Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) describe what K-12 students should know and do in science. Each standard, called a performance expectation, combines a science or engineering practice, a disciplinary core idea, and a crosscutting concept. Achieve, Inc. published NGSS in April 2013 on behalf of 26 states. Twenty states plus DC teach NGSS as written. Most other states use NGSS-aligned standards under a different name.
- K-12 science
- Published 2013
- Achieve, Inc.
- CC BY 4.0
The eight things scientists and engineers do: asking questions, modeling, analyzing data, and more.
The content of science across four disciplines: Physical, Life, Earth and Space, and Engineering.
Seven themes that show up in every science: patterns, cause and effect, scale, systems, and more.
Every NGSS standard is called a performance expectation. A performance expectation combines three dimensions: what students do (Science and Engineering Practice), the science idea they are working with (Disciplinary Core Idea), and the thinking lens they use to make sense of it (Crosscutting Concept).
The three dimensions are meant to work together. A student is not just memorizing a topic, and they are not just practicing a generic skill. They are using a science practice to make sense of a core idea through a crosscutting concept.
Performance expectations live at grade level in K-5 and at grade-band level in middle school (6-8) and high school (9-12). High school NGSS does not pin standards to Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. Schools build their own course sequences on top of the bands.
- Science and Engineering Practices (8)
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- Asking questions
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Using mathematics and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
- Disciplinary Core Ideas (4)
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- Physical Sciences (PS)
- Life Sciences (LS)
- Earth and Space Sciences (ESS)
- Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science (ETS)
- Crosscutting Concepts (7)
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- Patterns
- Cause and effect
- Scale, proportion, and quantity
- Systems and system models
- Energy and matter
- Structure and function
- Stability and change
HS-LS1-1 └─┬┘ └┬┘ │ │ │ └── number within topic │ └───── topic (LS1 = From Molecules to Organisms) └───────── grade band (HS = high school)
HS-LS1-1 asks high schoolers to construct a model of how DNA and proteins drive cell function.
MS-PS2-3 └┬┘ └┬┘ │ │ │ └── number within topic │ └───── topic (PS2 = Motion and Stability) └───────── grade band (MS = middle school)
MS-PS2-3 asks middle schoolers to investigate the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
3-LS4-1 │ └┬┘ │ │ │ └── number within topic │ └───── topic (LS4 = Biological Evolution) └──────── grade level (grade 3)
3-LS4-1 asks third graders to use fossils to describe the environments where organisms lived long ago.
The disciplinary letters: PS (Physical Sciences), LS (Life Sciences), ESS (Earth and Space Sciences), and ETS (Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science).
NGSS was written to fix two problems at once. The old state science standards were a mile wide and an inch deep, with too many disconnected topics for any teacher to cover in depth. They also separated knowing from doing. A student could memorize the parts of a cell and pass a test without ever asking a scientific question, building a model, or running an analysis. The 2012 NRC Framework named that gap and laid out a three-dimensional fix.
Adoption has been slower than Common Core because science assessment is harder to build and the three-dimensional shift demands real changes to instruction. As of 2026, NGSS or NGSS-aligned standards are in force in about 45 states. The architecture (three dimensions, performance expectations, topic bands in high school) has held up. Most of the variation is in wording and in added state-specific content.
NGSS is just a renamed version of the old science standards.
NGSS is structurally different. Old state science standards usually listed content (cells, atoms, weather) as separate items. Every NGSS performance expectation asks students to use a science practice to work with a core idea through a crosscutting concept. A student who can only recite facts has not met the standard.
The three dimensions can be taught separately.
They cannot. A unit that teaches a practice (asking questions) without a core idea, or a core idea (cell function) without a practice, has not addressed any single performance expectation. NGSS expects students to use all three dimensions together.
High school NGSS dictates Biology, then Chemistry, then Physics.
