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Submission + - AP CSA Exam Takers Struggled Again in 2025 With Simple Array Questions

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Presenting the 2025 AP Computer Science A (Java) Exam scores for high school students, The College Board's Trevor Packer reports that after a year's study, students did a far better job of answering multiple-choice questions that included IF statements than they did when asked to come up with actual code to initialize and search a 2-D array (AP CSA students' have long-struggled with array questions).

Regarding multiple-choice questions [MCQs], Packard writes that students exhibited "strong performance on primitive types, Boolean expressions, and if statements (units 1 & 3); 44% of students earned 7-8 of these 8 points," but were challenged by "questions on Arrays, ArrayLists, and 2D Arrays (units 6-8); 17% of students earned 11-12 of these 12 points." Regarding free-response questions [FRQs], Packard writes "The most challenging AP Computer Science A FRQ was #4, the 2D array number puzzle; 19% of students earned 8-9 of the 9 points possible." Despite the low success rate, a sample Java solution is pretty straightforward (as is an Excel VBA solution, which also incorporates a visual presentation).

So, with students having the benefit of access to AI coding assistants and tutors for the full school year and a purported game-changing $15 million AP CS A curriculum from Code.org and Amazon, is it surprising that 33% of students failed to receive a 3+ passing score on the AP CSA exam? Indeed, fifteen years after the tech giants teamed with nonprofit partners to assert control over K-12 computer science education in the U.S., AP CS A has the dubious distinction of having a higher percentage of students receiving the lowest possible AP exam score (1 out of 5) than any other subject except AP Statistics. Still, that track record didn't dissuade the American Federation of Teachers from entrusting the future of education for all subjects to the likes of Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

Comment Claude Code is a Slot Machine (Score 5, Interesting) 75

Claude Code is a Slot Machine": "I'm guessing that part of why AI coding tools are so popular is the slot machine effect. Intermittent rewards, lots of waiting that fractures your attention, and inherent laziness keeping you trying with yet another prompt in hopes that you don't have to actually turn on your brain after so many hours of being told not to. The exhilarating power of creation. Just insert a few more cents, and you'll get another shot at making your dreams a reality."

Submission + - U.S. Dept. of Education Moves to Make AI the Fourth 'R'

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, and now, 'rtificial intelligence? The U.S. Department of Education this week sent a Dear Colleague Letter to grantees and future grantees on leveraging federal grant funds to improve education outcomes through AI, including 'AI-Based High-Quality Instructional Materials' and 'AI-Enhanced High-Impact Tutoring.'

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon also announced her fourth proposed supplemental grantmaking priority, advancing AI in education, including "the integration of AI literacy skills and concepts into teaching and learning" and "expand[ing] offerings of AI and computer science education" in K-12 and higher education.

"Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize education and support improved outcomes for learners," said McMahon. "It drives personalized learning, sharpens critical thinking, and prepares students with problem-solving skills that are vital for tomorrow's challenges. Today’s guidance also emphasizes the importance of parent and teacher engagement in guiding the ethical use of AI and using it as a tool to support individualized learning and advancement. By teaching about AI and foundational computer science while integrating AI technology responsibly, we can strengthen our schools and lay the foundation for a stronger, more competitive economy."

This week's actions, the Dept. of Education notes, "are in response to President Trump’s April 23 Executive Order, Advancing AI Education for American Youth." The actions also come on the heels of announcements by Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic to partner with teacher unions on AI and a pledge by Microsoft to spend $4 billion to push AI into schools and the workforce, as well as the launch of a national campaign by tech leaders and Code.org to make AI and CS a graduation requirement.

McMahon's 2025 AI+CS spending directive is reminiscent of a similar 2017 directive to prioritize K-12 STEM+CS funding enacted by U.S. Dept. of Education Secretary Betsy Devos in response to a Trump Presidential Memorandum "to ensure that federal funding from the Department of Education helps advance [K-12] computer science." In his book Tools and Weapons, Microsoft President Brad Smith credited tech companies' efforts — including private sector pledges to spend $300 million on K-12 CS — for unlocking that $1 billion in Federal support.

