NSHAHS Earns College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award

NSHAHS has earned the College Board’s AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding young women’s access to AP Computer Science Principles (CSP).

Out of the 20,000 institutions that offer AP courses, 1,119 achieved either 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses or a percentage of the female computer science examinees meeting or exceeding that of the school’s female population during the 2019-2020 school year. In 2020, NSHAHS was one of 831 recognized in the category of AP Computer Science Principles.

Under the leadership of Ms. Robin Wilensky, our NSHAHS students have the opportunity to participate in the challenging AP Computer Science course which prepares them for higher study and leadership in this field.

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. A code.org analysis of 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics data finds women represent just 24% of the 5 million people in computing occupations.

That’s why new College Board research about AP CSP is so encouraging. According to the data, female students who take AP CSP in high school are more than 5 times as likely to major in computer science in college, compared to similar female students who did not take CSP. The study also finds AP CSP students are nearly twice as likely to enroll in AP CSA, and that for most students, AP CSP serves as a stepping-stone to other advanced AP STEM coursework.

I thank all of our faculty members for continuing to inspire our students to strive for excellence. This is a critical part of our NSHAHS mission to invoke a joy of learning and bring out the best in our students academically and personally.