With the adoption of the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 16 states, and 40 others likely to follow, there’s a good chance the new science standards are coming to you in the next few years. The NGSS outlines new approaches to K-12 science education, blending content with practice. The goal of the new science standards is to prepare students for success, not only in STEM careers, but also across all modern workplaces. The principal belief is that the methodologies of science (research, analytical thinking, communication) are as important as the content in preparing a student for navigating an increasingly complex, global world. High school students especially are meant to benefit from a practice-based education. The hope is for students to learn how to use real-life habits and skills used today by scientists and engineers.

The main thing to remember about the NGSS standards is the three overlapping principles, which represent a three-dimensional system of learning. The standards themselves are organized around these dimensions and represent a shift in traditional science education. It’s critical to understand the three dimensions to read the NGSS standards. They are:

• Science and Engineering Practices: Scientific method, inquiry, and habit
• Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs): Core scientific subjects
• Cross Cutting Concepts: Concepts connecting different domains of science

Every standard at every grade level is organized around linking these dimensions together and building on previous learning. The NGSS standards further differ from previous science standards because they integrate these three dimensions within each standard, intentionally connecting topics and grade bands.

Reading NGSS standards will feel complicated without familiarizing yourself first with the three dimensions and the best way to start preparing for a transition. Because the system of standards is built on the notions of coherence and context, you will see these same sections repeatedly at different grade levels and across topics.

Science and Engineering Practices

• Defining Problems and Asking Questions
• Developing and Using Models
• Planning and Carrying out Investigations
• Analyzing and Interpreting Data
• Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
• Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
• Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• Earth and Space Science (ESS)
• Life Science (LS)
• Physical Science (PS)
• Engineering and Technology Science (ETS)

Cross Cutting Concepts

• Cause and effect: the idea that one process is responsible for another
• Patterns: a framework for understanding and analyzing repetition
• Systems and System Models: organizing principles
• Similarity and Diversity: commonalities and discrepancies across disciplines
• Scale, Proportion, Quantity: understanding size and growth
• Energy and Matter: the study of physical substance and how things work
• Structure and Function: principles of design and engineering
• Stability and Change: the study of equilibrium and evolution

How to Read NGSS Standards: The Structure

Not sure how to use the NGSS standards? The standards seem complicated at first glance, but once you get the hang of how to read NGSS standards structure and format, they provide a clear and contextual guideline for building a curriculum. There are separate standards for every grade level (kindergarten through 5th grade), and then grade band standards for middle school (6th to 8th grade), and high school (9th through 12th). Each standard has an identical organizational structure, so we’ll start there, then go over each section in detail. Reading NGSS standards will be easier once the organization becomes apparent.

At the top of every standard, you’ll see the Title and the Topic. Below that, you’ll see the three sections that every standard contains: Performance Expectations, Foundations Boxes, and Connection Boxes. First, there are the Performance Expectations, or PEs, for that stated Topic. Then come the Foundation Boxes, organized around the three dimensions (Practices, DCIs, and Cross Cutting Concepts). Finally, at the end of the standards, you’ll see the Connection Boxes, which contextualize the content across other standards. From top to bottom, that’s the overall structure every standard is going to follow. Every standard will have each of these sections.

For a deeper breakdown of each section, we’ll use an example of a high school standard for Earth and Space Sciences, or ESS. As seen in the image below, the topic for this standard is HS Space Systems, with HS designating the high school grade band.

Reading NGSS Standards: Performance Expectations (PE)

The Performance Expectations are primarily what a student should understand at the end of instruction. They are not instructional strategies or outlines, nor are they stated objectives for the lesson. They summarize the knowledge the teacher should be assessing at the high school grade level. Understanding the intention behind each section is an important part of reading NGSS standards correctly.

So looking at our example, we see that the first Performance Expectation describes that a student should be able to develop an evidence-based model that illustrates the life space of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the energy release that eventually reaches Earth as radiation. By the end of this topic, students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge by researching evidence and creating a model to support this statement. They’ll have to use practices, core ideas, and cross cutting concepts to arrive at their knowledge. In this standard, there are four Performance Expectations for the entire topic of Space Systems. Every standard can have any number of Performance Expectations, but usually not more than five. The essential point of the Performance Expectation is that it summarizes what all students are accountable for — knowing how to demonstrate what they’ve stated.

It’s important to remember that the Performance Expectation offers a standard for what the student should be aware of at the end of instruction, but it is by no means a limit on what can be taught in the curriculum. It’s not only a goal but also a baseline that all students should be able to achieve that offers consistency across grade levels.

