Computer Science Standards

NEW K-12 Computer Science Standards

Board Approves Revisions to Computer Science Standards Recommendations for K-12

On May 9, 2024, the Colorado State Board of Education approved revisions to the recommendations for computer science, English language development, physical education and world language standards. By August, staff will incorporate the approved revisions and post the new standards on CDE’s website. Additionally, staff previewed the next cycle in the revision cycle, which will include comprehensive health; reading, writing, and communicating; math; and science. That process will start in the summer and fall with benchmarking and initial public input. Committee recruitment, application and selection will occur in the spring of 2025 with committee drafts of proposed revisions completed by the summer of 2025.

Click here for the current version of the newly adopted K-12 Computer Science Standards.

History of Colorado Computer Science Standards

During the 2016 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 16-1198 requiring the development of voluntary Computer Science academic standards for secondary students. The new law allows districts to elect to adopt these standards for high school students. During the fall of 2016, CDE hosted a series of stakeholder meetings and a webinar to engage a broad array of stakeholders to inform the development process. Incorporating the work of many stakeholders including industry partners, non-profits, and educators from higher education, CTE and K-12, a volunteer citizen standards committee drafted the Computer Science standards from 2017 until the Spring of 2018. These voluntary, secondary Computer Science standards were adopted by the State Board of Education in April 2018.

2020 Computer Science Standards

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Standards Online

Interact with the 2020 Standards Online

Read the Introduction
(adopted 2018)

Read the Standards
(PDF, adopted 2018)

Alternative Formats (adopted 2018): Spreadsheet CSV | Excel | Markdown/Plain Text | Simplified Word
Family and Community Guides (adopted 2018): High School
Review and Revision (adopted 2018): Summary of Development | Computer Science Committee Page