April 2013

The final Next Generation Science Standards, a new set of voluntary and internationally benchmarked standards for K–12 science, have been released. Developed by a consortium of 26 state governments and several science and teaching groups, the standards are based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education, which was published by the National Research Council (NRC) in 2011.

In 2010, AERA and 38 other associations expressed concern about the absence of social and behavioral sciences among the core sciences as defined in the NRC’s framework—an absence that is evident in the new standards. AERA agrees with the approach of applying a few core concepts to different content areas in the sciences but does not agree that large areas of science should be omitted. As Executive Director Felice Levine points out, “Limiting students’ view of, or opportunities in, science will ultimately disserve them and disadvantage the scientific enterprise and the nation.”