For States, by States: Examining State-Level Approaches for Advancing Ambitious Elementary Science Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Advancing Educational Change at the State and Local Levels

Abstract

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) reflect a new iteration of standards-based reform seeking to improve teaching and learning through adoption and use of ambitious teaching standards. The “for states, by states” approach to the development and implementation of the NGSS intends to give states formidable discretion in deciding whether and how to pursue science education reform. This paper uses a cross-case analysis of 18 states to examine the variation in how states have embraced, adopted, and used the standards to engage districts in elementary science improvement. This research, in turn, contributes to the growing research base on the role of state policy contexts in large-scale, standards-based reform efforts.

Authors

• Angela Lyle, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Christa Haverly, Northwestern University

• James P. Spillane, Northwestern University