It is known that there is no unifying framework in the K-12 computer science curriculum. Having seen curriculum in action, it is up to teachers what they teach. This leaves students wondering, and leads students within the same grade or taking the same course to learn different concepts or develop different understandings. This paper lays a good foundation for the K-12 curriculum of computer science.

After reading this paper, I had to do a search to find the website that lays out all of the details for “a modern K-12 CS framework.” The website has technical depth and addresses each grade level on areas that are advocated for K-12. The five concepts of the framework are computing systems, networks and the Internet, data and analysis, algorithms and programming, and impacts of computing. This is a wonderful beginning and students should be introduced in such a way as to not scare them off. I have seen students who are very much interested in computer science, but become completely disillusioned after taking a course. This is due to demotivated teachers or a lack of cohesive curriculum, or both. This framework, if implemented properly, has a huge potential to educate the next generation of students. Knowing computer science fundamentals is a must for all next-generation professionals.

In the statement of support for the K-12 CS framework website, I saw many publicly traded companies and nonprofits but not universities or open-source advocates. Also missing were nonprofits like the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). I would like to see this curriculum supported by many groups--not just industry. Overall, this is a great start and includes many pointers for the future.