Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

Computer Science Standards




Results


Showing 11 - 20 of 28 Standards

Standard Identifier: 6-8.AP.16

Grade Range: 6–8
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Program Development
Practice(s): Developing and Using Abstractions, Creating Computational Artifacts, Communicating About Computing (4.2, 5.2, 7.3)

Standard:
Incorporate existing code, media, and libraries into original programs, and give attribution.

Descriptive Statement:
Building on the work of others enables students to produce more interesting and powerful creations. Students use portions of code, algorithms, digital media, and/or data created by others in their own programs and websites. They give attribution to the original creators to acknowledge their contributions. For example, when creating a side-scrolling game, students may incorporate portions of code that create a realistic jump movement from another person's game, and they may also import Creative Commons-licensed images to use in the background. Alternatively, when creating a website to demonstrate their knowledge of historical figures from the Civil War, students may use a professionally-designed template and public domain images of historical figures. (HSS.8.10.5) Additionally, students could import libraries and connect to web application program interfaces (APIs) to make their own programming processes more efficient and reduce the number of bugs (e.g., to check whether the user input is a valid date, to input the current temperature from another city).

Standard Identifier: 6-8.AP.18

Grade Range: 6–8
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Program Development
Practice(s): Collaborating Around Computing, Creating Computational Artifacts (2.2, 5.1)

Standard:
Distribute tasks and maintain a project timeline when collaboratively developing computational artifacts.

Descriptive Statement:
Collaboration is a common and crucial practice in programming development. Often, many individuals and groups work on the interdependent parts of a project together. Students assume pre-defined roles within their teams and manage the project workflow using structured timelines. With teacher guidance, they begin to create collective goals, expectations, and equitable workloads. For example, students could decompose the design stage of a game into planning the storyboard, flowchart, and different parts of the game mechanics. They can then distribute tasks and roles among members of the team and assign deadlines. Alternatively, students could work as a team to develop a storyboard for an animation representing a written narrative, and then program the scenes individually. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy W.6.3, W.7.3, W.8.3)

Standard Identifier: 6-8.AP.19

Grade Range: 6–8
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Program Development
Practice(s): Communicating About Computing (7.2)

Standard:
Document programs in order to make them easier to use, read, test, and debug.

Descriptive Statement:
Documentation allows creators, end users, and other developers to more easily use and understand a program. Students provide documentation for end users that explains their artifacts and how they function (e.g., project overview, user instructions). They also include comments within code to describe portions of their programs and make it easier for themselves and other developers to use, read, test, and debug. For example, students could add comments to describe functionality of different segments of code (e.g., input scores between 0 and 100, check for invalid input, calculate and display the average of the scores). They could also communicate the process used by writing design documents, creating flowcharts, or making presentations. (CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy SL.6.5, SL.7.5, SL.8.5)

Standard Identifier: 6-8.DA.9

Grade Range: 6–8
Concept: Data & Analysis
Subconcept: Inference & Models
Practice(s): Developing and Using Abstractions, Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts (4.4, 6.1)

Standard:
Test and analyze the effects of changing variables while using computational models.

Descriptive Statement:
Variables within a computational model may be changed, in order to alter a computer simulation or to more accurately represent how various data is related. Students interact with a given model, make changes to identified model variables, and observe and reflect upon the results. For example, students could test a program that makes a robot move on a track by making changes to variables (e.g., height and angle of track, size and mass of the robot) and discussing how these changes affect how far the robot travels. (CA NGSS: MS-PS2-2) Alternatively, students could test a game simulation and change variables (e.g., skill of simulated players, nature of opening moves) and analyze how these changes affect who wins the game. (CA NGSS: MS-ETS1-3) Additionally, students could modify a model for predicting the likely color of the next pick from a bag of colored candy and analyze the effects of changing variables representing the common color ratios in a typical bag of candy. (CA CCSS for Mathematics 7.SP.7, 8.SP.4)

Standard Identifier: 9-12.AP.12

Grade Range: 9–12
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Algorithms
Practice(s): Developing and Using Abstractions, Creating Computational Artifacts (4.2, 5.1)

Standard:
Design algorithms to solve computational problems using a combination of original and existing algorithms.

