The Long and Winding Road from the Intended to the Attained, from the Ideal to its Realization: Evaluating K-12 Computer Science Curricula

K-12 computer science (CS) education has gained momentum globally, leading to diverse curricula. Evaluating the extent to which such curricula achieve their goals is essential yet highly complex. This paper presents a framework for evaluating K-12 CS curricula, adopting a processive perspective in which a curriculum is viewed as an evolving entity, whose seed is the policymakers’ vision and whose fruits are its outcomes. The framework explores this evolution through the prism of educational goals, both cognitive and affective, building on established models from curriculum theory. We developed the framework while evaluating a national 4th-grade CS curriculum, which we employ to demonstrate how the framework leads to research questions and methodological decisions, and how it enables the identification of gaps that may divert a curriculum from its goals. The framework offers a structured yet flexible approach for investigating specific curricula, facilitates cross-national comparisons, and supports evidence-based improvements in CS education.