The Next Generation Science Standards, or NGSS, offer an entirely new approach to learning outcomes and how science should be taught in the United States today. But why do we need new science standards? The overhaul comes at a time when the United States faces an increasingly global and technologically advanced future, with dilemmas only science could solve. The unique challenges presented by today’s world were driving forces behind why next generation science standards were developed. The new NGSS standards were reviewed by tens of thousands of experts across the nation, including teachers at every grade level, specialists in science education, educational researchers, and science policy experts. Currently adopted in 16 states, and available nationwide, the NGSS standards emphasize the integration of science content and practice.
Why National Science Standards?
There are many reasons why researchers and educators thought a fresh look at national science standards was overdue. Until recently, states have previously depended on the National Science Education Standards from the National Research Council (NRC) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to guide the development of their state science standards. While these resources remain solid, they are nearly 15 years old; you only have to take a quick look around to see how much technology has changed life in the last 15 years. So much has changed and continues to change. The new science standards aim to address a way of looking at life scientifically, rather than just remembering scientific content. This approach understands that the content could change. Remember when Pluto was a planet? Then it wasn’t!
Furthermore, there’s a growing belief among the science and education communities that the future global success of the United States depends on strong growth in the science, technology, and engineering sectors. For the United States to compete globally and for American students to pursue the expanding employment opportunities in science and technology-related fields, students today must have a robust and coherent foundation in science, engineering, and technology. In fact, a 2009 Carnegie Foundation concluded that the future economy and workforce “depend on a broad foundation of math and science learning”. They went further and argued that our hopes for preserving a vibrant democracy and the American dream depend on math and science education. In addition, there’s decent cause for concern when it comes to the United States’ global standing regarding education and science education specifically.
Why National Science Standards Now?
The current U.S. system of science and mathematics education performs below other global competitors and may jeopardize future opportunities for students entering high school in the next few years. The 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranks the United States as middling in a group of 65 countries ranked. The U.S. comes 23rd in science, 30th in math, and 20th in reading literacy. When it comes to students leaving high school and entering post-secondary life, around half of high school graduates in 2010 did not meet the ACT®’s college readiness benchmark levels in math, while 69% failed to meet the science readiness benchmarks.
Another reason why science standards are needed: consistency. The inconsistency of science education across the United States only adds to the urgency for standardized guidelines. The existing guidelines are robust but fail to provide a framework that connects and builds on every year of education. Each subject is typically taught in isolation. For example, biology and chemistry are taught as separate classes with separate teachers, making each subject open to a variety of interpretations. So as a result, there is no consistency when it comes to the knowledge high school students are taking with them into college and their careers. It’s why science standards matter now, more than ever.
Science and technology are increasingly central to American lives, so it follows that science and technical education should be central to American education as well. For high school students, especially, who are on the brink of entering today’s workforce, an essential foundation of science and scientific inquiry prepares them for greater success. And though the new science standards hope to encourage careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the larger goal of these standards is to empower students for life in the 21st century.
Why Next Generation Science Standards?
The world has never been so complicated, and it’s only going to continue at this pace, if not accelerate. For young minds entering the workforce, it can be a bewildering time, so it’s critical they have the tools to make sense of it all. The goal of the NGSS standards is exactly that: offering students the tools of scientific practice and inquiry so it can become a part of their daily lives. Moreover, science, mathematics, and technology play central roles in some of today’s fastest-growing job industries.
When we consider science education, we think it necessarily must lead to science careers. But what of the future writers, future teachers, or future politicians of the world? Researchers strongly believe that ensuring science literacy for students pursuing any career. Science Education offers tools that are applicable beyond careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Why new science standards? Under the standards, students learn skills like communication, analysis, and critical thinking along with life sciences, earth science, and engineering practices.
Beyond their career, the NGSS standards hopes to address what today’s student needs to thrive and to lead in society. In day-to-day life, the student will be forced to make decisions where a solid foundation in math and science will help. Issues like health care, financial planning, or even negotiating a raise can all be navigated with greater ease and capability. On a global level, many of humanity’s greatest problems can only be solved through science: climate change, disease, food shortages, energy disasters, and more. While the NGSS hopes to encourage more high school students to pursue careers in science and engineering, the larger goal of the standards is to create a foundation that prepares high school students for post-secondary life. For the United States to lead and have a positive global influence in the future, a solid foundation in science and scientific inquiry will be essential. New science standards were developed to aid in solving the world’s issues.
The foundation of the NGSS standards is a three-dimensional system of learning that includes Scientific Practices, Cross Cutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. There are four areas of learning within the core ideas, and these are physical science, life science, Earth and space science, and Engineering, Technology, and Application. Science is key to the United States’ ability to continue to innovate, lead, and create the jobs of the future. So all students, whether they become engineers, technicians, or researchers, must have a solid K–12 science education. There are reasons why science standards were developed this way, and it becomes especially relevant for high school students.
Why New Science Standards are Good for High School Students
By the time they are in high school, students have a curriculum that is shaped as much by practice and doing as by knowledge. The Core Ideas were chosen because of their immense importance to many sciences, or fields of study, as well as for their relevance to the interests and life experiences of high school students. The effort to connect the pursuit of scientific knowledge with social or personal concerns is intentional, and the curriculum is meant to be both teachable and learnable over multiple grades and levels of sophistication. It’s why science standards were developed that way: with the larger goal of future application in mind. By the end of high school, students should come to appreciate science as the result of human practice. Skills like identifying problems, asking questions, developing hypotheses, testing models, and making evidence-based arguments can all be applied beyond science.
The following is an example curriculum from NGSS standards for high school students, organized across the four Core Ideas.
Physical Science:
- Structure and Properties of Matter
- Chemical Reactions
- Forces and Interactions
- Energy
- Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation
Life Science:
- Structure and Function
- Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems
- Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
- Inheritance and Variation of Traits
- Natural Selection and Evolution
Earth and Space Sciences:
- Space Systems
- History of Earth
- Earth’s Systems
- Weather and Climate
- Human Sustainability
Engineering, Technology, and Application:
- Engineering Design
So why Next Generation Science Standards?
To compete in an increasingly technology-driven world, we need to empower our students with tools that apply to their future lives. Our global rankings education do no reflect what they could be, and our current standards are 15 years old. Many experts within the science and education community agreed it was time for a fresh look why national science standards are needed.
What do you think? Are you still wondering why new science standards now? Do you think we need new science standards?
To learn more about how the NGSS standards were developed, check out our post, Who Developed the NGSS?, on the state-led effort behind them.
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