Understanding   the  NGSS Development   The Kansas science standards are distinct from prior science standards in that they integrate three dimensions within each standard and have intentional connections across standards. To provide guidance and clarification to all users of the standards, the writers have created a system for displaying the standards that not only show the expectations for students, but also clarifies the three integral dimensions that make up each expectation and connections to other grade bands and subjects. The standards are organized in a table with three main sections: 1) performance expectation(s), 2) the foundation boxes, and 3) the connection boxes.                        Check out the image below to see the components of each standards page. (it should be noted that the performance expectations in the image below are obsolete--they are from an early draft)      Kansas Played a Lead Role in NGSS Development                 Who was involved in the review process? How did this process actually work? What was the timeline for development?  As a lead state in the development process, the Kansas State Board of Education agreed to give these standards serious consideration to be the Kansas science standards when they are completed. After nearly two years of hard work, the Kansas NGSS Review Committee made their unanimous recommendation to the Kansas State Board of Education (KASBE) at the May 2013 Board meeting to adopt these standards. After deliberating for a month, the KASBE adopted the the standards as the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science on June 11, 2013.    1. Who was involved in the review process?   Kansas Review Team-- The Kansas review team included representation from K-12 science educators, post-secondary science professors, post-secondary science education professors, and business and industry.    Building Capacity for Kansas Science Education Committee--this sub-committee of the larger review group focused on finding ways to build and leverage relationships between P-20 educators and business and industry to build state-wide capacity for science education in Kansas.                                    Other Lead States--Kansas was one of 26 lead states that actively collaborated to build the Next Generation Science Standards. Each of these states teams had a review team representative of critical stakeholders in their state. Through online interactions and face-to-face meetings, this broad group of reviewers is guided the standards document to a final product that is better than any of us would have been able to create individually.      Writing Team--the feedback from the 26 lead states and other critical stakeholders was carefully analyzed and used to guide revision by the NGSS writing team. The writing team is composed of 41 members from 26 states who will wrote and revised the Next Generation Science Standards based on the NRC’s Framework for K–12 Science Education. The Framework design committee chairs are acting as the chairs of the NGSS writing team committees to ensure fidelity in this process.       Critical Stakeholders--The critical stakeholders are distinguished individuals and organizations that represent education, science, business and industry and who have interest in the Next Generation Science Standards.   back to top  2. How did this process actually work?     The graphic on the right gives an overview of the process that occurred in Kansas with each draft of the Next Generation Science Standards.  This process is mirrored in the 25 other lead states and by critical stakeholder groups.  In addition to four confidential drafts that the Kansas team reviewed, there were two opportunities for the general public to provide feedback on complete drafts of the NGSS (see calendar below).         back to top      3. How long was the process?         Work began in earnest on the development of the Next Generation Science Standards at the end of the summer of 2011 after the Framework for K-12 Science Education was released (the National Research Council began writing the Framework in 2009).  The standards were completed in April of 2013. In between the start and projected end time, as you can see in the graphic below, there were four drafts evaluated by the lead states (three of which are also evaluated by the critical stakeholder groups) in addition to two complete drafts released for public review.                           back to top    Site Navigation KSDE Science Home Science Standards Implementation Support Kansas Science Assessment    K-12 Framework to NGSS Webinar Series    K-12 Framework and NGSS Primer     This webinar series is aimed at supporting Kansas science educators as they begin to make the transition to the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science.  An essential component of making this transition is understanding the vision of K-12 Framework for Science Education that was the foundation for building these standards.  This webinar series covers the high points of this vision and the structure of both the Framework and the NGSS.  On June 11, 2013, the NGSS were adopted in Kansas as the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science.  Contact Information     Meg Richard STEM Program Manger K-12 mrichard@ksde.org 785-296-8108 TBD Senior Administrative Assistant 785-296-2078

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