A Review of Science Standard History Culminating With Next Generation Science Standards

Abstract

When the USSR launched the satellite Sputnik shockwaves went through the United States. Science education was reformed and gains were made. Two decades after Sputnik, science education in the U.S. had regressed and a report from the government claimed that if the current state of education were imposed by another country it would be perceived as an act of war. The nation again mobilized in an attempt to rectify the perceived shortcomings in American education. Science for All Americans and Benchmarks in Science Literacy were first and closely followed by National Science Education Standards. All of these publications had dramatic effects on science education and American science education again moved forward. Another decade brought the world into the new century and found United States science education staying no more than afloat when compared globally. The National Research Council set out to determine what changes standards should undergo in order to best propel the United States as far forward as possible. They published A Framework for K-12 Science Education which was very influential and was the basis for the publication of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Polls show that the American public is ready and wanting new internationally-benchmarked science standards such as the NGSS are. The NGSS are heavily based on the three dimensions recommended in the Framework: Practices, Cross-Cutting Concepts, Core Ideas.