Can the Next Generation Science Standards be Improved?

We think so.

At a time when key problems like climate change and vaccine hesitancy call for more citizens to be scientifically literate, we need to change the way science is taught in American schools. Influential national science education standards called the Next Generation Science Standards (the NGSS) can be improved to better meet the needs of young people in a democratic society.

In a discussion white paper on this website we identify four areas in which we believe national science education standards for grades K-12 can and should be improved:

  1. Include scientific
    misinformation as a topic for students to study;
  2. Teach about the
    key role of scientific institutions in science (e.g., the CDC, the IPCC, the
    FDA);
  3. Broaden the view
    of “scientific literacy” embodied in the standards; and,
  4. Provide more
    information for teachers about key principles of teaching and learning.

Read the white paper about important “missing pieces” in the Next Generation Science Standards, and how the standards can be improved, then join the conversation on our blog. On the blog page you can request emails to notify you whenever there is a new post.

Assessing science for citizenship on state science tests

The federal government requires states to test all students in science. Colleagues and I have been looking at state tests wondering whether there are questions to assess learning science for citizenship (not only items focused on preparation for college and careers). Here is some of what we found.

by AndyZucker

A new article about reinventing science education standards

The Journal of Research in Science Teaching published an excellent article in September called “Reinventing science standards to better support meaningful science learning.” This post discusses strengths of that paper and identifies missing pieces of what colleagues and I believe is needed to reinvent the standards, including revising standards to help students better evaluate information…

by AndyZucker

Teaching Science for Citizenship

The introduction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) says, “the current education system cannot successfully prepare students for college, careers, and citizenship unless the right expectations and goals are set” [emphasis added]. Similarly, “The goal of the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) is to prepare California students to be future citizens and…

by AndyZucker