Ill. among six states to set new K-12 science standards | News

(KFVS) - Illinois is among six new states to join a collaborative effort to develop new science standards defining what students need to learn from kindergarten through high school graduation.

The other five states include: Arkansas, Delaware, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon. They will be joining the Next Generation Science Standards project which now includes 26 states and the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Achieve, a non-profit education reform organization.

“Science benchmarks need to be strengthened nationally so I’m excited that Illinois will have a seat at the table as these new standards are developed,’’ said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. “We’ve already adopted the new, more challenging Common Core standards in English Language Arts and math. Adding more rigorous science guidelines to our Illinois Learning Standards will help us to better prepare our students to compete and collaborate with their peers around the world.”

In September, the following 20 states were announced as lead state partners:

• Arizona
• California
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Washington
• West Virginia

The development of the NGSS is a two-step process. The first step was finished in July 2011 with the release of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" by the National Research Council.

The framework identifies the core ideas and practices in natural sciences and engineering that all students should know by the time they graduate. It was developed by a committee representing expertise in science, teaching and learning, curriculum, assessment and education policy.

The second step is developing the science standards based on the framework. The 26 state partners will guide the standards writing process, gather and deliver feedback from state-level committees and come together to address common issues and challenges.

Drafts of the science standards will be available for public input at least twice during the NGSS development process. The NGSS is expected to be finished by the end of 2012.

“A majority of the states, educating more than 50 percent of our nation’s students, have committed to developing the Next Generation Science Standards and they should be commended,” said Michael Cohen, president of Achieve. “Their collaboration with the leading voices on science and science education will produce a set of rigorous standards that will provide students with a complete science foundation and prepare them to be college- and career-ready.”

For more information about the work of Achieve, you can visit www.achieve.org. For more details on developing new science standards, you can go to the NGSS website at www.nextgenscience.org.

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