Have you seen the draft version of the new Conceptual Framework for K – 12 Science Education (Framework)?  The final, and published version will be announced on Tuesday, July 19 in Washington D.C. by the National Academy of Sciences.  The Framework was designed by a committee of scientists, and teams of scientists and educators during the past two years.  It will be an important document for at least the next 15 – 20 years, as the National Science Education Standards were for the past 15 years.  Here are some reasons why it will be important.

1. Credibility. It was developed by a cadre of scientists, who constituted the committee, and by four design teams  led by science educators and scientists with vast experiences at university and K-12 levels.  It was organized by and will be published by the National Academy of Sciences.  Funding for this project was provided by the Carnegie Foundation.
2. Attempt to Reduce Content to Core Ideas.  Science educators have sought ways to reduce the shear amount of content is contained in contemporary textbooks.  Indeed, the 1996 Science Education Standards did not reduce content, but contributed to the expansion of concepts and ideas in science.  The Framework authors, according to the Draft Version have attempted to move toward a more coherent vision by focusing on a limited number of core ideas in Earth, Life, Physical and Engineering & Technology.
3. Research Oriented.  The new Framework will also build on the notion that students learn progressively in a developmental way.  Basing their thinking on research in the learning sciences, you will see “learning progressions” as a key feature of the Framework.
4. Basis for New Science Standards.  The Framework will be the guiding conceptual basis for a new set of Science Education Standards that will be developed Achieve, Inc.  As with the Framework’s development, the NSTA and AAAS will be involved.  However, the actual writing of the Science Standards will be done by Achieve, the same company that designed and wrote the Common Core Standards.
5. New Curriculum Projects and Textbooks.  The combination of a New Framework and the subsequent writing of new Science Education Standards will no doubt lead to the development of new curriculum projects, and creation of new textbooks in science.
6. Funding and Research.  The new Framework will influence science education researchers as they write proposals for funding from local, state and federal agencies.  Research projects at Universities will also be influenced in terms of rationale and objectives.  The NSES had a similar influence.
7. High-Stakes Assessments.  Unfortunately, there is a national movement to continue and solidify the nation’s propensity for using standards to design assessments that are used as high-stakes markers to determine the achievement of students in school science, and now, unfortunately to use them as one influential factor in evaluation teacher and school effectiveness.
8. Concerns about who is funding these efforts.  The movement, known as the Common Core Standards is funding that a very elite group of wealthy individuals and corporations, with little or no accountability.  For example, if you visit the Achieve, Inc. website, you will that the following groups are funding them:  The Battelle Foundation • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • The Boeing Company • Brookhill Foundation • Carnegie Corp. of New York • The GE Foundation • IBM Corp. • Intel Foundation • JP Morgan Chase Foundation • Lumina • Nationwide • Noyce Foundation • The Prudential Foundation • State Farm Insurance Companies • Washington Mutual Foundation • The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

These are only eight reasons why you and I should study and become aware of the new Framework.  Is there a movement to standardize education?  Why do we continue these efforts when the effectiveness of “standards” in effecting student achievement is marginal?