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NGSS Standards

On September 4, 2013, the SBE adopted the Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (CA NGSS) as required by California Education Code 60605.85. The NGSS Appendices A-M were also adopted to assist teachers in the implementation of the new science standards and to aid in the development of the new science curriculum framework.

The SBE-adopted California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) can be viewed below by grade level Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI): Life Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, and Physical Sciences or by grade level Topic (e.g., Chemical Reactions, Structure and Function, or Space Systems).

For information on how to read the standards and implement the standards, please read How to Read CA NGSS (PDF) or consult the 2016 Science Framework or visit the Adopting and Implementing NGSS page. For questions about the CA NGSS and 2016 Science Framework, contact the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division (CFIRD) at cfird@cde.ca.gov or 916-319-0881.

Kindergarten through Grade Five Standards

Standards Arranged by Disciplinary Core Ideas (Life, Earth and Space, and Physical Science)

Grades Six through Eight Standards

On November 6, 2013, the SBE approved the Science Expert Panel's (SEP) recommended Integrated Learning Progression model as the preferred model for middle grades six through eight. At the same November meeting, the SBE approved a recommendation by the SSPI to reconvene the SEP in order "to develop ... as an alternative model ... a discipline specific model" for the grade span of six through eight based on Achieve's domains model in Appendix K.

In December 2013, the SEP reconvened to develop an alternative domain specific course model.

The documents below provide middle school educators the rationale for the CA NGSS Integrated Learning Progression Course for middle grades six through eight and the Alternative Discipline Specific Course for grades six through eight. The documents also describe learning progressions for each grade level.

Integrated Learning Progression Model (PDF)
This document provides middle school educators the rationale for the Integrated Learning Progression Course arrangement of standards developed by the California Science Expert Panel. Documents containing the standards for each grade level are below.

Discipline Specific Model (PDF)
This document provides middle school educators the rationale for the Discipline Specific Course arrangement. Documents containing the standards for each grade level are below.

Integrated Model Standards Arranged by Disciplinary Core Ideas

Discipline Specific Model Standards

Grades Nine through Twelve Standards

Standards Arranged by Disciplinary Core Ideas (Life, Earth and Space, and Physical Science)

NGSS Appendices A-M

The NGSS Appendices A-M were adopted to assist teachers in the implementation of NGSS and in the development of the new science curriculum framework.

Questions: Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division | cfird@cde.ca.gov | 916-319-0881

Last Reviewed: Friday, July 9, 2021

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NGSS for California Public Schools, K-12

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On September 4, 2013, the SBE adopted the Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (CA NGSS) as required by California Education Code 60605.85. The NGSS Appendices A-M were also adopted to assist teachers in the implementation of the new science standards and to aid in the development of the new science curriculum framework.

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Appendix F - Science and Engineering Practices in the NGSS

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Appendix F - Science and Engineering Practices in the NGSS

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KQED Education focuses on amplifying youth voice, making media, civic participation, and richer learning within and across the curriculum.

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Article by Lauren Farrar
"What if you could drop microscopes literally around the world from an airplane?" Manu Prakash, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University would often joke with his team.

This musing actually heavily influenced the design of their new microscope, a paper origami microscope. They call it a Foldscope. The microscope is printed on waterproof paper. The user punches out the pieces and folds them together to create a fully functional microscope. It works with standard microscope slides and requires no batteries or electricity to operate. You simply hold the Foldscope up to a light source (like the sun) and look through the salt grain-sized lens to view the sample on the slide. The high curvature of the tiny lenses used in the Foldscope allows small objects to be highly magnified. This little invention costs less than a dollar to produce and could have major implications for global health and for science education.

Prakash grew up in small towns in India where access to healthcare and diagnostic tools, like microscopes, weren't always easy to come by. He has traveled extensively throughout developing countries and has seen firsthand how diseases like malaria, African sleeping sickness and schistosomiasis can go untreated or are mistreated because patients are not properly diagnosed. Diagnosis of diseases like these usually require a microscope to identify the presence of a particular parasite so that the proper treatment can be administered. But remote or resource poor areas don't always have access to these heavy, expensive microscopes used in other parts of the world. Standard microscopes are also difficult to transport when doctors travel from village to village to diagnose and treat patients. And even when remote places do have microscopes, there is little support to maintain them or parts available to fix them if they break.

"Humidity and tropics are terrible for optics... Most of the time when we're in the field there is fungus growing on the lenses... There were times when we were imaging there, we saw an insect colony come out of the microscope," Prakash describes some of the challenges of doing field microscopy in remote tropical areas.

