Three years ago, Gale and 15 other math teachers in northern Utah volunteered for a pilot program to introduce data science at their high schools. They split a $20,000 state grant, each designing their own course to teach students how to gather, analyze and interpret massive streams of information that define and govern modern life. State education officials, meanwhile, hoped data science might help more graduates get work in Utah’s booming tech industry. They also wondered whether students who disengaged with traditional math might find relevance and interest in the subject again.
The Beehive State is one of a growing number of states that have expanded access to data science in schools, according to a 2025 report from Data Science 4 Everyone, a nonprofit group. Some 14 states offer pilot courses for students or train teachers in the subject, the report said, while an additional seven have formal standards that guide what students learn about data science and at what grades.
Fans of the field’s expansion into K-12 schools see data science as a stepping stone to good jobs in fields like health care, manufacturing and transportation, which may not require a college degree. Critics, however, worry the emphasis on computers and coding crowds out more traditional forms of math, like algebra and calculus, which often are necessary for admission to selective colleges and provide the building blocks for many high-paying jobs in science, engineering and mathematics fields.