At the end of each Performance Expectation, you’ll see two sections of red text in brackets. The first is a Clarification Statement, which includes further specifics for the instructor. In this case, the Clarification Statement explains what evidence could be used or what the focus of the student’s model should be. The first Performance Expectation is clarified with a note that says examples of evidence could include observing the masses of other stars or the variation in radiation caused by solar flares.

The second section of bracketed red text is called an Assessment Boundary. This outlines the expected limitations on the content, or in other words, what the student is expected to know at this grade level. So, in this example, at the high school level, the student should not be expected to include details on atomic or sub-atomic processes. Because the NGSS standards emphasize connectivity across grade levels, there might be a Space Systems standard for a younger grade level, with a very different Assessment Boundary.

What this PE does overall is make sure to integrate practices, core ideas, and cross cutting concepts, because a student won’t be able to demonstrate an understanding of this concept without having to put all three into practice. It is a demonstration of knowledge being used, and therefore, in line with the NGSS standards, which emphasize learning by doing. How to use NGSS as a teacher-developing curriculum is up to the instructor.

While the performance expectations can stand alone as a guideline for developing curriculum, a deeper understanding of what the student should be able to do emerges when the expectations are viewed with the Foundation Boxes in mind.

How to Read NGSS Standards: Foundation Boxes

Below the Performance Expectations, you’ll see three different colored boxes of text. These are the Foundation Boxes and are organized around the NGSS standards’ three dimensions.

Starting on the left, you have blue for Science and Engineering Practices, orange for Disciplinary Core Ideas, and green for Cross Cutting Concepts. Under each box are the skills and content necessary to reach an understanding of the topic, as outlined by the Performance Expectations. Each competence and knowledge base references the Performance Expectation it helps the student reach. These sections show how to use NGSS standards to teach this particular topic. Therefore, in our example, in the blue section under Science and Engineering Practices, we see four skills in bold text:

• Developing and Using Models
• Using Mathematical and Computational Thinking
• Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
• Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

All of the above are practices that repeat in other standards at other grade levels, and they are designed to be accurate for every grade regarding the degree of knowledge.

Under Developing and Using Models, you’ll see a designation at the end of the line that reads HS-ESS1-1. This number corresponds with a Performance Expectation above. So, in our example, the skill of Developing and Using Models will help the student achieve the PE of developing an evidence-based model regarding the sun.

Each of these sections in bold contains information on the sub-topic and how it might be approached. This usually also provides information on how the content builds on what the student should have learned in a previous grade. In our example, under Developing and Using Models, the standard states that “modeling in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to using, synthesizing, and developing models to predict and show relationships among variables between systems and their components in the natural and design world(s)”. It’s a single statement with many layers, so you start to see how the NGSS standards function less as curriculum and more as a guideline.

How to Read NGSS Standards: Connection Boxes

Finally, at the bottom of the standards, we have three text sections in white called the Connection Boxes. This section is another reason why the new science standards are so unique because these allow instructors to contextualize what they are teaching by enabling them to see what came before, what will come after, and what previous standards dictated. The Connection Boxes support a coherent vision of standards across grade levels and topics while also comparing how the NGSS standards compare to the Common Core. It gives teachers a framework to track student progress over the course of their education, especially in middle and high school, where a single grade band groups those years together.

The first Connection Box shows the instructor links to other Disciplinary Core Ideas at this grade-band in other topics. In this case, you’ll see that at the high school level, there are some connections to this subject under Physical Sciences. This helps the instructor contextualize the content of this Earth Science standard, allowing them to connect and reinforce what the student is learning in Physical Sciences. They are listed with their Topic code as well as the code to the corresponding Performance Expectations under that topic. At the same time, a student is using similar practices, ideas, and concepts to demonstrate an understanding of increasingly complex questions.

The second Connection Box shows how the Disciplinary Core Idea at work in this standard is connected to standards at other grade levels. This allows instructors to see how the knowledge being acquired at this grade level builds on previous years and how it can add to the student’s understanding of more complex scenarios in future years.

The final Connection Box shows how reading NGSS standards compare to the existing Common Core Standards. For teachers more familiar with the Common Core, this helps contextualize and track what they are teaching against another benchmarked standard.

How to Use NGSS Standards: The Appendix

The Appendix is how to use NGSS standards for exploring other grade levels. The codes you see in the Connection Boxes can be looked up on the Appendix, which is searchable by core idea or by topic.

If you’re still not sure how to use NGSS standards or how to read, it might be helpful to start with an understanding of how they were developed. Are you a teacher familiar with the standards? Let us know if you have any other tips on navigating them!

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