EQuIP Rubric for Science

The EQuIP Rubric for Science provides criteria by which to measure how well lessons and units are designed for the NGSS.

The purpose of the rubric and review process is to: (1) review existing lessons and units to determine what revisions are needed; (2) provide constructive criterion-based feedback and suggestions for improvement to developers; (3) identify examples/models for teachers’ use within and across states; and (4) to inform the development of new lessons, units, and other instructional materials.

First developed in 2014 by Achieve and NSTA, the EQuIP Rubric has supported thousands of educators and instructional materials developers to design materials that support students in building toward proficiency on the standards.

As part of NSTA’s commitment to transform science education and best serve the vast science education community, NSTA is engaged in reviewing instructional materials using the EQuIP Rubric for Science. By conducting EQuIP Rubric reviews, NSTA aims to provide educators with valuable insights into science instructional materials’ alignment with the NGSS, ultimately supporting the shifts in instruction recommended by A Framework for K-12 Science Education.

Adapted from The EQuIP Rubric for Science v3.1 and Toward NGSS Design: - EQuIP Rubric for Science Detailed Guidance

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Review Teams

Each review team is comprised of three members with extensive EQuIP Rubric expertise and elementary teaching experience. This makeup ensures that each grade level review team has deep EQuIP expertise and an understanding of the unique nuances of teaching science in K-5 classrooms.

NSTA Review Process

Review team members complete an individual review of the unit materials using the EQuIP Rubric. Once completed, reviewers meet to compare individual reports and ratings on all 19 criteria. Reviewers discuss and engage in argumentation from evidence using criterion-based reasoning to reach a rating consensus. During this discussion, examples from the unit that demonstrate the material’s alignment with each criterion of the EQuIP Rubric are selected to include in the written report. The report includes details about the evaluation of the 19 criterion ratings, each explained with reasoning based on evidence from the materials. These reports also provide criterion-based suggestions for improvement.

OpenSciEd Continuous Improvement

NSTA Elementary Science Review Team uses the EQuIP Rubric 3.1 to evaluate units from OpenSciEd for grades Kindergarten-Fifth Grade.

OpenSciEd will release four units for each grade level. Each unit is reviewed twice by the same grade-level review team to ensure consistency between reviews and ratings. The first NSTA EQuIP review is internal, and only shared with developers. The developers take this report, as well as feedback from the hundreds of teachers piloting the units, to revise and strengthen the unit and its NGSS design. The second NSTA EQuIP review is shared with the developers and the public to inform stakeholders of the unit’s alignment to the EQuIP criterion. Units that receive the highest overall rating on the EQuIP Rubric 3.1 will be awarded an NGSS 3D Design Badge.