Deal recommends computer programming satisfy core requirement

Gov. Nathan Deal has recommended the State Board of Education amend state policy to allow computer programming courses to satisfy core requirements — math, science or foreign language — for receiving a high school diploma.

Deal is asking the Board of Regents of the University System to follow suit by accepting these courses for admission into institutions of higher education.

“Students need to acquire the 21st century skills necessary to thrive in the modern workforce,” Deal said in a news release. “Computing is currently one of the fastest growing occupations in the country with average salaries nearly twice the national rate. In fact, more than half of the projected job growth in the STEM fields will be in computing occupations. We must begin training our young people in these areas prior to their post-secondary education so they are prepared to fill these high-wage, in-demand positions.”

Currently, Georgia allows Advanced Placement Computer Science to satisfy the fourth and final science credit in high school. Only 18 percent of Georgia high schools offer this class and less than one percent of students took the course in 2013. Other coding courses can count only as elective credit and access to these courses is limited.