's what this article and linked report say. The implication is clear - many of our students don't have the opportunity to advance in math and the sciences. The truth though is much more disturbing. The reason why these schools aren't offering Algebra 2 is very simple - the kids aren't ready for it.

This image has been making its rounds. Largest expansion is pretty clear but are the largest gain in 3+ scores mean a higher percentage of 3+ scores or merely the result of more test takers? I'm curious, but that's not what I wanted to talk about. Looking at our AP results from this year we had: For the past two years we've been allowed to run 7 sections of AP Computer Science with about 30 kids per class.

It's Wednesday morning. I'm sitting in an unairconditioned room. I really shouldn't be writing this since we were told "NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES!!!" Where am I? Up at a school on East 96th street grading the geometry regents. Back in the day schools gave exams then schools graded exams. Typically by committee. You'd get a room full of math teachers, each teacher would take a problem or two and we'd work through class envelopes.

or: what to watch out for in after school and summer programs CAVEATS: In writing this post I do not mean to say that there aren't some great programs out there - there are. I also know that most of the programs I'm aware are being developed by people who are really trying to do some good. Since I wrote a post on my problem with drop in curricula on March 4 (http://cestlaz.

If we don't do anything then only schools like Stuy will have CS. I heard that the other day. It was a comment relating to a number of efforts, both in and out of NY to get CS into the classroom. These programs abound and up front let me say that they're all well meaning and have the best of intentions. In NYC, programs receiving money, publicity, and support, include: The Software Engineering Pilot (SEP) Google CS First afterschool The NSF grant bring the Beauty and Joy of Computing class to NYC (BGP) Terrific – we'll scale up CS ed in NY from nothing to everyone in no time.

The other day, Fred Wilson sent out a short tweet storm turned post on determining if an entrepreneur's startup idea is a good one. It's short. Take a minute to read it over. At its core, the post and the comments talk about belief in an idea and it got me thinking about some things as an educator. Tweet 7: and you have to believe in yourself and your idea or nobody else ever will resonated with me, not just in terms of a startup idea, but with respect to one's passion.

In a recent post, Alfred Thompson referred to an earlier post where he mentioned rock star CS teachers. That's a term I've heard thrown around a lot in the past few years. I've heard some of my graduates referred to as rock stars - top tech people, and in fact I've seen some of them courted for positions in a manner that a rock star might be accustomed to.

Yesterday, my buddy Stan pointed me to this article: "To address tech’s diversity woes, start with the vanishing Comp Sci classroom" It gives a reasonable overview of the gender issues in computer science education. The article talks about the drop in popularity of the old Advanced Placement AB course and its eventually being dropped as well as thoughts on how the current A course is pretty dry. It made me think about the old vs new exams.

Earlier today I saw a friend's Facebook post questioning the sanity of common core math. He had an issue with the way his daughter was being forced to work out problems. A few of us chimed in with our low op pinion on Common Core, others said they thought it was a good idea. I think the fact that my buddy was questioning it is a major strike against CC.