First Public Draft of the Next Generation Science Standards Available on Friday, May 11
The first draft of the Next Generation Science Standards is scheduled to be released this Friday, May 11. This first draft of the new science standards will be online for public comment for three weeks until June 1.
The Next Generation Science Standards are based on the National Research Council (NRC) Framework for K–12 Science Education, which describes the major practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas that all students should be familiar with by the end of high school, and provides an outline of how these practices, concepts, and ideas should be developed across the grade levels.
Science educators, supervisors, administrators—in fact anyone interested in the future course and direction of science education—are encouraged to carefully read these new science standards and submit comments online to Achieve during the comment period.
For more information, go to www.nextgenscience.org, and visit this page for updates.
The time has come to move the nation forward in its pursuit of high quality science education for all. In a process managed by Achieve, Inc., 26 states are leading the development of rigorous and internationally benchmarked science standards that will define the content and practices all students will need to learn from kindergarten through high school graduation. These Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will undergo multiple reviews, including two public drafts. 
A first draft of the standards is expected in early 2012, with a final version expected in late 2012. NSTA is providing advice to the project and engaging the science education community in the feedback process.
New science standards will be based on the recently released Framework for K–12 Science Education that offers a new vision for K–12 education in science and engineering and representing a significant shift in how these subjects are viewed and taught.