Prakash was determined to build a cheap, robust, easy-to-use and easy-to-fix microscope that required no power and worked with traditional microscope slides. After prototyping with simple supplies like paper, tape and scissors, he and his team came up with a design that worked. The base level requires no external power source and relies on the sun as the primary light source. The team has since developed multiple versions that allow users to do different kinds of microscopy. For example, there are versions with external light modules, versions of various magnifications, versions that allow for fluorescence microscopy, versions that allow for bright field microscopy, versions that allow for dark field microscopy, and versions that allow the user to project the image on a wall. You can even attach a smartphone to the microscope in order to record images.

The Foldscopes are currently undergoing validation studies and clinical trials to be approved as diagnostic tools for diseases including malaria, African sleeping sickness and schistosomiasis.

In addition to their potential value for global health, Foldscopes have a strong educational appeal. Prakash wanted to get these microscopes in the hands of children everywhere, so he started the Ten Thousand Microscope project. He wanted to create a network of learners asking questions, so he put a call out for people to submit an idea for an experiment that they would like to do with the Foldscope and then report back on their findings. This idea was so well received that he has shipped approximately 50,000 microscopes to people all around the world. Some of them are already reporting their findings on his website. He hopes that this project will inspire curiosity and scientific thinking.

"Scientific tools need to become common day-to-day objects if we want people to think scientifically," he says.

While Foldscopes used for diagnostic testing come pre-folded to ensure high quality control, the ones sent out for educational purposes through the Ten Thousand Microscope Project are folded and built by the users. He hopes that school children, hackers, and tinkerers all over the world will build on and add to the microscopes. While Prakash isn't quite dropping these Foldscopes from airplanes, he's certainly getting them into the hands of children all around the world.

This video is part of our Engineering Is: Diagnosing Diseases with Origami Microscopes e-book. The e-book explores the science and engineering principles behind Manu Prakash's Foldscopes project, and includes videos, interactives and media making opportunities. You can find our other e-books at kqed.org/ebooks.

Diagnosing Diseases With Origami Microscopes

Author

Adrienne Calo

Adrienne Calo has been a producer of PBS films, specials, and series for the last 12 years. In 2006, she joined the KQED arts series, "Spark" as Coordinating Producer, and became Series Producer in its 6th season. Segments she produced for the series earned her four Northern California Emmy nominations. Adrienne then went on to work with social justice media company The Working Group, serving as a producer on their national PBS film "Not In Our Town; Light In the Darkness", a portrait of a Long Island community in the aftermath of a hate crime. Most recently, Adrienne was the Coordinating Producer of the national PBS series "Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders", which uses music to tell stories about international culture and politics. In the course of her broadcasting career, Adrienne has also contributed to programming for ABC News/Nightline, This Week in Northern California, and Austin City Limits.

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Diagnosing Diseases With Origami Microscopes

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Article by Lauren Farrar "What if you could drop microscopes literally around the world from an airplane?" Manu Prakash, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University would often joke with his team. This musing actually heavily influenced the design of their new microscope, a paper origami microscope. They call it a Foldscope.

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Diagnosing Diseases With Origami Microscopes

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Diagnosing Diseases With Origami Microscopes

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Direct link
http://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2015/04/30/diagnosing-diseases-with-origami-microscopes-engineering-is/

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Foldscope is the ultra-affordable, paper microscope that you assemble yourself. Designed to be inexpensive, durable, and to give optical quality similar to conventional research microscopes, Foldscope brings hands-on microscopy to new places!

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning

Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF SCIENCE LEARNING

Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

Crosscutting Concepts help students explore connections across the four domains of science, including Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering Design.

When these concepts, such as "cause and effect", are made explicit for students, they can help students develop a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world around them.

Science and Engineering Practices describe what scientists do to investigate the natural world and what engineers do to design and build systems. The practices better explain and extend what is meant by "inquiry" in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires. Students engage in practices to build, deepen, and apply their knowledge of core ideas and crosscutting concepts.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) are the key ideas in science that have broad importance within or across multiple science or engineering disciplines. These core ideas build on each other as students progress through grade levels and are grouped into the following four domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering.

More about 3D Learning

GET TO KNOW

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K-12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.

A goal for developing the NGSS was to create a set of research-based, up-to-date K-12 science standards. These standards give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students' interests in science and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship.

