EHS – FJC Earns Second Straight College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award
EHS – FJC Earns Second Straight College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award
Recognized for Closing the Gender Gap in AP Computer Science Principles
Elizabeth, N.J., February 8, 2023 – Elizabeth High School – Frank J. Cicarell Academy has earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded young women’s access to AP computer science courses.
More than 1,100 institutions received the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award by achieving 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.
“It has been very encouraging to see a greater representation of women in STEM-related careers in recent years and that begins with elementary and secondary schools throughout our nation providing STEM education opportunities and inspiring young women to pursue them,” said Elizabeth Public Schools Superintendent Olga Hugelmeyer. “Equity is very much at the heart of our values as a district and I am proud to see so many of our female students taking the initiative to participate in computer science courses as well as other STEM related offerings that we provide. I’m looking forward to seeing some of our young women take their place among the next generation of leaders in these important fields.”
EHS – FJC was one of 832 schools recognized in the category of AP Computer Science Principles (CSP).
“Computer science is the source code of our economy and so much of our daily lives,” said Trevor Packer, College Board Head of the AP Program. “In the five years since we began the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award, it’s been heartening to see schools like Elizabeth High School Frank J. Cicarell Academy welcome so many more young women into this vital field.”
The first year of AP CSP in 2016-17 attracted more students than any other AP course debut, and participation is on the rise. In 2022, 134,651 students took the AP CSP Exam—more than triple the number of exam takers in the course’s first year. In 2022, 44,811 women took the AP CSP Exam, more than three times the number who tested in 2017.
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 $97,430 in May 2021.
The research by College Board pertaining to female participation in AP CSP is very encouraging. According to the data, female students who take AP CSP 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 CSP. The study also finds AP CSP students are nearly twice as likely to enroll in AP Computer Science A (CSA), and that for most students, AP CSP serves as a stepping stone to other advanced AP STEM coursework.
EHS-FJC has now received the AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award in the category of AP CSP for the second straight year and is one of two Elizabeth high schools to have received the award. John E. Dwyer Technology Academy previously received the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award in the category of AP Computer Science Principles in 2019.
“Elizabeth has always prided itself on having strong diversity, both within its schools and the greater community,” said Elizabeth Board of Education President Iliana Chevres. “It is great to see our commitment to diversity and equity receive recognition and, in this case, to see our young women students at Elizabeth High School – Frank J. Cicarell Academy showing interest in computer science opportunities that either had not been pursued as frequently or had not been as accessible to women in the past as they are today. I hope these last two years are just the beginning of a growing interest and participation by our female students in computer science and other science and technology related subjects.”