Next Generation Science Standards

Welcome parents to an exciting school year where Crossroads Elementary is making the transition to teaching the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). To help you understand what this will look like this year for your child, I have a Q & A section below.

  • What are the Next Generation Science Standards and why are they being implemented?
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K-12 science standards that students will become acclimated to and be able to demonstrate throughout the year. The NGSS was created by states to enhance science instruction for all students. There are many reasons for the change. Our world is drastically changing and becoming more technologically advanced. We have access to a plethora of information with the click of a finger. Several occupations today didn't even exist twenty years ago. The previous science standards are not meeting the demand of skill sets that college and careers are looking for. Science education of distinct merit translates to a production of competence and comprehension of traits like: discourse, teamwork, exploration, perseverance, problem solving, adaptability, determination, and resilience. These attributes will assist students throughout their schooling and working lives. Check out the video below. 

  • What do these standards mean for your child’s education?
Like College and Career Readiness, NGSS will be challenging and demanding in order to provide students with the skills that will prepare them for higher education. Your child will be applying the 3 dimensions of science learning and then exhibiting performance expectations that illustrate their understanding and application of the ideas. This will be assisted by using Full Option Science System (FOSS) with investigations that are hands-on, active, and engaging where students can explore phenomena, collect data, discuss, reflect, and then prove their understanding. Many current and future career fields value the importance and instruction of scientific and engineering methods that will give students the qualifications to meet their specific criteria. There is a lot of math and other proficiency in NGSS that again will increase student skills. Since students are always demonstrating their understanding of the concepts with inquiry and the collection of data, the learning curve won't be so big when they are asked to exhibit certain future tasks. Click on the links below to learn more about NGSS and FOSS.

NGSS Overview

FOSS Website
  • What are the conceptual shifts in the NGSS including the 3 dimensions?
As previously mentioned, the purpose of the NGSS is to prepare students with the necessary skills for college and to meet the requirements in different job fields since our society is constantly changing where the current job market is not qualified in many new career fields that have sprung up. The way NGSS is set up will provide content and expertise to build on their ability throughout their schooling. Extensive research with several key science and educational groups have come together to make sure these science standards will help children reach their goals. Instead of specific standards, it has performance expectations. The science concepts will build on each other from kindergarten to twelfth grade. There is a deeper understanding of main ideas and how they can be practiced. These are just a few focal points that are new and exciting about NGSS.
The performance expectations are created by the combination of the three dimensions: disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts. The practices are the type of skills a scientist or engineer might exhibit in their field on a smaller scale. They take the approach that students must take in order to understand the core ideas, make connections, and implement them.The disciplinary core ideas (DCI's) are concepts that students should know and complete by the time they graduate high school. These are science themes that researchers felt students should know, be able to learn, and then expand on. The cross-cutting concepts are skills that will be taught in every disciplinary core idea to give students comprehension of how our world works and to relate them to the DCI's. (The detailed disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts are listed below.) Click on the video to learn more about the performance expectations and the three dimensions of science learning.



  • What is the difference between Performance Expectations and Assessments?
The NGSS are technically not common standards but expectations for what children should be able to accomplish by the end of a lesson. Thus, the performance expectations give the target or objective for participants, but do not give directions on how the students will achieve this goal. Below is an example of a performance expectation for a third grader. 
3-LS4-4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
"Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change." 
Since performance expectations seek more of an objective for students and are ambiguous, it is not a form of assessment. Assessments can vary depending on what the goal is but are more specific. Some examples are standardized tests, pre-assessments, formative assessments, summative assessments, and placement assessments. 

  • A short list of resources below for parents, family members, and students who would like to learn more about the NGSS.



  • The Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and the Crosscutting Concepts are listed below.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS: Life Science
LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

ESS: Earth and Space Science
ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
ESS2: Earth’s Systems
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity

PS: Physical Science
PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
PS3: Energy
PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

ETS: Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science
ETS1: Engineering Design

Science and Engineering Practices
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) 
2. Developing and using models 
3. Planning and carrying out investigations 
4. Analyzing and interpreting data 
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) 
7. Engaging in argument from evidence 
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Crosscutting Concepts
1. Patterns. 
2. Cause and effect:Mechanism and Explanation
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity. 
4. Systems and system models. 
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation. 
6. Structure and function. 
7. Stability and change. 

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