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Expansion of AP computer science courses draws more girls and minorities ‘There’s more work to do’

扩大AP计算机科学[1]课程吸引更多女孩和少数民族，还有更多工作要做。

Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Nick Anderson.

改编自华盛顿邮报 Nick Anderson 的故事。

For more than 30 years, high schools have offered Advanced Placement classes in computer science. But about 10 years ago, educators began to worry about participation. Overall numbers were low.

超过三十年时间，高中都开设了计算机科学的高级教程，但是大约10年前，教育工作者开始担心这些课程可能总体上是偏低的。

About 20,000 students took the computer science tests in 2007, fewer than the totals for AP French or studio art. A closer look showed even more dismal trends that year.

2007年大约2万个学生参加了计算机科学考试，比 AP 法语 或者演播艺术的总数少很多，更近距离的观察显示那年的情形倾向于更坏。

Only about 3,360 female and 1,300 Latino students took the computer science test. The African American total was a mere 734.

仅约3360女性和 1300 拉丁裔学生参加了计算机科学考试，非裔美国人总数仅为734人。

Trevor Packer, senior vice president of the College Board and longtime head of the AP program, said annual reports on computer science testing in that era would make him wince. Idaho, for example, counted 25 boys taking the tests in 2007 — and zero girls. The College Board saw similar situations in a handful of other states

Trevor Packer, 大学董事会高级副总裁，也是AP计划长期负责人，说，那个时期的计算机科学考试年度报告让他感到畏缩。例如，Idaho 州统计， 25个男生参加了考试，女生数是0. 大学委员会在其他州也看到了类似的情况。

The College Board, which oversees the AP program, knew something needed to change. 监督AP计划的大学委员会，已经认识到需要改变一些事情了。

With help from the National Science Foundation, the College Board and computer scientists at various universities fashioned a new course meant to appeal to a broader audience. AP Computer Science Principles, or CSP, launched nationally in fall 2016. It joined a longer-established AP course focused on the programming language Java.

在国家科学基金的帮助下，大学委员会和计算机科学家们设计了一门新课程，来吸引更多观众。 计算机科学原理，CSP，在2016年秋季全面启动，它加入了一个较长的课程，专注与编程语言Java。

A College Board video promoting the course made explicit appeals to underrepresented students. “A lot of girls are intimidated because they see computers as, like, a ‘guy thing,’ ” one girl says in the video. “If more girls were, like, encouraged, then that wouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

一个促进该课程的大学委员会视频对还在疑虑的学生进行明确的呼吁。 一个女孩在在视频中说，“很多女孩对课程感到害怕是因为觉得是男孩子的东西，如果更多女孩被鼓励参与，那将不会是问题。”

Nationwide in 2017, the number of female, black and Latino students who took an AP computer science test doubled. In Idaho last spring, 92 girls took an AP computer science test. Most tested after taking the newest course, Computer Science Principles.

2017年参加AP计算机科学考试的女性、黑人、拉丁裔学生数量翻倍了。在Idaho 州去年春季，92个女孩参加了考试。绝大多数参加最新课程 计算机原理的学生都参加了考试。

We’re trying to diversify a field that for whatever reason has remained not so for generations,” said David Coleman, president of the College Board. “Really, what this is about is computer science breaking out of its narrow role.”

Coleman acknowledged: “There’s more work to do.”

我们努力使计算机科学领域多样化发展，不管这一代还存在什么原因，大学委员会主席 David Coleman 说，真的，这是突破计算机狭隘角色的一种方式。他也承认， 还要更多工作要做。

About 27 percent of roughly 100,000 AP computer science test-takers last spring were girls. Black students accounted for 5 percent of those tested and Latino students for 15 percent, well below their overall shares of school enrollment. Expanding computer science in high schools also takes more than adding a new AP course. It also requires investing in teachers, who often are not experts in the field. Course offerings have long been skimpy in many schools.

大约100000名计算机科学考试参与者中有27%是女孩，黑人5%， 拉丁裔15%, 远低于学校总人数。 在高中扩大计算机科学课程不仅是增加一门新的AP课程，也要增加教师投资，他们往往不是计算机科学领域内 的专家。许多学校该课程设置一直很薄弱。

Still, universities are tracking progress in AP computer science testing closely. They have struggled for years to broaden the demographic base of students in computer science beyond white and Asian American men. The AP program, which enables students to obtain college credit through testing, offers one of the strongest links between high schools and higher education.

These problems have seeped into the workforce, where women and minorities are often in short supply.

尽管如此，大学仍在密切跟踪AP计算机科学考试的发展。多年来，除了白人和亚裔美国人，他们一直在努力扩大计算机科学专业的学生人口基础。AP项目使得学生通过考试获得大学学分，为高中和大学教育提供了最牢固的联系之一。

这些问题也渗透到了劳动力市场，妇女和少数民族以经常供不应求。

[1] AP计算机科学 百度百科 https://baike.baidu.com/item/AP%E8%AE%A1%E7%AE%97%E6%9C%BA%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6/13476125