View a full PDF of the NGSS in Topics Arrangements
View individual topics arrangements of the NGSS
At the beginning of the NGSS development process, in order to eliminate potential redundancy, seek an appropriate grain size, and seek natural connections among the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) identified within the Framework for K-12 Science Education, the writers arranged the DCIs into topics around which to develop the standards. This structure provided the original basis of the standards, and is preferred by many states. However, the coding structure of individual performance expectations reflects the DCI arrangement in the Framework.
Due to the fact that the NGSS progress toward end-of-high school core ideas, the standards may be rearranged in any order within a grade level.