NSTA - National Science Teachers Association

What is the vision for Science Anchors?

Our current vision is for Science Anchors to serve as a model for K–12 science education standards that draws from current national standards documents (Benchmarks for Science Literacy and National Science Education Standards) but would be more streamlined and focused than the current documents. Content in the science disciplines would be organized around a small number of big ideas that develop over the K–12 span, and crosscutting concepts and skills that would unite the disciplines in a deep, meaningful way. Attention would be given to the number of concepts and skills students would be expected to acquire each year so learning goals are realistic for students and manageable by teachers.

To be clear, we do not intend for Science Anchors to replace the NSES and Benchmarks or state standards that have recently been revised and legislated; instead, we will build upon the work already completed. Our goal is to prioritize and organize the core ideas in science, update the science where necessary, and provide guidance for establishing clear and specific performance expectations that offer the same clear learning objectives for curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

To show how this vision could be achieved, NSTA developed a model of what Science Anchors might look like (see Proposed Model Framework). This model is meant to serve as the starting point of a collaborative process that will help bring clarity and coherence to science education.

What prompted the genesis of Science Anchors?

Recognizing the enormous challenges states were and are facing regarding coherence, articulation, and the sheer number of standards, in late 2006, then NSTA Executive Director Gerry Wheeler began exploring the idea of developing “anchors” to guide science instruction. The goal was to pare down the number of standards in national and state science frameworks to help science educators focus more intently on those that are most central. In June 2007, NSTA convened a meeting of science education experts to further develop those initial ideas, and shortly afterward a 14-member task force was formed to scope out the initiative. While many opinions have been expressed and unanswered questions remain about how to develop Science Anchors, the NSTA Board of Directors agreed to seek the necessary funds and partners to advance this effort.

Who is developing Science Anchors?

NSTA is leading the development of Science Anchors, but is doing so with the support and involvement of many others. In early 2009, NSTA established an Interagency Steering Committee composed of representatives from NSTA, the National Research Council (NRC), Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Achieve, Inc. We also have an Advisory Board of veteran science educators, and we are currently expanding the circle of individuals and groups who wish to provide input into the development of Science Anchors.

Why do we need Science Anchors?

To remain competitive as a nation, it’s critical that we have a scientifically literate population. The National Science Education Standards, Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and state standards have helped move us toward this goal. However, the work of implementing standards and assessing student learning comes with a number of challenges. Standards are not always sufficiently clear and specific to provide useful learning objectives for instruction and assessment. Too many standards result in curricula covering too many topics in too little time. Lack of coherent standards leads to a fragmented curriculum that fails to build knowledge and skills from year to year. Science Anchors is being created to ameliorate some of these problems.

Will Science Anchors be another set of standards?

No. The National Science Education Standards and AAAS's Benchmarks for Science Literacy already contain very good standards. Science Anchors is an effort to prioritize and focus the current standards—with science updates wherever necessary—so they can be used more easily by educators, teams revising state standards, administrators developing science programs for schools and districts, or by teachers seeking further insight into how a given unit of study fits into the broader picture of a student’s K–12 science learning.

Will Science Anchors be similar to the Curriculum Focal Points for mathematics?

Yes, although the correspondence is not precise. Curriculum Focal Points for Mathematics in Prekindergarten through Grade 8, published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, is intended to focus mathematics instruction on the most important mathematical topics in each grade, K–8. Science Anchors will do the same by focusing on an important set of core science ideas and abilities that develop over time. Our current thinking is that Science Anchors should span the entire K–12 grade range, but we are still seeking feedback about whether to present Science Anchors grade-by-grade as do the Focal Points or in grade bands, as in the current national science education standards documents.

Will Science Anchors be a scope and sequence chart?

No. Scope and sequence charts illustrate how units in a particular set of instructional materials develop over time. Just as many different instructional materials have been created to meet national science education standards, various scope and sequence charts and instructional materials could be constructed to help students achieve the learning goals that will be specified in Science Anchors. One element of the current vision is to make connections among concepts so a user of Science Anchors can determine if students have an opportunity to develop prerequisite concepts before being introduced to a major new idea.

Science Anchors will be organized around a small set of big ideas in science. How will you choose these topics?

