In July 2011, the National Research Council published a Framework for K-12 Science Education.  This framework document is serving as a basis for multi-state science standards that are currently under development.  A first draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is expected to be released in April 2012 with a second draft to follow in August 2012.  If all goes as planned, the final version of the Next Generation Science standards will be published at the end of 2012.  It remains to be seen how many states will adopt the NGSS, but many including Wisconsin plan to consider them seriously.

The National Research Council, National Science Teachers Association, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Achieve are the main partners in the NGSS initiative.