States Soon to Weigh Science-Standards Adoption

With common standards in science set to be finalized in March, states will soon face the dilemma of embracing them as their own or going their own way, raising the question of how common the Next Generation Science Standards will ultimately prove to be.

The 26 "lead state partners" helping to develop the K-12 standards have agreed to "give serious consideration" to adopting them. Recent interviews with officials in a number of those states, such as California, Delaware, Kansas, and Maryland, reveal a generally positive reaction to the second and final public draft, issued this month for comment.

Meanwhile, some other states that are not lead partners are closely tracking the process and even have assembled broad-based teams to provide feedback along the way. Officials in both Florida and Louisiana, for instance, say their states...