Submission + - White House AI Action Plan Calls for Luring Children into AI Infrastructure Jobs

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In Disney's 1940 Pinocchio, boys are lured to Pleasure Island, where they are magically transformed into donkeys and sold into slavery, often to work in circuses or salt mines.

In the White House's 2025 American AI Action Plan (full pdf), plans call for Federal agencies to team with tech companies to lure middle school boys and girls (10-14 years old) into AI infrastructure jobs: "Led by DOL [U.S. Dept. of Labor], ED [U.S. Dept. of Education], and NSF [National Science Foundation], partner with education and workforce system stakeholders to expand early career exposure programs and pre-apprenticeships that engage middle and high school students in priority AI infrastructure occupations. These efforts should focus on creating awareness and excitement about these jobs, aligning with local employer needs, and providing on-ramps into high-quality training and Registered Apprenticeship programs."

Echoing Microsoft President Brad Smith's March call for more electricity and 500,000 new electricians to build out the AI infrastructure, the White House AI Action Plan explains that "America's path to AI dominance depends on [...] streamlining permitting, strengthening and growing the electric grid, and creating the workforce to build it all." Referring to tech's insatiable demand for electricity to power its AI data centers at the AI Action Plan event, President Trump quipped to tech leaders, "You need more electricity than any human beings ever in the history of the world. [...] My father always used to say, 'Turn out the lights, son.' But you guys are turning up the lights."

Submission + - Microsoft President: Teaching Kids to Code is Out, Teaching Kids to Use AI is In

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi on Friday shared a video on Twitter from the Microsoft Elevate event, where Microsoft pledged $4 billion to support schools and nonprofits with AI tools and training, including a new Hour of AI event for K-12 schoolchildren. In the video, Microsoft President Brad Smith drives home the point that tech-backed nonprofit Code.org and the K-12 computer science education movement will be shifting from the Hour of Code to the Hour of AI by taking off his Hour of Code baseball cap to reveal an Hour of AI baseball cap underneath. "Hour of Code is evolving to the Hour of AI," announces a banner on the HOC website.

"The last 12 years have been about the Hour of Code but the future involves the Hour of AI," Smith said to applause from the crowd at at Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry as he high-fived Partovi. Smith, a founding Code.org Board member (Microsoft AI execs Kevin Scott and Julia Liuson are current Code.org Board members), noted at the 2018 Hour of Code kickoff that he was Partovi's next-door neighbor.

Currently, only three AI activities are available on the Hour of AI website. All were developed in partnership with Microsoft and Amazon, who are both $30+ million Lifetime Supporters of the nonprofit. On Friday, Code.org announced on LinkedIn that one of those offerings — Music Lab, videos for which feature Amazon Music employees as instructors — "is now part of our K–5 curriculum" (ages 5-11).

Submission + - Microsoft: In 2029, 12-Year-Olds Will Outperform 2025's Professional Programmers

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: On Wednesday, Microsoft published a clip from a June interview with the AI Report podcast's Alexander Klöpping to its YouTube channel in which CEO Satya Nadella is asked a series of questions about "What will the world look like in 2029?" When questioned if "12-year-olds with AI will outperform today's professional programmers?", Nadella replies, "Yes."

On the same day, Microsoft President Brad Smith announced Microsoft would provide support for Code.org's new Hour of AI, which aims "to expand foundational AI literacy alongside computer science" for K-12 students. "The Hour of Code sparked a generation," the tech-backed nonprofit proclaims on its home page. "This fall, the Hour of AI will define the next," adding that there are "millions of futures to shape" with the new initiative. Code.org in May launched Unlock8, a national campaign supported by tech leaders led by Nadella to make CS and AI a graduation requirement.

Submission + - Microsoft: You Can't Make an $80B AI Omelet Without Breaking 15K Employee Eggs

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: "After Microsoft this week unveiled a $4 billion, five-year global initiative to help millions of people adapt to the rise of artificial intelligence," GeekWire reports, "the first question for Brad Smith, the company’s vice chair and president, wasn’t about the new program. It was about the company’s own layoffs. What does he say to laid-off Microsoft employees who blame AI for taking their jobs?"