Descriptive Statement:
Knowledge of common algorithms improves how people develop software, secure data, and store information. Some algorithms may be easier to implement in a particular programming language, work faster, require less memory to store data, and be applicable in a wider variety of situations than other algorithms. Algorithms used to search and sort data are common in a variety of software applications. For example, students could design an algorithm to calculate and display various sports statistics and use common sorting or mathematical algorithms (e.g., average) in the design of the overall algorithm. Alternatively, students could design an algorithm to implement a game and use existing randomization algorithms to place pieces randomly in starting positions or to control the "roll" of a dice or selection of a "card" from a deck.

Standard Identifier: 9-12.AP.18

Grade Range: 9–12
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Program Development
Practice(s): Fostering an Inclusive Computing Culture, Creating Computational Artifacts (1.1, 5.1)

Standard:
Systematically design programs for broad audiences by incorporating feedback from users.

Descriptive Statement:
Programmers use a systematic design and review process to meet the needs of a broad audience. The process includes planning to meet user needs, developing software for broad audiences, testing users from a cross-section of the audience, and refining designs based on feedback. For example, students could create a user satisfaction survey and brainstorm distribution methods to collect feedback about a mobile application. After collecting feedback from a diverse audience, students could incorporate feedback into their product design. Alternatively, while developing an e-textiles project with human touch sensors, students could collect data from peers and identify design changes needed to improve usability by users of different needs.

Standard Identifier: 9-12.AP.19

Grade Range: 9–12
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Program Development
Practice(s): Communicating About Computing (7.3)

Standard:
Explain the limitations of licenses that restrict use of computational artifacts when using resources such as libraries.

Descriptive Statement:
Software licenses include copyright, freeware, and open-source licensing schemes. Licenses are used to protect the intellectual property of the author while also defining accessibility of the code. Students consider licensing implications for their own work, especially when incorporating libraries and other resources. For example, students might consider two software libraries that address a similar need, justifying their choice of one over the other. The choice could be based upon least restrictive licensing or further protections for their own intellectual property.

Standard Identifier: 9-12.AP.22

Grade Range: 9–12
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Program Development
Practice(s): Communicating About Computing (7.2)

Standard:
Document decisions made during the design process using text, graphics, presentations, and/or demonstrations in the development of complex programs.

Descriptive Statement:
Complex programs are often iteratively designed as systems of interacting modules, each with a specific role, coordinating for a common overall purpose. Comments are included in code both to document the purpose of modules as well as the implementation details within a module. Together these support documentation of the design process. Students use resources such as libraries and tools to edit and manage parts of the program and corresponding documentation. For example, during development of a computational artifact students could comment their code (with date, modification, and rationale), sketch a flowchart to summarize control flow in a code journal, and share ideas and updates on a white board. Students may document their logic by explaining the development process and presenting to the class. The presentation could include photos of their white board, a video or screencast explaining the development process, or recorded audio description.

Standard Identifier: 9-12.DA.11

Grade Range: 9–12
Concept: Data & Analysis
Subconcept: Inference & Models
Practice(s): Developing and Using Abstractions, Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts (4.4, 6.3)

Standard:
Refine computational models to better represent the relationships among different elements of data collected from a phenomenon or process.

Descriptive Statement:
Computational models are used to make predictions about processes or phenomena based on selected data and features. They allow people to investigate the relationships among different variables to understand a system. Predictions are tested to validate models. Students evaluate these models against real-world observations. For example, students could use a population model that allows them to speculate about interactions among different species, evaluate the model based on data gathered from nature, and then refine the model to reflect more complex and realistic interactions.

Standard Identifier: 9-12S.AP.10

Grade Range: 9–12 Specialty
Concept: Algorithms & Programming
Subconcept: Algorithms
Practice(s): Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems, Communicating About Computing (3.1, 7.2)

Standard:
Describe how artificial intelligence drives many software and physical systems.

Descriptive Statement:
Artificial intelligence is a sub-discipline of computer science that enables computers to solve problems previously handled by biological systems. There are many applications of artificial intelligence, including computer vision and speech recognition. Students research and explain how artificial intelligence has been employed in a given system. Students are not expected to implement an artificially intelligent system in order to meet this standard. For example, students could observe an artificially intelligent system and notice where its behavior is not human-like, such as when a character in a videogame makes a mistake that a human is unlikely to make, or when a computer easily beats even the best human players at a given game. Alternatively, students could interact with a search engine asking various questions, and after reading articles on the topic, they could explain how the computer is able to respond to queries.

Showing 11 - 20 of 28 Standards


Questions: Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division | CFIRD@cde.ca.gov | 916-319-0881