Eight of Miami-Dade’s Public Schools Earn College Board Advanced Placement Computer Science Female Diversity Award

Eight of Miami-Dade County’s public schools have earned the College Board AP (Advanced Placement) Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving a high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles, and AP Computer Science A. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded young women’s access in AP computer science courses.

The following M-DCPS are the 2023 award recipients:

·       Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts

·       Design and Architecture Senior High School

·       Felix Varela Senior High School

·       Medical Academy for Science and Technology

·       Miami Jackson Senior High School

·       Miami Norland Senior High School

·       Miami Springs Senior High School

·       Young Women's Preparatory Academy

“We’re thrilled to congratulate our female AP computer science students and their teachers on this step toward gender parity in computer science education,” said Lisette Alves, Assistant Superintendent for the Division of Academics. “We’re honored that our schools earned this distinction and look forward to seeing these young women and others pursue and achieve success in computer science education and careers.” 

The first year of AP Computer Science Principles in 2016-17 attracted more students than any other AP course debut, and participation is on the rise. In 2023,164,505 students took the AP Computer Science Principles Exam—more than triple the number of exam takers in the course’s first year. In 2023, 55,572 women took the AP Computer Science Principles Exam, more than four times the number who tested in 2017.

“Computer science is the source code of our economy and much of the career landscape,” said Trevor Packer, Senior Vice President, of AP and Instruction at the College Board.

Providing female students with access to computer science courses is critical to ensuring gender parity in the industry’s high-paying jobs and to driving innovation, creativity, and representation. The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $100,530 in May 2022. However, women represent just 24 percent of the five million people in computing occupations.

According to the data from  the College Board’s research about AP Computer Science Principles, female students who take AP Computer Science Principles in high school are more than five times as likely to major in computer science in college, compared to female students of similar background and academic preparation who did not take Computer Science Principles. The study also finds AP Computer Science Principles students are nearly twice as likely to enroll in AP Computer Science A, and that for most students, AP Computer Science Principles serves as a steppingstone to other advanced AP STEM coursework.

These findings highlight the importance of schools nationwide achieving gender parity in AP computer science classrooms. Overall, female students remain underrepresented in our high school computer science classes, accounting for just 34 percent of AP Computer Science Principles participants and 26 percent of AP Computer Science. The 1,127 schools that receive this year’s AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award serve as inspirations and models for all U.S. high schools.

 For the most up-to-date information, please download the Dadeschools Mobile App to your iPhone or Android device. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @MDCPS and @SuptDotres, on Instagram @miamischools and @suptdotres, and on Facebook at MiamiSchools.