6 things to know about quality K–12
science education in September 2026 1
Field Guide for New Science Teachers Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction released a resource designed to help new science teachers connect with people, resources and learning opportunities that support safe, effective, and sustainable science teaching. While it is targeted to teachers in Washington state, much of the guidance is applicable across the country. See the resource here.
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A Call to Reimagine Science Formative Assessment Systems Through Translanguaging
The science education field has made great progress in the area of formative assessment, but many of these tasks and strategies limit opportunities for multilingual learners to demonstrate understanding. This article envisions what it might look like for multi-lingual students to use both linguistic and non-linguistic approaches to share what they know and can do. Read the Science Education article here.
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Improving Student Achievement: What Red, Blue, and Purple States Are Doing Right An upcoming Learning Policy Institute webinar will highlight how different states across the country are improving their education programs. Representatives from a wide range of states will discuss strategies for building coherent instructional systems, resources used to support these efforts, and the resulting impacts. See the blog post here and register for the September 24 webinar here.
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Designing Effective Curriculum-Based Professional Learning: Insights from a Cross-Study Portfolio
A recent rppl report synthesizes four studies related to creating more effective curriculum-based professional learning. Findings suggest that professional learning that focuses on specific structures to help teachers make realtime instructional decisions is most effective, rather than focusing on general knowledge or strategies. Although these studies focused on mathematics instructional materials, the findings can help those designing science professional learning reflect on their own approach. See the resource here and register for the September 24 webinar here.
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Streamlining Tools and Reducing Noise on Instructional Data
Monitoring progress is an important part of improving science programs. EdBetter recently released a report that examines approaches for streamlining the multiple forms of instructional data collection tools. Given the limited time and capacity of school and district leaders, more data is not always better. This brief offers a framework for school systems to evaluate their observation systems and make decisions to collect instructional data in clearer, more coherent, and more meaningful ways. See the report here.
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Research on Relevant and Meaningful Science Learning This NSTA blog post shares a collection of science education research deemed as “research worth reading” by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. Topics include the importance of belonging in science, teaching students to evaluate sources of information, and understanding resistance that students feel amid changing classroom expectations. See the blog post here.
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