We’re Currently Recruiting Schools!

We’re Currently Recruiting Schools!

Image of kids working with robots with a teacher

For more information and to join the study, please use our interest form. We typically respond within 1-2 business days.

Purpose

To understand impacts of CS education on middle and high school students, this national, multi-year study will determine if multiple exposures to CS education relate to:

  • Motivation (self-efficacy, expectancy-value constructs), interest, sense of belonging
  • Computational thinking (CT) knowledge
  • Intent to pursue CS after high school.

This is a minimal-burden study for districts, schools, students, and staff:

  • There is no intervention. This study primarily consists of one ~10 minute student survey distributed each year and one ~10 minute staff survey distributed every other year.
  • Study starts Fall 2025, with the first collection of data in Spring 2026.
  • We welcome participation from schools that do or do not offer computer science.

Benefits to Participating

  • Contribute to a ground-breaking, longitudinal study in CS education that will have lasting, critical impact
  • States will receive an annual, state-level report co-developed to meet states’ needs with recommendations
  • Sites will receive an annual individual report with recommendations
  • Sites will receive implementation support (tentatively set at $2,500 each year, dependent on funding) for participating

State-Level Commitments

Eight states across the U.S. will each have several participating sites. Each state lead is asked to:

  • Assist in recruiting sites
  • Assist in maintaining connections with sites
  • Assist in co-developing the annual reports to ensure they meet state needs for decision making
  • Participate in the PROACT-CS Consortium, including attending monthly meetings

Site (District/School) Level Commitments

Several high schools and one or more feeder middle schools for each high school will participate in each state. Each site (school or district) is asked to designate a staff member to commit 22-25 hours in the project’s first year and 5-10 hours in subsequent years to distribute surveys. The staff member will:

  • Collect caregiver consent
  • Assign a provided study ID to each student
  • Distribute a student survey each spring during the school day
  • Distribute a school environment survey to staff in even-numbered years
  • Distribute gift cards as needed
  • Provide updates to the researchers

This study is a 3-year commitment for middle schools and a 7-year commitment for high schools.