"Addressing the recent Microsoft cuts, he said, 'The notion that AI productivity boosts have somehow already led to this, I don’t think that’s the story in this instance.' In the follow-up interview, he acknowledged that rising capital spending have created pressure to rein in operating costs, which in the tech sector are 'more about the number of employees than anything else,' he said. Microsoft logged an estimated $80 billion in capital investments in its recently completed fiscal year, a record sum driven by the expansion of its infrastructure for training and running advanced AI models."

"He said the reductions were driven by business needs, not employee performance. 'We want the world to know that,' he said, 'so that when they see somebody from Microsoft applying for a job, they know that in all likelihood, they have the opportunity to hire an extraordinarily talented individual.'"

"What would he say to longtime Microsoft employees who lost their jobs and then saw the company commit billions to broader workforce development? Smith acknowledged the difficult juxtaposition but defended the separate moves as necessary. 'Success in life, whether it’s for an individual or a company or any kind of institution, is always about prioritization, and it’s always about investing in the future,' he said. 'This is something that Microsoft should do for the future.'"

Submission + - With Microsoft's Support, Code.org Announces New 'Hour of AI' for Schoolkids

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Tired: Hour of Code. Wired: Hour of AI. "The Hour of Code sparked a generation," proclaims tech-backed nonprofit Code.org. "This fall, the Hour of AI will define the next,"

Twelve years after Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi announced the Hour of Code with Microsoft President Brad Smith at his side, Partovi announced the Hour of AI ("Coming Fall 2025") at Wednesday's Microsoft Elevate launch event, again with Smith at his side. The announcement of the Microsoft-bankrolled nonprofit's new Hour of AI, which aims to get K-12 schoolchildren to take their first step into AI much like the Hour of Code has done with CS for hundreds of millions of children since 2013, comes in a week that saw Microsoft pledge $4B for AI education training programs and announce the launch of a $22.5M AI training center for members of the American Federation of Teachers.

“Coding changed the work of software developers, but it didn’t change every occupation and profession, or the work of every professional, the way A.I. probably will,” Microsoft's Smith explained. “So we need to move faster for A.I. than we did for computer science [Smith was a founding Board member of Code.org].” As its tech company sponsors aim to disrupt traditional coding and education with their AI offerings, Code.org has pivoted its own mission to "make CS and AI a core part of K-12 education" and launched a new campaign with support from tech leaders including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to make CS and AI a graduation requirement.

Comment First AI Lesson for Teachers? Minecraft/Copilot (Score 1) 40

OpenAI and Microsoft Bankroll New A.I. Training for Teachers: "Microsoft will provide $12.5 million for the A.I. training effort over the next five years, and OpenAI will contribute $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources. Anthropic will add $500,000 for the first year of the effort. On Monday, some 200 New York City teachers taking an A.I. workshop at their union headquarters got a glimpse of what the new national effort might look like. A presenter from Microsoft opened by showing an A.I. explainer video featuring Minecraft, the popular game owned by Microsoft. Next, the teachers tried generating emails and lesson plans using Khanmigo, an A.I. tool for schools for which Microsoft has provided support. Then they experimented with Copilot for similar tasks."
 
  Microsoft Press Release: "'To best serve students, we must ensure teachers have a strong voice in the development and use of AI,' said Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft. 'This partnership will not only help teachers learn how to better use AI, it will give them the opportunity to tell tech companies how we can create AI that better serves kids.' The announcement was made at the headquarters of the AFT's largest affiliate, the 200,000-member New York City-based UFT, where hundreds of educators were on hand for a three-day training session, including six hours of AI-focused material that highlighted practical, hands-on ways to marry the emerging technology with established pedagogy."

Submission + - The Trump WH K-12 AI Skills Crisis is The New Obama WH K-12 CS Skills Crisis

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Last week, the Trump White House declared a K-12 AI skills crisis, announcing that 60+ organizations — including tech giants Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Apple, as well as the tech-backed-and-directed nonprofit Code.org (now aka TeachAI) — had signed a White House pledge to support America’s youth and invest in AI education.

The move evokes memories of when the Obama White House in 2016 declared a K-12 CS skills crisis, announcing that 50+ organizations — including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Code.org — were making commitments to expand K-12 CS nationally.

