To the editor:

The second public draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is now available for feedback. As a lead state in developing these standards, Kansas has a broad stakeholder team, including K-12 educators, post-secondary scientists and science educators and science and engineering professionals, that has been providing feedback over multiple previous drafts, and the Kansas State Board of Education has agreed to give serious consideration to adopting these standards as the state science standards. For more information about the review process, visit www.ksde.org/science and click on the Next Generation Science Standards tab.

Over the last decade or more, science standards in Kansas have produced a great deal of discussion, so we want to encourage all citizens to take a look at these prospective standards. The draft can be found at www.nextgenscience.org. This site also provides information on the K-12 Framework for Science Education, written by the National Research Council, which is the foundation for this standards development process. Additional information can be found at http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=5392. It is important for those providing feedback on the NGSS to at least read the report brief of the framework prior to review, as this document lays out the vision.

Public review and comment will be open until close of business on Jan. 29. This is the last opportunity for those passionate about science education to provide input on the NGSS. Now is the time to voice your thoughts and concerns with the draft, so that the final document gives students in Kansas, and in the United States, the greatest opportunity to be successful.