Home News RIDGE VIEW HIGH SCHOOL EARNS COLLEGE BOARD AP COMPUTER SCIENCE FEMALE DIVERSITY AWARD

RIDGE VIEW HIGH SCHOOL EARNS COLLEGE BOARD AP COMPUTER SCIENCE FEMALE DIVERSITY AWARD

1/25/2023

Ridge View High School continues to make strides in closing the gender gap for girls in AP computer science courses. Ridge View has earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP). Nationwide, Ridge View is one of 832 schools receiving recognition in the category of AP CSP.

Ridge View Principal Dr. Brenda Mack is honored that her school earned this distinction and looks forward to seeing her students and other young women pursue and achieve success in computer science education and careers.

“We are thrilled to congratulate our female AP computer science students and their teachers on this step toward gender parity in computer science education. We know that women are underrepresented in computing occupations and this is a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Mack.

At Ridge View, of the 34 students taking the AP exam for the course in 2022, 15 were female. Eight passed with a score of three or four, which means they are well qualified to succeed in college classes. Since the College Board launched AP Computer Science Principles in the 2016-2017 school year, it has recognized Ridge View in 2019 and 2021 for closing the gender equity gap in computer science.

According to the College Board, the median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $97,430 in May 2021. However, women represent just 24 percent of the five million people in computing occupations. The College Board also noted, 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.