Get to Know the Standards

IMPLEMENT

The NGSS call for a three-dimensional approach to K-12 science instruction. This represents a significant transition from previous state standards. That's why effective implementation demands a great deal of collaboration and patience among states, districts, schools, teachers, and students.

Thoughtful and coordinated approaches to implementation will enable educators to inspire future generations of scientifically literate students. That is the vision of the NGSS. This website provides a range of high-quality resources that empower educators, administrators, parents, and the general public to help bring this vision to life.

Find Tools and Resources

WHY

Science-and therefore science education-is central to the lives of all Americans.

A high-quality science education means that students will develop an in-depth understanding of content and develop key skills-communication, collaboration, inquiry, problem solving, and flexibility-that will serve them throughout their educational and professional lives.

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Home Page | Next Generation Science Standards

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

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The State Board of Education (SBE) adoption of new California science standards began in 2013. Adoption of the CA NGSS involved a two-year process.

A statewide plan to implement the Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (CA NGSS), the CA NGSS Systems Implementation Plan (PDF) was approved by the SBE on November 13, 2014.

Senate Bill 300 (Chapter 480, Statutes of 2013) called for the revision of the Science Framework to align with the CA NGSS. A new Science Curriculum Framework was adopted by the State Board of Education on November 3, 2016.

Information and resources for instructional materials are available on the California Department of Education 2018 Science Instructional Materials Adoption (K-8) web page.

CA NGSS Statewide Implementation

A number of state-level California agencies and organizations participate in supporting science education in California. In brief:

The California Department of Education (CDE) provides technical assistance and support to local educational agencies (LEAs) regarding implementation of SBE-adopted science standards, curriculum frameworks, and assessments. The CDE also facilitates the dissemination of state and federal funding to support implementation of science.

The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) and the Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee (CISC) Science Subcommittee provide collaborative leadership among county offices of education (COEs) to improve achievement in science education for all students and to close the achievement gap.

The California Science Project (CSP) supports ongoing quality professional learning for educators with activities and programs designed by university faculty, teacher leaders, and teacher practitioners to improve instructional practices that lead to increased achievement for all students.

The California Science Teachers Association (CSTA) represents science educators statewide, providing leadership opportunities for its members, advocating for policy to support science education, and supporting science professional development through an annual state conference for science educators.

The K-12 Alliance at WestEd provides science professional development for educators that enhances content knowledge and pedagogical techniques to support science achievement for all students.

The NGSS Collaborative

The NGSS Collaborative was developed by the CDE, CCSESA, CSTA, California COEs, CSP, and the K-12 Alliance at WestEd to ensure that every student has access to teachers who are prepared to teach and facilitate student learning to the levels of rigor and depth required by the CA NGSS. The NGSS Collaborative offers the CA NGSS Rollout Symposia (rollouts) annually. These rollouts are two-day workshops which cover a variety of topics for teachers, principals, and other school leaders who wish to learn more about the CA NGSS and the California Science Framework. Rollouts to date include Introduction to the CA NGSS, Understanding the Shifts Required, Focus on Transition, and Understanding the Science Framework. To support local adoption of instructional materials, the 2018 rollout focused on a Toolkit for Instructional Materials Evaluation (TIME). The 2019 rollout will focus on the CA NGSS and environmental literacy.

Electronic Mailing List

Join the STEM-Education and Environmental-Science electronic mailing lists by sending a blank email to join-stem-education@mlist.cde.ca.gov and to join-environmental-science-ed@mlist.cde.ca.gov. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to unsubscribe-stem-education@mlist.cde.ca.gov and unsubscribe-environmental-science@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

History of Adoption of NGSS for California

The history of the NGSS is located on the History of Adoption of NGSS for California web page.

Questions: Standards Implementation Support Office | stem@cde.ca.gov | 916-323-5847

Last Reviewed: Tuesday, December 31, 2019

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The State Board of Education (SBE) adoption of new California science standards began in 2013. Adoption of the CA NGSS involved a two-year process. A statewide plan to implement the Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (CA NGSS), the CA NGSS Systems Implementation Plan (PDF) was approved by the SBE on November 13, 2014.

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Hold the red laser flat against the table so the light beam is parallel to the table. Shine the laser through the middle of the round dish of red gelatin-a beautifully visible beam travels through it. Then shine the laser through the blue gelatin. Notice that the beam gets dimmer almost as soon as it hits the gelatin. Shine the laser through the dish of clear gelatin. Notice that you can see the beam very clearly

Shine the green laser through the round dish of blue jello and observe the beam as it travels through the jello. Shine the green laser through the red jello and notice that the beam gets dimmer as soon as it enters the jello.

