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Leaders in the Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards

Grounded in a research-based theory of change, work with school districts, businesses, institutions of higher education, and state and federal departments - the K-12 Alliance works to improve and advance high quality science education including the adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards.

Professional Learning for the Next Generation Science Standards

All K-12 Alliance programs are designed to support implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards. Click here to see a suite of current programs.

Influence NGSS Implementation Statewide

Something unprecedented has been happening in California’s implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards.

Find our more about the collaborative contributions from California leaders, including K-12 Alliance, in driving implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards is featured in the Future of California Science: A Story of Leadership, Collaboration, and Legacy:

CA NGSS Collaborative

The K-12 Alliance is a partner in the CA NGSS Collaborative which works as a think tank to advance science education state-wide and support teachers and administrators through the dissemination of state-wide trainings, e.g., Rollouts and other professional learning events such as the development and implementation of the CA NGSS TIME (an adaption of the national Next Gen TIME) for the evaluation, selection and implementation of instructional materials.

California Partnership for Math and Science Education

The K-12 Alliance is a partner in the California Partnership for Math and Science Education which works to strengthen math and science teaching and learning statewide through a multilayered approach to deepen standards implementation support and coordination.

Advocacy

The K-12 Alliance has a long history of advocacy in the state of California including:

  • Regular public comment at State Board of Education Meetings and advisement to the California Department of Education
  • Facilitators, authors, and reviewers of the 1990, 2002, and 2016 California Science Framework
  • Members of the California Science Expert Panel
  • Members of the NGSS Systems Implementation Plan for California
  • Members of the California Science Instructional Materials Review Panel

CA NGSS K-8 Early Implementation Initiative

The Initiative, developed by the K-12 Alliance at WestEd with collaborative input on its design and objectives from the State Board of Education, the California Department of Education, and Achieve, is a fast-start demonstration project to build 8 school districts’ (funded by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation) and two charter management organizations’ (funded by the Hastings-Quillin Fund) capacity to fully implement the NGSS as a core subject in the elementary grades (K-5) and as the SBE’s preferred integrated model in grades 6-8. The six-year (2014-2020) initiative, engaged participants in a deep understanding of: policy implications, building administrator and teacher leadership, changing teacher practice, increasing student opportunities to learn science, and disseminating learnings across California and other states adopting the NGSS.

Next Generation Science Standards: Learning from Early Implementers

Teachers and administrators share their experiences and explain how the new science standards are transforming education in California classrooms.

Link to video.

Download this two-page initiative overview.

Follow our Twitter feed @EarlyImplement

Learnings

WestEd and the K-12 Alliance team produced a series of evaluation reports captured the work and learnings from the six year initiative:

  • What Educators Can Learn About NGSS Implementation: Highlights from the Early Implementers Initiative (2020)

    View Summary | View Report

  • NGSS In The Classroom: What Early Implementer Science Instruction Looks Like (2020)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Six Years of Scaling Up: Districtwide Implementations of the Next Generation Science Standards (2020)

    View Summary | View Report

  • It's About TIME: A Rigorous New Process for Selecting Instructional Materials for Science (2020)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Administrators Matter in NGSS Implementation (2019)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Environmental Instruction Catalyzes Standards-Based Science Teaching (2019)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Collaborative Lesson Studies : Powerful Professional learning for Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (2019)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Investing in Science Teacher Leadership: Strategies and Impacts in the NGSS Early Implementers Initiative. (2019)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Engaged and Learning: How Students Benefit from Next Generation Science Standards Teaching. (2018)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Making Middle School Science Whole: Transitioning to an Integrated Approach to Science Instruction. (2018)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Next Generation Science Standards in Practice: Tools and Processes Used by the California NGSS Early Implementers. (2018)

    View Summary | View Report

  • Developing District Plans for NGSS Implementation: Preventing Detours and Finding Express Lanes on the Journey to Implement the New Science Standards. (2018)

    View Summary | View Report

  • The Synergy of Science and English Language Arts: Means and Mutual Benefits of Integration. (2017)

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  • Administrators Matter in NGSS Implementation: How School and District Leaders Are Making Science Happen. (2017)

    View Summary | View Report

  • The Needle is Moving in California K-8 Science. (2016)

    View Summary | View Report

Resources

NGSS resources developed by members of the Initiative:

NGSS Learning Sequences

Click on a sequence to learn more. The link will open a new window.