In recent years, eight states have adopted a graduation requirement in computer science (CS), and other states are considering similar requirements. Due to the recency of these requirements, little is known about student and teacher perceptions of course(s) that fulfill the requirement and their content. This project seeks to answer the question, What are the perceptions of students who are studying CS beyond high school and CS teachers of a high school CS requirement and its content?

We used a mixed methods approach that included interview transcripts from students who took CS coursework in high school and are currently studying it in college (n = 9). We also used quantitative data from a survey of CS teachers (n = 2,238) that asked for their perceptions of a CS graduation requirement. Most of the students felt that CS should be required in high school, and there was a wide variety of sentiment regarding what content should be included in such a course. For the high school teachers, about 85% felt that CS should be required.

It is perhaps not surprising that most students who studied CS in college valued it at the high school level and thus supported a graduation requirement. What is more interesting is the diversity of content that they felt should belong in such a course. These findings serve as an important consideration for those implementing a CS graduation requirement.