'What Goes up Must Come Down': New, Lower K-12 Science Standards for Massachusetts. White Paper No. 160

The Science and Technology Standards for the teaching and learning of K-12 science in Massachusetts were issued in April 2016. These were adapted, as the document explains, from K-12 science-education documents that have come generally to be known as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Common features include: (1) integration of science and engineering practices; (2) Grade-by-grade standards for elementary school that include all science, technology, and engineering disciplines; and (3) application of science in engineering contexts. In this report, the authors review the new standards and assess the positives and negatives of them.