The Next Great Crisis in American Education: Computer Literacy.

Described is the current state of computer science education in this country. The information explosion in science and the shift in our economy from the production of industrial goods to a greater emphasis on science and knowledge-based industries has created a discontinuity in the nature of jobs and our educational needs. Computers are not a major part of American education, but have become indispensible to the operation of science, business, and government. Many schools have introduced computers into their curriculum, but the paper stresses that these local efforts only partially satisfy the country's needs at costs that are prohibitive and unnecessary when viewed nationally. Other nations have begun the task of restructuring their systems to include computers. It is stated that there is a national need to foster computer literacy, or the next crisis in American education will be the computer literacy crisis. (MP)