>
> >It seems crazy to ignore the philosophy and roots of a language when
> >choosing one for teaching, but a concern about popularity in the industry
> >seems to have overwhelmed common sense at some schools.
>   OTOH it must seem strange for CS1 to ignore a student's high AP test
> score, and the AP test, and thus high school CS, is now C++.   :(
>
Team-Ada goes around this loop every so often. Some comments:

(1) Many schools (not just "Ada schools", either) do not mechanically
    accept AP test scores as equivalent to CS1/CS2.

(2) Currently there is a plan underway to change the AP test to ... Java.

The AP test is a quasi-commercial product of the College Board; they
contract with Educational Testing Service to administer and score the
tests. (I worked for ETS for 4 years - I've seen it from inside...)
Essentially, they try to follow the "market" and guess which language
will dominate 4-5 years up the road.

Yes, yes, they discuss developing a language-neutral exam, over and
over. This view has not yet prevailed, and (IMHO) is unlikely to
prevail. Don't waste your breath.:-)

Mike Feldman