Science standards presented to the Board of Education Standards

The first of four Board of Education Standards (BOES) meetings convened Friday, Oct. 20, to discuss proposed new Science standards and Government and Public Administration (CTE) standards to be implemented in 2024-25. The meeting was held in Aberdeen at Northern State University. South Dakota’s academic content standards are on a five- to seven-year revision cycle.

The proposed Science standards were developed by an advisory committee that included South Dakota teachers and education specialists. Elementary, middle, and high school science teachers were represented. Education specialists from Sanford PROMISE, Technology & Innovation in Education, and Teachwell Solutions also provided valuable input.

The proposed new standards are similar to the current science standards. Like those adopted in 2015, the proposed standards were written to ensure that South Dakota students have the knowledge, skills, and competencies to be college, career, and life ready. One notable adjustment is that engineering design standards, which were previously a separate document that went along with the science standards, are now listed within the science standards. This change was made to make the standards more teacher-friendly; the engineering standards are more explicit and allow more flexibility for teachers to work engineering concepts into the areas that best fit their classroom.

The science standards contain four domains: physical science, life science, earth and space science, and engineering, technology, and applications of science. They are written as a progression of knowledge that occurs from grade band to grade band, which allows students to build upon their knowledge each year and culminates in their deep understanding of the four domains.

For example, a standard of engineering, technology, and applications of science for second grade students asks them to examine two objects that are designed to solve the same problem. Middle school students are asked to define a design problem, evaluate solutions, and analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions; then, they are asked to combine those solutions into one improved solution. High school students would take it further by analyzing a global challenge, and designing and evaluating a solution that considers issues such as cost, safety, reliability, and environmental impact.

The advisory committee worked to ensure that crosscutting concepts were well-integrated into each domain of science. Crosscutting concepts like patterns, cause and effect, and structure and function are important because they promote deeper understanding of scientific concepts.

There will be three more public hearings on the standards in the months ahead: Sioux Falls (Nov. 20, 2023), Pierre (Jan. 22, 2024), and Rapid City (April 22, 2024).

Educators are invited to view the proposed standards on the DOE website. There are several avenues for weighing in: submit public comments through the website, provide testimony at one of the public hearings, or mail written comments to the Department of Education.