State Academic Standards

Pennsylvania Science Standards

From the official site for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  Scroll down to the end of the page for the Final Science and Technology Academic Standards, which describe what students should know and be able to do in the following eight areas:

1. Unifying Themes of Science
2. Inquiry and Design-Biological Sciences
3. Physical Science, Chemistry, and Physics
4. Earth Sciences
5. Technology Education
6. Technology Devices
7. Science, Technology, and Human Endeavors

These standards describe what students desired student performance by the end of fourth, tenth, and twelfth grades.  In addition, they reflect the increasing complexity and sophistication that students are expected to achieve as they progress through school.  Curriculum, instruction, and assessment designed at the local level should focus on meeting the standards.

New Jersey Academic and Professional Standards

The official New Jersey Department of Education website has links to the standards in each academic area. Click on “Science.” The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Science reflect the belief that all students can and must learn enough science to assume their role as concerned citizens, equipped with necessary information and decision-making skills.  Students best learn science by doing science.  Science is not merely a collection of facts and theories but a process, a way of thinking about and investigating the world in which we live.

Delaware Science Standards

This section of the Delaware Department of Education’s official website contains links to the Delaware Content Standards and Recommended Curriculum for all content areas.  Click on the “Science” box.