Published on January 31, 2023
The Warwick School District High School has earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science A. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded girls’ access in AP computer science courses.
More than 1,100 institutions achieved either 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses or a percentage of the female computer science exam takers meeting or exceeding that of the school’s female population during the 2021-22 school year. In 2022, Warwick was one of 209 recognized in the category of AP Computer Science A.
“Roughly, 20% of women in undergraduate programs graduate with a computer science degree (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-are-too-few-women-in-computer-science-and-engineering/), this award recognition provides an awesome chance to reflect, observe, and celebrate how far our Warwick Computer Science Program has grown in creating course opportunities for students and for improving our recruitment strategies to encourage all students at Warwick to try a computer science course. System.out.println("#GreatProgress!");” - Mr. Jeff Wile, High School Computer Science and Math Teacher.
Mr. Wile has been a teacher at Warwick since 2013. In his time here, he has taught a number of computer science and math courses at the high school. Over his years of service to this school, he has focused on promoting Computer Science Education and making it accessible to all students.
“Mr. Wile is dedicated to ensuring all students have access to Computer Science courses. He has spent years promoting Computer Science education and worked to remove barriers that have kept students out of Computer Science classes. The receipt of this award is another example of how our students have greatly benefited from his work.” - Dr. Kristy Szoboscan, Warwick High School Principal.
AP Computer Science A (CSA) students learn to design and implement computer programs that solve problems relevant to today’s society. AP Computer Science A, which first debuted in 1988, continues to grow and female participation has increased by 39% since 2017. Overall AP computer science course participation has increased by 103% since 2017, broadening STEM career opportunities for more students.
Providing female students with access to computer science courses is critical to ensuring gender parity in the industry’s high-paying jobs and to drive innovation, creativity, and representation. The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $97,430 in May 2021. However, women represent just 24% of the five million people in computing occupations.
According to a Google study, 54% of female computer science majors took AP CSA in high school. College Board research finds that students are nearly twice as likely to enroll in AP CSA after taking AP CSP.
These findings highlight the importance of schools nationwide achieving gender parity in AP computer science classrooms. Female students remain underrepresented in our high school computer science classes, accounting for just 33% of AP Computer Science Principles participants and 25% of AP Computer Science A participants. Currently, 51% of high schools teach foundational computer science. The 1,105 schools that receive this year’s AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award serve as inspirations and models for all U.S. high schools.