The State Science Education Standards Comparison Tool was released today. This tool can assist states and districts that are considering revision or adoption of science standards by guiding them through a series of questions comparing two sets of standards. Because new science standards documents, including the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), differ greatly in structure and intent from other existing sets of standards, a traditional standards "crosswalk" document (which focuses on a one-to-one comparison of content standards) may not fully capture the extent of the differences between standards. Thus, the purpose of the comparison tool is to accompany a standards crosswalk document to help users gain a more thorough understanding of how two sets of standards compare on various aspects of knowledge development.
The tool will be beneficial to individuals and teams with some familiarity with both sets of standards being compared. Primary participants in the comparison process are likely to include staff members of a state education agency, but the tool might also be useful to district administrators, teachers, and developers of instructional materials or assessments. Other stakeholders in standards adoption processes, including representatives from the higher education and business communities, along with members of the public, might also be involved in a district or state's use of the tool. At the end of this process, users should have a clear understanding of how each set of standards was developed and how they each address important aspects of science education.
The State Science Education Standards Comparison Tool is available for download in both PDF and Word formats at https://www.nextgenscience.org/resources.