The Christian Science Monitor

More girls, African-Americans enroll in AP computer science. Why that matters.

Geraldine Louis, a junior and founding member of the extracurricular Robotics Club, attends its meeting at Brooke High School. The Boston school is among those in the US whose students are focusing on taking and passing Advanced Placement computer science tests.

‘You are role-playing a turtle. You can only move forward and only turn left. Remember, be the turtle.” 

The students listen to their teacher’s instructions and dutifully turn to their laptops, where the challenge awaits. On the screen is a small white box and a small black turtle, and next to it a larger box appears to type in their code. The room fills with clicking sounds and hushed whispers as the students get to work on their

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