A number of states have selected main ideas for organizing their standards, and various research groups have explored answers to this question. This is one of the most important questions to be addressed as we move forward and we are open to suggestions.

Will Science Anchors be supported by educational research?

Yes. Science Anchors will embody a set of recommendations about which science concepts students should be able to learn and which abilities they should have at various age or grade levels. It must, therefore, be consistent with the latest science education research. We will work with groups including the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Project 2061, Achieve, and others who conduct educational research to ensure Science Anchors is well-supported by research findings. We also recognize, however, that gaps exist in today’s research base, and we’ll have to make an informed guess about what would be appropriate. We will invite educational researchers to test these assumptions as they expand the research base, and we will modify Science Anchors to align with new research findings.

Who may want to use Science Anchors?

Science Anchors and supporting documents will be designed with several audiences in mind, including state science education leaders and policy makers, school district leaders, developers of curricula and assessments, science education researchers, professional development providers, science specialists, and classroom teachers.

How will Science Anchors help teachers?

Because Science Anchors—and most state standards—have been derived from the same set of initial national standards documents, its content should not significantly differ from what science teachers are already doing. However, because Science Anchors will organize the standards according to big ideas teachers should be able to use it to determine what students should know and be able to do from prior grades, what their own work should focus on, and which more advanced concepts their students should be prepared to learn. Teachers also will be provided with clear discussion of crosscutting concepts and abilities appropriate for the students they teach.

How will Science Anchors help school and district leaders?

School and district leaders must use their state standards to craft grade-by-grade curriculum plans, as well as formative and summative assessments, to determine how well their students are achieving the goals of the standards. Science Anchors will serve as an interactive tool for presenting an overall picture of what students are expected to know and be able to do and for designing a program for a particular school or district.

How will Science Anchors help state science education leaders and policy makers?

The NCLB Act requires every state to have a set of K–12 science education standards and related assessment instruments. States revise their standards every five to seven years. But developing and revising standards is a daunting task. An exemplary set of carefully designed and well thought-out Science Anchors could be very helpful to teams charged with revising state standards.

How will Science Anchors help developers of curricula and assessments?

We hope Science Anchors will aid curriculum developers in focusing and prioritizing science learning goals in various grades or grade ranges. If this is accomplished, creators of assessments will have clearer targets to reach, and developers of instructional materials will be able to reduce the number of areas they attempt to "cover" each year so teaching can focus on essential knowledge and abilities.

How will Science Anchors help education researchers?

A promising approach to science education research that has recently emerged is known as "learning progressions." Although still undergoing modifications, this research genre is concerned with how students develop their understanding of a particular big idea or ability as they progress through K–12 instruction. Since research studies typically focus on a narrow range of ages and grades, learning progression studies are generally compilations of many research studies. Science Anchors could provide foci for the development of learning progressions and focused studies that would test each aspect of the Anchors. It will be important for Science Anchors to be reviewed periodically and revised to align with new research findings.

How will policy makers use Science Anchors?

According to the Constitution, powers not explicitly delegated to the federal government are delegated to the states. Consequently, education is a state issue, and it is highly unlikely this country will ever have a national curriculum or mandatory national standards. However, with 50 separate sets of standards, it is difficult for policy makers in different states to collaborate and share resources to improve science education. Science Anchors could provide a common ground for developing regional programs and national collaborations.

Will Science Anchors be published online or in print?

We anticipate both, but we are seeking input from the science education community about the preferred format. The first drafts of Science Anchors will be available on the NSTA website. Current plans call for the Science Anchors website to be interactive, enabling educators to customize the Science Anchors framework to meet their own needs and requirements. After gathering feedback and incorporating suggestions for improvement, we anticipate a print version will be produced.

When will Science Anchors be completed?

NSTA is seeking funding to fully develop Science Anchors. As a first step, we are working with the National Research Council to convene a planning meeting in Spring or early Summer 2009 to help guide the initiative, as well as a symposium to take place later on to gather input from the broader community of science educators, researchers, and policy makers. We plan to establish a small group of writers who will use the advice of these various groups to develop a first draft of Science Anchors by the end of calendar year 2009.