Microsoft recently announced big K-12 AI and Copilot wins in the Los Angeles Unified School District (409,000 students) and Broward County Public Schools (247,000 students), while Google is bringing its AI chatbots to 105,000 high school students at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Interestingly, all three school districts are currently or were formerly led by school superintendents who are Code.org Board members — Albert M. Carvalho (currently L.A., formerly Miami) and Robert Runcie (formerly Broward). Their fellow Code.org members include Microsoft CTO & EVP of AI Kevin Scott, Microsoft Developer Division President Julia ('using AI is no longer optional') Liuson, Google VP Parisa Tabriz, and Sequoia's Alfred Lin (who bet early on OpenAI).

Submission + - Microsoft Dubs Itself and Code.org "AI Thought Partners" for U.S. K-12 Schools

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In a 2022 Medium post, tech giant-bankrolled nonprofit Code.org announced that Microsoft CTO & EVP of AI Kevin Scott and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho had joined its Board of Directors and would "help advance Code.org’s mission, which it says is "to make computer science (CS) and artificial intelligence (AI) a core part of K–12 education for every student."

Mission accomplished. In a LinkedIn post on how it's Bringing AI Literacy and Skilling to Students and Educators across the U.S., Microsoft reports that in pursuit of LAUSD's commitment to providing AI literacy and skilling for all its 409,000 students, "the district has partnered with Code.org, which advances AI education policy, provides ready-to-use resources through its TeachAI initiative, and provides educator and staff training as well as train-the-trainer opportunities. As a Code.org partner since the organization’s founding 12 years ago, Microsoft supports the crucial work of AI education through funding, technical expertise, and thought partnership. [...] Importantly, school districts like LAUSD do not approach this new [AI] frontier on their own. Code.org and Microsoft act as thought partners, such as through multidisciplinary task forces, and provide ready-to-implement resources so school districts do not have to start from scratch."

Vouching for the partnership in Microsoft's post is LAUSD Director of Educational Technology and Innovation Dominic Caguioa, who adds: "Code.org and Microsoft bring the technical infrastructure and knowledge base around what AI education can look like in K-12 school districts. These two organizations help us have a global perspective and improve our initiatives around edtech and AI." Caguioa's LinkedIn profile notes he "also serves as a computer science facilitator for the global non-profit Code.org [since 2014], preparing US and international facilitators to teach and adapt the Code.org computer science fundamentals curriculum to their local contexts."

Last month, Microsoft boasted of another big K-12 AI win with the Broward County Public Schools (BCPS), which it touted as "the largest K–12 adoption of Microsoft Copilot in the world [BCPS has 247,000 students]." Underscoring the importance of AI and Copilot adoption, Microsoft Developer Division President Julia Liuson — who is also a Code.org Board member — garnered attention last week for her declaration that 'using AI is no longer optional' in Microsoft's eyes. Interestingly, yet another current Code.org Board member — Robert Runcie — was the Superintendent of BCPS back in 2014 when it announced a K-12 CS partnership with Code.org, not long after Runcie joined Microsoft and Google execs on Code.org's early Board. Commenting on that partnership in a news release, Microsoft VP of U.S. Education Margo Day said, "Broward County Public School’s leadership in helping students gain the computer science education needed to succeed and thrive in the 21st century is essential. Across sectors, our nation is facing a critical shortage of workers with the skills and computer science training needed to sustain American innovation. By 2020, there will be one million more computing jobs than students with the education needed to fill these openings. That’s why more districts across the country should consider following Broward’s lead."

So, is the K-12 AI skills crisis the new K-12 CS skills crisis?

Submission + - Nonprofit Led by Microsoft's AI-Is-Not-Optional Exec Seeks Same Policy for Kids

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Business Insider reports that Julia Liuson, president of the Microsoft division responsible for developer tools such as AI coding service GitHub Copilot, recently sent an email instructing managers to evaluate employee performance based on their use of internal AI tools. "AI is now a fundamental part of how we work," Liuson wrote. "Just like collaboration, data-driven thinking, and effective communication, using AI is no longer optional — it’s core to every role and every level." Liuson told managers that AI "should be part of your holistic reflections on an individual’s performance and impact."

