Important Disclaimer
This is a self-prepared mapping to the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017). It has not been reviewed or certified by CSTA's Standards Review Team. We say “mapped to” — not “CSTA-aligned” or “CSTA-certified” — because CSTA requires their Standards Review Team to validate a crosswalk before that claim can be made. This crosswalk is structured for submission to CSTA for exactly that validation. CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards © CSTA, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Standards Source
CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards, Revised 2017. Five concept areas across grade bands Levels 1A, 1B, 2, and 3A.
Levels Covered
Level 1B (Grades 3–5), Level 2 (Grades 6–8), and Level 3A (Grades 9–10) — corresponding to our ages 7–16 pathway.
Validation Status
Self-prepared. Not yet reviewed by CSTA. We will re-map to the 2026 CSTA revision on its release.
Showing 15 of 15 standards
| Standard ID | Strand | Level | Description | KidsCode Course | Module | Evidence | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B-AP-08 | Algorithms & Programming | 1B (Grades 3-5) | Compare and refine multiple algorithms for the same task and determine which is the most appropriate. | Code Lab: JavaScript Basics | Functions & Logic | Students write and compare multiple function approaches to the same problem (e.g., counting vs. filtering) and discuss which is clearer or more efficient. | Mapped |
| 1B-AP-09 | Algorithms & Programming | 1B (Grades 3-5) | Create programs that use variables to store and modify data. | Code Lab: JavaScript Basics | Variables & Data | Students declare variables, assign and reassign values, and use them to build interactive web pages that respond to user input. | Mapped |
| 1B-AP-10 | Algorithms & Programming | 1B (Grades 3-5) | Create programs with sequences of commands, loops, and events. | Code Lab: JavaScript Basics | Loops & Events | Students build browser-based programs using for/while loops and event handlers (onclick, oninput) to create interactive games and pages. | Mapped |
| 1B-AP-11 | Algorithms & Programming | 1B (Grades 3-5) | Decompose (break down) problems into smaller, manageable subproblems to promote the process of program design. | Coding Logic & Thinking | Decomposition & Design | Students break a multi-step project (e.g., a quiz app) into smaller pieces — layout, scoring, feedback — and implement each part separately. | Mapped |
| 1B-AP-15 | Algorithms & Programming | 1B (Grades 3-5) | Test and debug (identify and fix errors) a program or algorithm to ensure it runs as intended. | Code Lab: JavaScript Basics | Debugging Workshop | Students use the in-browser console and AI Tutor to identify runtime and logic errors, then iterate until the program behaves correctly. | Mapped |
| 2-AP-10 | Algorithms & Programming | Level 2 (Grades 6-8) | Use flowcharts and/or pseudocode to address complex problems as algorithms. | Coding Logic & Thinking | Algorithm Design | Students draft flowcharts and pseudocode before writing JavaScript, mapping decision points and loops visually before implementation. | Mapped |
| 2-AP-13 | Algorithms & Programming | Level 2 (Grades 6-8) | Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs. | Build a Game! | Game Architecture | Students decompose a game into render loop, collision detection, and score tracking modules, implementing and reviewing each independently. | Mapped |
| 2-AP-16 | Algorithms & Programming | Level 2 (Grades 6-8) | Incorporate existing code, media, and libraries into original programs, and give attribution. | Build a Real Web App | Libraries & Reuse | Students import CSS frameworks and JS libraries into their projects, include license/attribution comments, and build on shared Arcade templates. | Mapped |
| 2-AP-17 | Algorithms & Programming | Level 2 (Grades 6-8) | Systematically test and refine programs using a range of test cases. | Build a Game! | Testing & Iteration | Students run their games across multiple input scenarios (edge cases, invalid input, boundary values) and refine logic based on observed behavior. | Mapped |
| 2-IC-20 | Impacts of Computing | Level 2 (Grades 6-8) | Compare and contrast how different technologies may impact society. | AI Basics Course | AI Ethics & Society | Students compare the societal impact of different technologies (e.g., recommendation algorithms vs. assistive AI) and discuss benefits and harms. | Mapped |
| 2-DA-08 | Data & Analysis | Level 2 (Grades 6-8) | Collect data using computational tools and transform the data to make it more useful. | APIs: Connecting to the World | Data Collection & Transformation | Students fetch JSON data from public APIs, filter and transform it with JavaScript array methods, and display cleaned results in a web app. | Mapped |
| 3A-AP-13 | Algorithms & Programming | Level 3A (Grades 9-10) | Create prototypes that use algorithms to solve computational problems by leveraging prior knowledge or personal interests. | AI App Builder | Prototype Development | Students design and build functional app prototypes that apply algorithms (search, sort, filter) to a self-selected problem domain. | Mapped |
| 3A-AP-15 | Algorithms & Programming | Level 3A (Grades 9-10) | Justify the selection of specific control structures when tradeoffs involve implementation, readability, program performance, and verification. | Build a Real Web App | Control Structures & Tradeoffs | Students choose between loops, recursion, and event-driven patterns and document the tradeoffs in readability, performance, and testability. | Mapped |
| 3A-IC-24 | Impacts of Computing | Level 3A (Grades 9-10) | Evaluate the ways computing impacts personal, ethical, social, economic, and cultural practices. | AI Basics Course | Ethical Evaluation | Students evaluate case studies on algorithmic bias, data privacy, and AI labor impacts, producing a written reflection on ethical tradeoffs. | Mapped |
| 3A-DA-10 | Data & Analysis | Level 3A (Grades 9-10) | Evaluate the tradeoffs in how data elements are organized and where data is stored. | Arrays & Objects: Data Power | Data Structures & Storage | Students compare arrays vs. objects vs. nested structures for representing real-world data and justify their choice based on access patterns and storage. | Mapped |
This crosswalk is provided to procurement teams and federal-programs coordinators to support purchase justification. A school's federal-programs coordinator should confirm spendability for their specific funding source. Standard descriptions are paraphrased for alignment; refer to the official CSTA standards document for authoritative language. For questions, contact contact@kidscodegift.com.