STANDARDS ALIGNMENT

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The key point of the new NGSS standards are to use performance expectations (PE) to show what students should be able to know and do by the end of instruction. Each performance expectation integrates the NGSS three dimensions introduced in the National Research Council's A Framework for K-12 Science Education enabling students to learn science by doing science.

The three dimensions or 3-Ds are;

1. Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI); Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
2. Crosscutting Concepts (CCC): Patterns, Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Systems and system models, Structure and function, Stability and change
3. Science and Engineering Practices (SEP): Developing and using (electronic) models, Asking questions

The NGSS look completely different than previous science standards and implementing them requires a major shift in classroom instruction and learning. Piper helps with this new shift by addressing the 3 dimensions of science instruction.

Beginning in elementary, students in kindergarten through fifth grade begin to develop an understanding of the four disciplinary core ideas: physical sciences; life sciences; Earth and space sciences; and engineering, technology, and applications of science. In the earlier grades, students begin by recognizing patterns and formulating answers to questions about the world around them. By the end of fifth grade, students are able to demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in gathering, describing, and using information about the natural and designed world(s). The performance expectations in elementary school grade bands develop ideas and skills that will empower students to explain more complex phenomena in the four disciplines as they progress to middle school and high school. While the performance expectations shown in kindergarten through fifth grade couple particular practices with specific disciplinary core ideas, instructional decisions should include use of many practices that lead to the performance expectations. The standards spiral through secondary education with performance expectations building on previous conceptual development and progressing to more age appropriate and grade level rigor.

Computer science and the technologies it enables rest at the heart of our economy and the way we live our lives. To be well-educated citizens in a computing-intensive world and to be prepared for careers in the 21st century, our students must have a clear understanding of the principles and practices of computer science.

The CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards delineate a core set of learning objectives designed to provide the foundation for a complete computer science curriculum and its implementation at the K–12 level.

To this end, the CSTA Standards:

• Introduce the fundamental concepts of computer science to all students, beginning at the elementary school level.
• Present computer science at the secondary school level in a way that can fulfill a computer science, math, or science graduation credit.
• Encourage schools to offer additional secondary-level computer science courses that will allow interested students to study facets of computer science in more depth and prepare them for entry into the workforce or college.
• Increase the availability of rigorous computer science for all students, especially those who are members of underrepresented groups.

The standards have been written by educators to be coherent and comprehensible to teachers, administrators, and policy makers.

Levels 1A, 1B, 2, and 3A are the computer science standards for ALL students. The Level 3B standards are intended for students who wish to pursue the study of computer science in high school beyond what is required for all students (specialty or elective courses).

Connection to the K-12 Computer Science Framework

The K–12 Computer Science Framework (k12cs.org) provides overarching, high-level guidance per grade bands, while the standards provide detailed, measurable student performance expectations. The Framework was considered as a primary input for the standards development process.

The CSTA Standards Revision Task Force crafted standards by combining concept statements and practices from the Framework. It also used descriptive material from the Framework when writing examples and clarifying statements to accompany the standards.

Concepts (5)

1. Computing Systems
2. Networks and the Internet
3. Data and Analysis
4. Algorithms and Programming
5. Impacts of Computing

Practices (7)

1. Fostering an Inclusive Computing Culture

2. Collaborating Around Computing

3. Recognizing and Defining Computational Problems

4. Developing and Using Abstractions

5. Creating Computational Artifacts

6. Testing and Refining Computational Artifacts

7. Communicating About Computing

This document includes all levels of the 2017 CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards, which were created by educators and released at the CSTA Annual Conference in July 2017. These standards are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.

The K–12 Computer Science Framework, led by the Association for Computing Machinery, Code.org, Computer Science Teachers Association, Cyber Innovation Center, and National Math and Science Initiative in partnership with states and districts, informed the development of this work.