The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has released a statement cautioning states and districts that allowing computer science courses to substitute for a high school math course could undermine students’ math preparation.
More than half of states allow computer science to count as a math or science credit toward high school graduation. The number of states with such policies has increased quickly over the past few years, in part because groups like Code.org have advocated for computer science to be recognized as a core subject.
NCTM President Diane Briars says that can be a bad move in states that only require students to take two math courses to graduate.
“When you only have a two-course requirement, that’s a minimum mathematics requirement. In that case, allowing computer science to substitute for a mathematics course would really undermine students’ mathematics preparation very seriously.”
