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that produced the Benchmarks for Science Literacy in 1993

      3. Achieve, a nonprofit education reform organization that partnered with the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers (NGA & CCSSO; 2010a, 2010b) to produce the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010

      4. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), an organization of science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, and business and industry representatives dedicated to improving science education in the U.S.

      These four partner organizations collaborated at various stages of the development process to create the NGSS. Table 1.1 depicts an overview of this process.

Table 1.1: Development Process of the Next Generation Science Standards

Development Stage	Time Period	Development Steps
Conceptualization	2009–2012	• The NRC, AAAS, Achieve, and NSTA teamed up to develop the NGSS. • Achieve (2010) published its International Science Benchmarking Report. • The NRC (2012) published A Framework for K–12 Science Education after multiple rounds of revision.
Writing	2012–2013	• Using the NRC (2012) framework as a guide, Achieve managed twenty-six lead states and forty-one writers and reviewers as they drafted the NGSS. • Achieve released two public drafts of the NGSS (one in May 2012 and one in January 2013) for web-based review and feedback. • The AAAS, the NSTA, state leaders, K–12 teachers, professors, and scientists reviewed the NGSS draft and offered feedback. • The NRC conducted an independent review of the NGSS to ensure alignment to its framework. • Achieve published the final version of the NGSS in April 2013.

      Source: Adapted from Henderson, 2013.

      * “Next Generation Science Standards” is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of, and do not endorse, this product.

      As shown in table 1.1, the formation of the NGSS proceeded in two main phases: (1) conceptualization and (2) writing. Here, we briefly describe each phase.

       Conceptualization of the NGSS

      Unlike the CCSS, which were conceived, drafted, and published in a period of about one year, initial writing of the NGSS did not begin until 2011, two years after the project’s inception. Instead, the process of creating the NGSS began with an extensive foundational period of research and theorizing that occurred in two stages: (1) international benchmarking and (2) creation of the NRC framework.

       International Benchmarking

      Achieve (2010) took the first step in developing the NGSS by using an analytical method called benchmarking. In business, benchmarking is the practice of comparing a company’s procedures and expectations to those of highly successful companies or to a set of industrywide best practices. This allows a business to identify which areas need attention in order to improve overall performance. Educational benchmarking applies this same principle to a classroom, school, or district. For example, throughout a school year, a district might conduct benchmark assessments to help teachers monitor student progress or modify their instruction. A district or an individual school could also perform benchmark analyses of high-performing schools to identify areas it can improve within its own system.

      Achieve’s (2010) process of international benchmarking involved reviewing and evaluating science standards from other countries around the world. The overall goal of the international benchmarking study, according to Achieve (2010), was to “inform the development” (p. 3) of the NGSS. Achieve (n.d.e) summarized the benefits of international benchmarking:

      International benchmarking is important from a national perspective to ensure our long-term economic competitiveness. Many feel it is necessary for American students to be held to the same academic expectations as students in other countries. The successes of other nations can provide potential guidance for decision-making in the United States.

      However, international benchmarking does not simply involve copying the standards of high-performing nations. Instead, Achieve (2010) recommended that results of its study be used as guidelines during the process of standards development, rather than strict rules that must be followed or replicated:

      International benchmarking does not mean that the United States should simply emulate other countries’ standards. In recent years, the United States has made significant strides in advancing the research base that underpins science education and also has its own exemplars. It is also the case that there are shortcomings in all of the standards Achieve examined that are equally instructive for improving standards. (p. 9)

      Achieve’s (2010) international benchmarking study involved a quantitative and qualitative review of the science standards from specific countries with particularly strong performance on international assessments or of special interest to the United States (Achieve, n.d.e). The quantitative component included an analysis of the science content and skills in each nation’s standards, which yielded the four key findings shown in table 1.2 (page 6).

Table 1.2: Four Key Findings of Achieve’s Quantitative International Benchmarking Analysis

Finding #1	All countries required participation in integrated science instruction through the lower secondary level. Seven of ten countries continued that instruction through grade 10, providing a strong foundation in scientific literacy.
Finding #2	Content standards in other countries focused most heavily on biology and physical sciences (physics and chemistry content taken together) and least heavily on Earth and space sciences.
Finding #3	Other countries’ standards focused life science instruction strongly on human biology and relationships among living things in a way that highlighted the personal and social significance of life science for students.
Finding #4	Crosscutting content common to all of the sciences (such as the nature of science, the nature of technology, and engineering) received considerable attention, as did the development of inquiry skills at the primary level and advanced inquiry skills at the lower secondary level.

      Source: Adapted from Achieve, 2010, pp. 2–3.

      In the qualitative component of the study, Achieve (n.d.d) identified the following features of effective science standards:

      • The use of an overarching conceptual framework

      • Clarification statements to provide examples that clarify the level of rigor expected and connect concepts with applications

      • Concrete links between standards and assessments

      • Development of inquiry and design processes in parallel to facilitate students engaging in both science and engineering practices

      Traces of all four of these features were observable in the final version of the NGSS. Nonetheless, the first element—use of an overarching conceptual framework—had perhaps the most direct influence on the development of the standards.

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