California is reviewing a new set of standards for teaching science, which follows the state's adoption and implementation of the Common Core State Standards in math and English. As with Common Core, the Next Generation Science Standards were drawn up by a consortium of states.
The standards came before the State Board of Education for approval in July, when officials delayed action so teachers would have more time to review the plans. Also, the proposal sparked criticism from at least one group that said California's existing standards are superior.
Here are some questions and answers about the changes, adapted from materials developed by the Orange County Department of Education.
Q. When will the new standards be adopted and implemented?
A. California's state Board of Education is set to review the standards in September. If they are adopted, education leaders don't anticipate full implementation until 2015-16.
Q. How do these standards differ from Common Core science requirements?
A. Common Core addresses literacy in science, not science content. Science content is only found in NGSS. However, NGSS is aligned with Common Core in English language arts and mathematics. California used this alignment to place performance expectations at certain grade levels. For example, space science is handled in eighth grade due to the alignment with Common Core mathematics.
Q. How do the standards differ from California's existing science requirements?
A. Currently, the state standards focus on knowledge. The vision of NGSS is that science education focuses on “knowledge in use.” To that end, the standards focus on achieving greater mastery of fewer topics and emphasize hands-on experimentation. To maximize the vision of NGSS, teaching science must interweave three components: science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas and cross-cutting concepts.
Q. How will the standards be taught in middle school?
A. The proposed adoption includes performance expectations in life, earth, physical science and engineering each year. NGSS is arranged by disciplinary core ideas and by topics. The recommended middle school arrangement is built from the topic arrangement suggested by NGSS. Additionally, the California arrangement will be included as a model by NGSS for other states to use at the middle school level.
Q. How will the standards be taught in high school?
High school performance expectations may be arranged as discipline specific or integrated courses that focus on multiple topics.
Q. Will all states teach science the same way?
A. No. Nationally, a third of the states teach discipline-specific content at middle school, a third use an integrated model and a third allow local choice as to what is taught when. What does match are the performance expectations for the sixth- through eighth-grade span. By the end of eighth grade, all students should have had the same science performance expectations.