As more schools and districts prioritize the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligning your science curriculum to these standards is key to expanding your reach. As a preferred vendor partner with organizations developing educational content for the K-12 market, the demand for NGSS alignment has grown substantially. Here are some of our experiences to help guide you as you consider or continue aligning to this dynamic framework.

What’s All the NGSS Fuss About?

If the strong demand from districts wasn’t enough to have you figuring out ways to revise your existing materials, the shortage of aligned materials may push you to start examining things a little more closely. Surprisingly, fewer than 20% of instructional materials in classrooms are currently aligned with three-dimensional science standards.¹

Striking while the NGSS iron is hot, many of our clients are fast-tracking their science content to align with this next generation model. A recent EdWeek Market Brief survey found that 72% of district leaders consider NGSS alignment “very important” when purchasing science curricula, clarifying why so many of our clients are eager to align both their existing and future materials with these dynamic standards.²

For organizations responsible for developing K–12 science content, this shift introduces both exciting possibilities and significant challenges. The team at MRCC is here to help eliminate or drastically reduce these challenges so you can focus on helping students learn.

Some Challenges to Consider

Whether revising existing content or developing new science materials to align with NGSS, our clients often encounter several challenges when tackling NGSS alignment. There are three primary areas of foundational challenges across the board, whether a traditional print, gamified interactive, or platform-based digital product.

1. Legacy Content May Need Finesse to Reuse

Much existing content was built around state standards that emphasize isolated facts or linear topic coverage. NGSS, by contrast, integrates disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices that often require reimagining instructional flow and student engagement strategies. Depending on the legacy content, this can make simply “revising” what exists a heavier lift than starting from scratch.

2. Difficult-to-Define Gaps and Overlaps

Without a clear content map, it can be hard to know where existing assets align, where there are redundancies, and where new material is needed. Many teams struggle to find efficient ways to conduct thorough inventories and identify gaps with precision and speed.

3. Content Creation Requires Deep Expertise

Building content that truly supports NGSS—especially at the performance expectation level—means designing more than just aligned lessons. It requires crafting phenomena-driven units, developing formative assessments, and ensuring all materials reflect the integrated vision of the standards.

How We Support NGSS Alignments

Our team works with clients across the K–12 education space to streamline the complex process of NGSS alignment. Whether the need is evaluating existing materials, building new ones, or doing both in tandem, we bring a strategic, scalable approach to content transformation.

Here’s how we support science teams:

• Content Inventory and Analysis
  We conduct a thorough review of current materials, identifying where content aligns with NGSS, where it can be adapted, and where new development is needed.
• Custom Crosswalks and Action Plans
  Our NGSS-alignment frameworks clearly map your existing content to relevant performance expectations and provide actionable guidance on how to revise or repurpose material.
• Three-Dimensional Custom Curriculum Development
  We create new instructional resources that reflect the full intent of NGSS including phenomena-based units, hands-on investigations, interactive content and animations, and assessment development designed to measure applied understanding.
• Support for Print and Digital Workflows
  Whether content is delivered in print, digital platforms, or both, we ensure that new or revised materials are ready to integrate seamlessly into existing systems.

Meeting the Moment in Science Education

NGSS isn’t just a new set of benchmarks; it’s a new way of thinking about how students learn science. Aligning to the standards means embracing a more engaging, relevant, and rigorous approach to science instruction.

For teams working to make this shift, having the right partner can make all the difference. We help streamline the process, reduce rework, and ensure that every piece of content contributes meaningfully to the larger instructional goals.