Hold the laser parallel to the table and shine it through one side of a square dish of red or clear gelatin. (Use the red laser for the red gelatin; use either the green or red laser for the clear gelatin.) Start with the beam perpendicular to the edge; notice that it passes through the gelatin in a straight line. Now rotate the laser so that the beam hits the flat edge of the dish at an angle. As you do so, notice how the beam bends towards the center of the dish. Use the protractor to measure the angle of incidence between the beam and a line perpendicular to the flat edge, and the angle of refraction after it enters the gelatin.

Next, take the round Petri dish of blue gelatin. Holding the green laser parallel against the tabletop, shine the laser through the middle of the curved edge of the dish (it should look as though the laser is bisecting the circle). Now, starting from the laser's original position, slide the laser in a straight line to the right and then the left, so that the beam moves toward the outer edges of the dish. Notice how, as you do so, the beam bends towards the center of the dish. (Note: Hold your two lasers parallel to one another and shine both beams through the curved edge of the dish, and then use a piece of white paper or waxed paper as a screen to find the focal point where the two beams cross-see the What's Going On? section below for more information.)

Finally, take a square dish of red or clear gelatin. Holding either laser parallel to the table (use the red laser for the red gelatin; use either the red or the green for the clear gelatin), shine the beam through one edge of the box and notice the beam coming out the far side. Now, shine the beam through one side of the box so that it hits the adjacent side at a glancing angle-you'll notice that no light exits the box through that side! (You may need to play around a bit to find the right glancing angle.) The largest angle at which no light escapes is called the critical angle.

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Hold the red laser flat against the table so the light beam is parallel to the table. Shine the laser through the middle of the round dish of red gelatin-a beautifully visible beam travels through it. Then shine the laser through the blue gelatin.

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Find Your Path through the NGSS

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Find your path through the Next Generation Science Standards with help from the Concord Consortium.

1. Start in the center with a core idea. What do you teach?

2. Add a science and engineering practice-or two!

3. Add a crosscutting concept.

4. You've created one path through the NGSS. Use the Concord Consortium resources available for that path below.

Practices

Asking Questions
Defining Problems

Using Models

Conducting
Investigations

Analyzing
Data

Using Mathematics &
Computational Thinking

Constructing Explanations
Designing Solutions

Arguing from
Evidence

Communicating
Information

Core Ideas
What do you teach?

Life
Sciences

Engineering &
Technology

Earth & Space
Sciences

Physical
Sciences

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns

Causation

Scale

Systems

Energy

Structure & Function

Stability & Change

Start by selecting a Core Idea.

About the Next Generation Science Standards

You can also download our
NGSS "fortune tellers" (PDF) for another fun way to find resources available for different paths.

The Next Generation Science Standards provide a framework and examples for STEM learning. Grounded in the National Academy of Science's thoughtful Framework for K-12 Science Education, these new K-12 science standards have been developed to provide students an internationally benchmarked science education, and signify a new direction for STEM education. They elevate the importance of Earth science, present engineering education as coequal with science education for the first time and emphasize a key set of Scientific and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts that should buttress all learning in these disciplines.

The NGSS hold the potential for helping focus the current national concern for improving STEM education. They will undoubtedly help bring clarity and unity to the patchwork of state standards developed throughout the standards movement in the past decades. As this occurs, innovative educational technology will be a critical component in this STEM education revolution.

The Concord Consortium and the NGSS

Our NGSS Pathfinder provides numerous examples of how the NGSS-and especially its Practices and Crosscutting Concepts-are central to our work in STEM education. Over nearly two decades, we've been demonstrating how technology can make complex concepts more approachable, underscore important crosscutting ideas and engage students in the practices of science and engineering.

Using computational models and probe-based activities, elementary students can watch biological evolution, middle school students can analyze and interpret data to understand the genetic basis of inheritance and high school and college students can argue from evidence in discussing interactions between molecules. With these technology-supported activities, students can engage in doing real science as they plan and carry out investigations, use models, analyze data and design solutions. Students also gain wide experience with crosscutting concepts-from scales in space and time to energy and systems-across domains in science, math and engineering.

More about the NGSS

© Copyright 2020 The Concord Consortium. All rights reserved.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE-1044263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Find your path through the Next Generation Science Standards with help from the Concord Consortium. Start in the center with a core idea. What do you teach? Add a science and engineering practice-or two! Add a crosscutting concept. You've created one path through the NGSS. Use the Concord Consortium resources available for that path below.