Illinois looks poised to join eight other states and the District of Columbia in adopting the Next Generation Science Standards.
Yesterday, the state board of education voted unanimously for adoption of the common science standards, which emphasize deep, conceptual thinking, application, scientific inquiry, and engineering design. The standards were developed by 26 “lead state partners"—including Illinois—in collaboration with several national organizations. They were finalized in April.
The adoptions have been trickling in slowly, but proponents of the standards say this is no surprise given that there are no federal incentives to adopt and that states are toiling with implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The most recent adoption came from D.C. in December.
Adoption in Illinois is pending review by a legislative committee, but from what we understand that’s as much a formality as anything.
Which state will be next, you ask? Officials in Oregon say they’re seeing strong support in the state. A panel from the education department recently recommended adoption and, according to the state science supervisor Cheryl Kleckner, the board of education will likely vote in March or April. We’ll keep you up to date on that state and any other that might sign on before the spring.