Important Message Regarding the Second Draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (released today, January 8, 2013)
Dear NSTA Chapter and Associated Group Leaders:
At 3 p.m. Eastern today, January 8, Achieve released the second (and final) public draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
In response to the Next Generation Science Standards, the following press statement was released at 3 p.m. by NSTA President Karen L. Ostlund:
NSTA Statement on Release of Second Public Draft of the Next Generation Science Standards
Arlington, Va.—January 8, 2013—The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the largest organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all, issued the following statement today regarding the release of the second public draft of the Next Generation Science Standards. The statement can be attributed to Dr. Karen L. Ostlund, NSTA President.
“The second public draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) released today is a significant step forward in developing exemplary new standards that all states can support. When completed and adopted, these new science standards will change the way science is taught and learned in classrooms nationwide by fully engaging K–12 students in three essential dimensions—disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts—in a way that will deepen and strengthen their knowledge and skills in science.
We applaud the NGSS writing team and the 26 states for their extensive efforts to develop, review, and revise these standards. We are pleased that many changes have been made based on feedback and look forward to working with Achieve and the writers on additional changes to ensure the final standards meet the needs of science educators across the country.
As a partner in the NGSS development process, NSTA will be working with science educators nationwide to identify and develop professional development and curricular materials that will be needed to work toward successful implementation of NGSS. The levels of achievement called for in NGSS are ambitious and we call on all stakeholders to help us build the capacity to adopt and implement the new standards and provide the broad support that schools and teachers will need in the months and years ahead.”
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Please take a look at the statement as well as some core messages developed around the NGSS. We encourage you to use these materials in any type of outreach in your state.
NSTA strongly encourages you and members of your organization to review the draft and provide feedback online to Achieve during the comment period, which ends January 29.
Review the draft here
To help you organize your review of the draft, we are providing you with a copy of the NSTA guide Leading a Study Group on Next Generation Science Standards, Second Public Draft.
We also invite you and your members to join NSTA for a webinar on the second NGSS draft tomorrow Wednesday, January 9, at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern), featuring Stephen Pruitt, Vice President for Content, Research and Development for Achieve. The 90-minute webinar will also include NSTA President Karen L. Ostlund. To register for the web seminar, click here.
If you are involved in social media, we ask that you help us promote our message by doing the following:
Retweet our tweets via Twitter
Like our post on FaceBook
Share our FaceBook post about the release of the draft to your personal page
Comment on the FaceBook or LinkedIn post
Post the information on the page of another group to which you belong (e.g., your state group, the NSELA group, and so forth)
If you are not involved in social media but would like to be and would like to promote NSTA via these new media, please contact our Social Media Director, Lauren Jonas.
If you are on our list server, please consider joining the discussion on the newly formed NGSS list. Sign up here.