Liuson is also a member of the tech exec and K-12 school administrator-laden Board of Code.org, the tech giant-funded nonprofit (Microsoft is a $25M+ Code.org Lifetime Supporter) that recently teamed with tech CEOs (led by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella) and leaders to launch a new Code.org-orchestrated national campaign to make CS and AI a graduation requirement. Other Code.org Board members include Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, who helped forged Microsoft's alliance with OpenAI and whose assistant held Microsoft's controversial OpenAI Board 'observer' seat until the relationship came under regulatory scrutiny (OpenAI is a Code.org In-Kind Supporter and a supporter of Code.org's TeachAI initiative).

Microsoft has recently boasted of big AI and Copilot wins in the Los Angeles Unified School District (the nation's 2nd largest school district, with 409,000 students), which is led by Code.org Board member Alberto M. Carvalho, as well as the Broward County Public Schools (247,000 students, touted as " the largest K–12 adoption of Microsoft Copilot in the world"), which was formerly led by Code.org Board member Robert Runcie. What about Google? Well, it's bringing its AI chatbots to 105,000 students at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (the nation’s third-largest school district).

The tech industry-driven K-12 AI frenzy of 2025 certainly evokes memories of the tech industry-driven K-12 CS frenzy of 2013, when Code.org emerged on the scene — with Microsoft President Brad Smith and Head of Google.org Maggie Johnson as founding Board members — and quickly scored partnerships with the New York City Public Schools (the nation's largest school district), Chicago Public Schools, and Broward County Public Schools. Given the much-bigger population of potential AI users and creators, as well as the staggering sums of money at stake, will the K-12 AI frenzy put the K-12 CS frenzy to shame?

Submission + - Jeff Bezos's Big Fat Venetian Wedding

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: The NY Times reports: "On Friday, Venice's canals filled with polished motorboats bearing Hollywood stars, millionaires and Khloé Kardashian in a cape of pink feathers as they headed to Jeff Bezos’ wedding to Lauren Sánchez. [...] Despite his efforts to have a private if star-studded multimillion-dollar wedding in Venice, Mr. Bezos’ wealth and powerful connections left the couple’s thoroughly curated celebrations caught up in an intensely political and moral debate. [...] The result was an over-the-top party in one of the world’s most stunning cities mixing Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Ivanka Trump and political overtones."

GeekWire reports that an SEC filing made public on the couple's wedding day announced Bezos is selling another $5.4 billion worth of Amazon stock, so the newlyweds will have no problem covering the bills from their celebration, which reportedly cost around $50 million.

Submission + - Zuck's FWD.us Warns U.S. Families They Can't Afford Immigration Policy Changes

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: FWD.us, the immigration and criminal justice-focused nonprofit of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — the world's third richest person according to Forbes with an estimated $250B net worth — has released a new research report warning that announced immigration policies will hurt American families, who can't afford it with their meager savings.

The report begins: "Inflation remains a top concern for the majority of Americans. But new immigration policies announced by President Trump, and already underway, such as revoking immigrant work permits, deporting millions of people, and limiting legal immigration, would directly undermine the goal to level out, or even lower, the costs of everyday and essential goods and services. In fact, all Americans, particularly working-class families, are about to unnecessarily see prices for goods and services like food and housing increase substantially again, above and beyond other economic policies like global tariffs that could also raise prices. Announced immigration policies will result in American families paying an additional $2,150 for goods and services each year by the end of 2028, or the equivalent of the average American family’s grocery bill for 3 months or their combined electricity and gas bills for the entire year. Such an annual increase would represent a tax that would erase many American families’ annual savings, and amount to one of their bi-weekly paychecks each year. Unlike past periods of inflation, Americans have not been saving at the same rate as earlier years, and can’t as easily absorb these price increases, squeezing American budgets even further."

In 2021, Zuckerberg's FWD.us teamed with the nation's tech giants to file a brief with the Supreme Court case to help crush WashTech (a tiny programmers' union), who challenged the lawfulness of hiring international students under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. "Striking down OPT and STEM OPT," FWD.us and its tech giant partners argued in their filing, "would create a sudden labor shortage in the United States for many companies' most important technical jobs" and "hurt U.S. workers." The brief also dismissed WashTech's contention that the programs coupled with a talent surplus would shut U.S. workers out of the labor market, citing Microsoft's President Brad Smith's claim of an acute talent shortage and a 2.4% unemployment rate for computer occupations (that was then, this is now).

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