ADE Commissioner Jacob Oliva
Jacob Oliva
Secretary | Read Bio 
Department of Education

Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Arkansas Computer Science Gold Medal School Program

Memo Information

Memo Number
COM-21-048
Memo Date
11/16/2020
Memo Type
Informational
Unit
Central Administration
Regulatory Authority
Response Required
NO
Attention
Federal Programs; Superintendents; Assistant Superintendent; Principals; Technology Coordinators; Test Coordinators; General Business Managers; Teachers; Gifted & Talented Coordinators; Curriculum Coordinators; Bookkeepers; School Counselors; Techstart Coordinators or Contact Name; Equity Coordinators (Disability/Race/Gender/National Origin); Data Stewards (SIS; eSchool; eFinance; TRIAND); District Coordinators (ALE; Homeless; ESOL; SDFS & Foster); Parent Involvement Coordinators/Facilitators

Primary Contact Information

Secondary Contact/s Information

Memo Text

The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Office of Computer Science is pleased to announce the Computer Science Gold Medal School Program (ACSGM) that recognizes Arkansas high schools for outstanding work in supporting and implementing the Arkansas Computer Science and Computing Initiative (ACSCI). Schools will be ranked yearly based on information submitted to and reviewed by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Office of Computer Science. The criteria that forms the basis of the rubric will center on Governor Asa Hutchinson’s 5-year goals and the recommendations of the 2020 Arkansas Computer Science and Cybersecurity Task Force. The program is to begin during the 2020/2021 school year. Rankings for the 2021 (inaugural) Gold Medal Schools will be announced in the Spring of 2021.

The ACSGM will provide the ADE Office of Computer Science a mechanism to proffer results-driven recommendations and goals for Arkansas schools to strive for in the implementation and growth of their local computer science and computing programs. In addition, the ACSGM will provide ADE and the Governor a clearly identified criteria-based system to acknowledge schools that are implementing the ACSCI with fidelity over multiple years.

The ACSGM rubric is currently available at: http://bit.ly/ACSGMRubric 

The 2020/2021 rubric focuses on the following categories and measures:

Academic

  • AP CSA Score Rate
  • AP CSP Score Rate
  • Completer Rate
  • Graduation Rate
  • Retention Rate
  • Teacher Involvement and Licensure

Enrollment

  • AP/IB Enrollment Rate
  • Concurrent Credit Enrollment Rate
  • Gender Diversity of Enrollment
  • Socioeconomic Diversity of Enrollment
  • Locally Instructed Enrollment Percentage
  • Racial Diversity of Enrollment

Accessibility

  • ADE CS Course Options
  • AP/IB Course Options
  • Concurrent Credit Course Options
  • Graduation Requirement for Current Year Senior Class
  • Internship Opportunities
  • Program of Study Options

Outreach and Promotion

  • Governor's High School Coding Competition Participation
  • Community Coding Event
  • Other Computer Science and Computing Competitions
  • Communications and Promotion Plan
The submission portal (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACSGM) will open on December 1, 2020 and close at 11:45p.m. on January 31, 2021.

More information, as made available, may be found at: cs.arkansas.gov.

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