As states work to expand access to computer science education, a common challenge has emerged: There are not enough qualified teachers to meet the demand.
Over the past decade, policymakers, school districts, and higher education institutions have invested heavily in bringing computer science into K–12 classrooms. Yet despite these efforts, many schools continue to struggle to find certified CS teachers. The problem is particularly acute in rural communities and smaller districts, but it affects schools everywhere.
Texas is no exception. Despite a statewide requirement to offer CS to all high school students, fewer than half of high schools offer even a single CS course. In response, Texas has invested in developing strategies to strengthen the pipeline of future teachers. In recent years, the state has largely relied on upskilling and retraining in-service teachers to become CS certified.
“While this approach has produced hundreds of newly certified teachers,” says Carol Fletcher, Director of Expanding Pathways in Computing (EPIC), “we must acknowledge that if we don’t also establish a permanent preservice pipeline, the state will simply not be able to deliver on its promise to provide access to CS education to all students. And with the emergence of AI, the need for CS educators who can support the development of AI literacy is only growing.”
The Texas Computer Science Pipeline (TX CSP) initiative, funded by the Texas Legislature and managed by the WeTeach_CS program at The University of Texas at Austin since 2024, is dedicated to addressing the CS teacher shortage by improving both in-service and preservice certification pathways. The National Center for STEM education has led a key component of this effort; the organization has convened educator preparation partners and other stakeholders from across Texas to respond to these challenges through coordinated, research-aligned action. The first phase of work produced a report clarifying challenges and broadly outlining priority areas of focus for the state. A newly released follow-up report offers detailed recommendations for the recruitment, preparation, and certification of new CS teachers. [Both reports are available here.]
The second report, Strengthening Computer Science Teacher Preparation Pathways in Texas: Recommendations for Recruitment, Preparation, and Certification, represents two years of work by education and computer science faculty representatives from more than 15 institutions of higher education across the state, plus input from K–12 and state agency partners.
“The report includes the unique perspectives and contexts brought by working group members and recommends solutions to the many shared challenges identified,” said Yvonne Loya, Assistant Director for K–12 Initiatives at the National Center for STEM Education.
The recommendations emerging from this work extend beyond state borders. The challenges facing Texas are similar to those confronting states across the country, and the solutions being proposed offer a new way of thinking about preservice CS teacher preparation. They move beyond traditional approaches that have so far proved insufficient to yield the workforce needed.
The Current Approach Is Not Producing Enough Computer Science Teachers
For many years, the primary strategy for expanding the CS teacher workforce has been to encourage universities to recruit more students to dedicated CS certification pathways. This approach has struggled to gain traction across institutions of higher education. The reality is that most educator preparation programs enroll only a small number of students interested in teaching computer science, and universities often find it difficult to justify creating specialized courses and programs for only a handful of candidates each year. At the same time, students with strong computing backgrounds frequently have access to higher-paying career opportunities outside of education, making recruitment even more challenging.
The result is a cycle that many states recognize. Demand for CS teachers continues to grow, yet the number of newly certified teachers remains too small to meet workforce needs. This does not mean states should abandon efforts to prepare CS teachers. It means they need to rethink how those teachers are prepared.
New Approaches
The Texas CS Pipeline initiative recommends two innovative approaches.
1: Create More Flexible Preservice Pathways into Computer Science Teaching
One of the strongest recommendations emerging from the Texas CS Pipeline initiative is the need to move beyond an all-or-nothing approach to certification. Rather than expecting aspiring educators to pursue a standalone CS teaching pathway from the beginning of their college careers, states should consider more flexible credentialing models that build on existing preparation programs.
Dual certification is one promising approach. For example, teacher candidates could earn credentials in both mathematics and computer science. This model recognizes the natural connections between the disciplines while providing broader employment opportunities for graduates and greater staffing flexibility for school districts.
States could also explore add-on credentials, similar to current in-service teacher development approaches, that allow preservice candidates to add CS certification without completing an entirely separate certification pathway. Many future CS teachers may begin as mathematics or science educators before developing an interest in teaching computing. Certification systems should make it easier for those preservice candidates to expand their expertise and add additional teaching credentials.
These approaches leverage existing educator preparation programs rather than requiring every institution to build new programs from scratch. They also reduce barriers for prospective CS teachers by creating multiple entry points into the profession. Most importantly, they acknowledge that the future computer science teacher workforce is likely to come not only from dedicated CS education programs, but also from adjacent STEM fields where talented future educators are already being prepared.
2: Build Institutional Capacity Through Shared Coursework
A second key finding from Texas is that states need to think differently about preparation infrastructure. Historically, teacher preparation has been organized at the institutional level. Each university develops its own courses, recruits its own students, and operates its own programs.
For CS teacher preparation, however, this model presents a significant challenge. Most institutions do not enroll enough aspiring CS teachers to support specialized courses every year. Asking every college and university to independently create and maintain a full CS preparation pathway can be expensive, duplicative, and ultimately unsustainable.
A more scalable solution is shared coursework. Under this model, states or university consortia could develop high-quality online courses in CS content and pedagogy that serve candidates from multiple institutions. Rather than dozens of universities each offering low-enrollment versions of the same course, students across a state could access common courses delivered by faculty with specialized expertise.
Local institutions would remain essential partners. They would continue to provide advising, field experiences, clinical practice, mentoring, and the personal support that helps candidates succeed. But the specialized coursework would be shared, allowing states to build capacity collectively rather than expecting each institution to solve the problem independently.
The goal should not be for every institution to have its own small CS teacher preparation pathway but for a state as a whole to prepare enough highly qualified teachers to meet workforce needs.
Focus on Statewide Systems, Not Isolated Programs
Taken together, flexible credentialing and shared coursework point toward a broader shift in thinking. The challenge facing states is not just a recruitment problem or a university program problem. It is a workforce systems challenge.
No single institution, school district, or state agency can solve it alone. Success will require collaboration among higher education institutions, K–12 schools, policymakers, certification agencies, and employers. This means shifting attention from individual programs to statewide ecosystems.
States need policies that support innovative certification approaches. Universities need mechanisms for sharing courses and expertise. School districts need pathways that make it easier to hire and support qualified CS teachers. And all stakeholders need a shared commitment to expanding access to high-quality CS education.
The recommendations emerging to expand the CS educator pipeline are relevant far beyond Texas. By embracing innovative certification models, building shared preparation infrastructure, and focusing on statewide capacity rather than isolated programs, states can create sustainable pathways into computer science teaching.
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