No. NGSS for grades 9-12 is organized by topic band, not by course. Schools build their own course sequences. Some keep the traditional bio-chem-physics order. Others use an integrated science approach. The performance expectations stay the same either way.
Engineering is a sidebar.
Engineering Design is a core discipline in NGSS, alongside Physical, Life, and Earth and Space Sciences. Every grade band has ETS performance expectations, and engineering practices are woven through the science performance expectations.
Has NGSS been revised since 2013?
No, not at the national level. The original 2013 performance expectations have not been updated. Some adopting states have made revisions or additions on top.
Does NGSS replace Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses?
No. NGSS does not specify courses. High school performance expectations are organized by topic, not by course. Schools that keep traditional course names map the performance expectations into Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Schools that prefer integrated science do the same mapping in a different order.
What is the difference between NGSS and the NRC Framework?
The Framework (2012) is the conceptual document that defines the three dimensions and the disciplinary core ideas. NGSS (2013) translates the Framework into grade-banded performance expectations. The Framework is the why. NGSS is the what.
Why do so many states use NGSS-aligned standards under a different name?
Some states adopted the architecture of NGSS but changed the wording, added state-specific content, or rebranded for political reasons. Examples: Massachusetts STE, New York NYSSLS, Pennsylvania STEELS. The three-dimensional structure is usually intact.
Is computer science included in NGSS?
Not really. NGSS covers science and engineering. Computer science standards live in the K-12 Computer Science Framework (2016) or in state-specific computer science standards.
- Performance expectation (PE)
- The NGSS term for a single standard. Every PE combines what students do, the science idea they work with, and the thinking lens they use.
- Science and Engineering Practice (SEP)
- What students do with science ideas, such as asking questions, building models, analyzing data, or arguing from evidence.
- Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI)
- The science idea students are working with. DCIs are organized into physical science, life science, Earth and space science, and engineering.
- Crosscutting Concept (CCC)
- The thinking lens students use to connect and explain ideas across science, such as patterns, systems, or cause and effect.
- Topic band
- A grouping of related DCIs at a grade level or grade range (for example, LS1 = From Molecules to Organisms).
- Three-dimensional learning
- The instructional approach implied by NGSS. Students use a practice to work with a core idea through a crosscutting concept.
- The Framework
- A Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012). The document NGSS was written from.
- 1
2010-2012: The Framework
The National Research Council convenes a committee to write A Framework for K-12 Science Education. The Framework defines the three dimensions and identifies the disciplinary core ideas. It is published in July 2011.
- 2
2011-2013: The writing process
Achieve, Inc. recruits 26 lead state partners and a 41-member writing team to translate the Framework into grade-banded performance expectations. Two public drafts go out for review.
- 3
April 2013: NGSS final release
The final Next Generation Science Standards are published. Rhode Island is the first state to adopt, a month later.
- 4
2013-2020: First adoption wave
Twenty states plus DC adopt NGSS verbatim. Roughly 25 more states adopt NGSS-aligned standards under state-specific names.
- 5
2014-onward: Assessments built
States build new science assessments aligned to NGSS. Multi-state collaborations like NextGen Science Assessment produce item banks. Most adopting states administer a stand-alone science test at least once in elementary, middle, and high school.
- Publisher
- Achieve, Inc., on behalf of 26 lead state partners and a 41-member writing team.
- First released
- April 2013.
- Current version
- 2013. No national revision since release. The National Research Council's 2012 Framework is the conceptual basis.
- Subjects covered
- K-12 science: Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, plus Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science.
- Grade range
- K-12. Grade-by-grade for K-5. Topic bands for grades 6-8 and 9-12.
- Adoption
- 20 states and the District of Columbia teach NGSS verbatim. Roughly 25 more states use NGSS-aligned standards under a state-specific name.
- Legal status
- Voluntary state adoption. The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) bars any federal mandate.
- Companion framework
- A Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012). NGSS performance expectations are written directly from this Framework.
- License
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Free to use with attribution to Achieve, Inc.