National Science Education Standards

The National Research Council's National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment (NCSESA) started working on the national standards project in spring 1992. The NCSESA established working groups on curriculum, teaching, and assessment standards, which began gathering background material that included work from the AAAS, the National Science Teachers Association, and professional science organizations, as well as state science frameworks and even frameworks from several foreign countries.

The National Science Education Standards (1994, November, draft) are organized into five categories:

1. Science System Standards, which specify support systems and resources to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn science

2. Science Program Standards, which speak to the design and delivery of science programs

3. Science Teaching and Professional Development Standards, which establish criteria for the preservice and inservice professional training of science educators

4. Science Assessment Standards, which specify criteria for evaluating student learning in science

5. Science Content Standards, which describe the content components of science programs

The Science Content Standards present eight categories of content that should be present in a quality science education curriculum:

• Unifying Concepts and Processes
• Science as Inquiry
• Physical Science
• Life Science
• Earth and Space Science
• Science and Technology
• Science and Societal Challenges
• History of Science

The first category is intended for all grade levels. The remaining seven categories include performance standards for grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The authors point out that these standards are not intended to be a curriculum. They are to inform decisionmaking at the local and state level.

References