Appendix D – “All Standards, All Students”: Making the Next Generation Science Standards Accessible to All Students
This resource is Appendix D of Volume II of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It focuses on recommendations for making the NGSS accessible to all students, following on the National Research Council’s consensus reports pointing to the importance of equitable learning opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds. It highlights seven case studies of diverse student groups, addressing what teachers can do to ensure that the NGSS are accessible to all of their students.
This appendix provides an overview of implementation of effective strategies, with an emphasis on practices and engineering, for connections to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics through the lens of equity. The seven cases identify student diversity as defined in the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and discuss three additional groups: girls, students in alternative education programs, and gifted and talented students. A section on home and community connections to school science promotes parent involvement in school science, and engagement of schools with community and informal education environments.
Finally, a brief section on context succinctly describes student demographics, science achievement, and education policies affecting non-dominant student groups, defining the latter term in contrast to “dominant student groups” in terms of social prestige and institutionalized privilege, rather than numerical majority.