With 18 US states formally adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)—and dozens more moving towards NGSS principles—a significant change is underway.
Rather than merely recalling facts, students need to demonstrate mastery across 3 learning dimensions: scientific and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and cross-cutting concepts. These will challenge students to think critically, solve real-world problems, and collaborate on complex tasks.
In response to the NGSS, educators are finding new ways to impart deeper learning and assess higher-order skills. In place of multiple-choice tests, teachers must measure performance across the full continuum of achievement, from memorization through independent inquiry. Simultaneously, administrators need to marshal the time and funding needed to train and resource educators for a new generation of curricula.
In this article, we look at the challenges of implementing NGSS and offer some solutions and resources to help you support your students.
Key Takeaways
- Complex assessments are essential: Schools must move beyond traditional assessments to develop multi-faceted evaluations that effectively measure critical thinking and problem-solving skills in line with NGSS principles.
- Emphasis on technology integration: Leveraging immersive digital experiences and ensuring the interoperability of educational technologies will be vital for creating dynamic learning environments that enhance student engagement and understanding.
- Intuitive analytics for better insights: User-friendly analytics tools are essential for helping teachers to quickly identify student needs, adapt instruction based on real-time data, and focus on fostering higher-order thinking skills.
- Collaboration among educators: Fostering a culture of collaboration among teachers is essential for successful NGSS implementation. Sharing best practices, resources, and insights can help educators develop innovative strategies and build a supportive community focused on deeper learning outcomes.
NGSS Challenges and Solutions
A coalition of states developed the NGSS because science standards had not been updated since the early 1980s. Needless to say, science and technology now play a much greater role in American life than they did then. As society modernizes, classrooms do as well.
As they adapt to the new standards, both educators and administrators will break new ground. Teachers will have to learn how to use and instruct students in the application of lab equipment and digital tools. Meanwhile, administrators will be creating new policies and building relationships with stakeholders that can support increased technology requirements.
TAO has published a white paper on the possibilities for deeper learning and assessment in alignment with NGSS. Here are some of the key challenges and solutions from that resource.
Assessing complex skills
Challenge: While designing assessments that measure factual recall is fairly simple, measuring deep learning is a whole different story. Educators following NGSS guidance will need to develop relatively complex assessments in order to evaluate the full range of student performance, from rote learning to critical thinking.
Solution: The National Research Council of the National Academies Press has published detailed guidance for NGSS assessments. Recommendations include:
- Developing assessments with multiple components, such as multiple-choice, free-response, and performance-based assessments
- Measuring the continuum of learning to track progress against objectives
- Obtaining data that helps teachers fine-tune their interventions
Educators can implement these steps using an EdTech platform such as TAO, which enables educators to mix and match a wide variety of question types to go far beyond multiple choice.
For instance, adult basic education instructors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) created questions that challenged their students to read written information and convert it to visual information. By including interactive questions that required students to apply knowledge, educators measured skills that couldn’t be identified through multiple-choice testing.
With a mix of different question types, educators can also implement an adaptive testing strategy to get more precise insight into student performance. Computer adaptive testing adjusts assessments in real time based on the test taker’s answers to past questions. By adjusting assessments to student ability, adaptive tests can help educators challenge high performers with questions that measure deep learning, without discouraging low performers.
Providing real-world learning experiences
Challenge: Because the NGSS prioritizes problem-solving over rote learning, science experiments and real-world challenges are key. Yet in a remote classroom or a low-resource environment educators may not have the opportunity to give their students access to a chemistry lab or natural ecosystem. Moreover, traditional pen-and-paper testing may not be able to accommodate the learning styles of all students.
Solution: Immersive digital learning experiences give students an opportunity to apply science and engineering knowledge without draining educational resources. Using technology-enhanced items (TEIs) like online science experiments, educators might challenge students to visualize volumetric calculations or graph algebraic equations.
You can even give students access to multi-user virtual learning environments (MUVEs), which are immersive simulations of real-world scenarios. For example, with Harvard’s ecoMUVE curriculum, students collaborate to identify causal patterns in ecosystems. This 3-D virtual world challenges students to explore pond and forest habitats for as long as 4 weeks of inquiry-based learning.
Importantly, many TEIs are designed with special educational needs and disabilities in mind. By using EdTech tools that provide speech-to-text capabilities, for example, educators can ensure that all students have access to fair assessments.
Tracking student progress
Challenge: As educators address deeper learning requirements, they’ll need more insight into student progress so they can adapt curricula accordingly.
Under the NGSS, performance expectations combine a science and engineering practice with a disciplinary core idea and tie it to a cross-cutting concept. That means that if a student doesn’t meet a performance expectation, there are three potential explanations—and it can be difficult for teachers to keep track of this data for each of their students.
Solution: Educators should have access to analytics tools that help them track student performance across the 3 learning dimensions. That way, they’ll be able to gauge the reasons why a student might not be meeting a performance expectation and address it through lesson planning.
Some teachers may worry that analytics tools will be difficult to use. However, modern EdTech platforms offer reporting solutions that help educators visualize and organize data intuitively. That way, they can spend less time on reporting and more on adapting their instructional strategies.
Training educators
Challenge: Whenever educational standards and methods change significantly, training is needed. However, administrators and educators are already pressed for time, so NGSS training needs to be as efficient as possible.
Solution: By equipping educators with resources that allow them to work as a team and benefit from one another’s expertise, administrators can reduce the need for time-intensive training.
For instance, modern EdTech platforms allow users to collaborate on test item authoring, giving teachers in different classrooms access to a pool of questions. This peer-to-peer collaboration results in better quality and more innovative assessments, as teachers are learning from each other in real time. They also have more time to focus on adapting assessments and lesson plans to meet the needs of their students.
It’s also worth noting that many administrators are wary of adopting new EdTech solutions because they don’t want to overcomplicate life for teachers. If software doesn’t integrate smoothly, school districts can end up paying for costly custom solutions that give educators access to multiple learning tools from one interface.
To resolve this issue, the EdTech community has developed a set of interoperability standards such as QTI, PCI, LTI, MathML, and Open ID. So long as learning software follows these standards, different educational tools can be seamlessly integrated, making it easy for educators to assign, measure, and fine-tune assessments from one central location.
The Bottom Line
Implementing the NGSS requires schools to navigate several significant challenges, from designing assessments that capture deeper learning to integrating new technologies effectively.
Educators must shift away from traditional fact-based assessments and adopt more complex methods that evaluate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Tools like adaptive testing and technology-enhanced learning experiences can help bridge the gap, but successful implementation depends on providing teachers with proper training and resources to confidently use these innovations.
At the same time, administrators need to ensure that educational technologies are seamlessly integrated through interoperability standards, minimizing disruption to teaching. Moreover, analytics tools must be intuitive, allowing teachers to track progress against the 3 NGSS dimensions.
By addressing these challenges head-on, schools can create more dynamic, hands-on science education that aligns with the NGSS vision, ultimately better preparing students for real-world scientific and engineering challenges. To learn more, check out TAO’s white paper on the NGSS:
FAQs:
- What are the biggest challenges schools face when implementing NGSS?
The main challenges include designing complex assessments that measure critical thinking, integrating new technologies for immersive learning, and ensuring teachers are trained to effectively use these tools.
- How can teachers prepare for NGSS implementation?
Teachers can prepare by receiving professional development on NGSS-aligned assessments, using adaptive testing and digital learning tools, and collaborating with colleagues to share resources.
- What role does technology play in NGSS-aligned classrooms?
Technology supports NGSS by enabling immersive learning experiences, adaptive assessments, and advanced analytics to track student progress.
