David Warlick noted that the College Board told U.S. teachers that it will eliminate Italian, Latin literature, French literature, and computer science AB Advanced Placement tests after the 2008-09 academic year. This is the first dropping of tests in the 53 year of the College Board. They cite delined enrollments in these tests as their reason for these eliminations.

The drop in computer science course and test enrollments appears consistent with other reports, of declines in the number of higher education computer science majors.

This condition highlights a question of concern to all educators: Who will develop computer hardware and software for U.S. schools, if not U.S. prepared people?

Why do teachers want these teaching and learning tools outsourced to other countries as all computer and other telecommunications hardware manufacturing already is? I don't why, but I know it's already happening in several ways.

Does anyone have a plan to offer teachers more computer based choices for instruction and learning than relying on products from other countries? Without such a plan, Teachers, how long do you think it will take for offshore electronic based curricula to dominate U.S. school instruction and learning programs?

Thanks, David, for pointing to implications dropped AP tests could have for teachers and schooling.

Tablet PC Education Blog