I had the opportunity to attend a session on the development of new K-12 standards for science at the 2010 National Science Teachers Association conference. The session was lead by Francis Eberle (NSTA Executive Director) and Thomas Keller (National Academy of Science, Board of Science Education). This is my understanding of the process and likely includes some generalizations.

Background:

A few years ago, NSTA began a project called “Science Anchors” to guide science instruction. When it was initially envisioned, leaders felt that it was very unlikely that there would an environment that would support new national standards. Over the past couple of years, this environment has changed dramatically. The National Governors Association and the Coalition of Chief State School Officers have begun a serious process to develop “Common Core Standards” in language arts and mathematics. Drafts of these standards are now available for public comment at http://www.corestandards.org/ (comments open until April 2). Revisions will be made based on these comments and the final standards will be released later this year. Alaska and Texas are the only two states that have not committed to adopting these core standards.

As a result of this huge environmental shift, NSTA has suspended the Science Anchors project. In its place, NSTA is joining with other organizations (see below) on the development of common national science standards. This is a major development with a very aggressive timeline. NSTA has published a summary report of the Science Anchors project that has identified some of the challenges that need to be addressed in the next generation of science standards. The brief (9 pages) report can be found here: http://scienceanchors.nsta.org/

The report discusses a variety of issues including:

  • Content
    • Specific content in each discipline
    • Crosscutting content
  • Scope
  • 21st Century Skills
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Teaching Methods
  • Performance Expectations
  • Organization
    • Grade Bands vs Grade Level
    • High School (course structure vs. competency structure)
    • How much is too much? Depth, Breadth & Specificity

Developing the Next Generation of Science Standards

Before getting in to the details of the process, it is important to understand that these are not federally mandated standards. This process is being driven by a number of non-governmental organizations and is funded by the Carnegie Corporation. At this point, it is not know if the National Governors Association and Coalition of Chief State School Officers will adopt these standards as part of the “Common Core” standards movement. In addition, the “Common Core” standards in language arts and mathematics are not federally mandated. Instead, they are being driven by a partnership between states.

The new science standards are being developed through an unprecedented partnership of the National Academy of Science, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for Advancement of Science, and Achieve Inc. Achieve Inc (http://www.achieve.org/) is the lead organization for developing the Common Core mathematics and language arts standards. Although roles overlap, each organization has specific responsibilities.

· NAS – Drafting a conceptual framework for new science standards.

· NSTA – Eliciting feedback from the science education community and process transparency.

· AAAS – Eliciting feedback from the science community

· Achieve Inc. – Drafting the actual science standards.

This is a major undertaking, with four diverse organizations on a very aggressive timeline. The dates below are therefore tentative.

Conceptual Framework

Development – Winter 2009 / Spring 2010

Public Comment - Summer 2010

Publication – December 2010

An 18-member NAS panel will draft a conceptual framework that will be used to create the new standards. The panel is composed of prominent scientists from multiple disciplines, science educators, cognitive scientists (how people learn science), mathematicians, engineers, and policy experts. The panel is supported by 5 design teams lead by leading experts. The framework will include guidance for the fundamental concepts (big ideas), sufficient depth, and structure. It is based on the work done in the original standards, AAAS Benchmarks, NAEP 2009 assessment framework, AP redesign, learning progression research, “How Students Learn” publications, and other documents.

The public will have a short window to comment on a draft of the framework during the summer of 2010. NSTA will facilitate feedback from the science education community. AAAS will facilitate feedback from the science community. Achieve Inc. will facilitate feedback from policy stakeholders. The panel will make revisions and publish the conceptual framework in December 2010.

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/Standards_Framework_Homepage.html

Drafting the Next Generation of Standards

Development: Winter / Spring 2011

Public Feedback: April / May 2011

Publication: December 2011

Achieve Inc. will begin drafting the new standards after the completion of the NAS Conceptual Framework. Achieve Inc focuses on managing the development process and will use expert teams during the writing process. It is envisioned that a large overlap will exist between these writing teams and the design teams involved in the development of the NAS Conceptual Framework. NSTA, AAAS, and Achieve Inc. will facilitate the public vetting process to ensure feedback from stakeholders (scientists, science teachers, policy makers, general public).

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Eric Brunsell

Assistant Professor, Science Education

University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh

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