Each Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) has three aspects: disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) (content), science and engineering practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCs). The NGSS concentrate on "a smaller set of DCIs that students should know by the time they graduate from high school, focusing on deeper understanding and application of content ... The NGSS content is focused on preparing students for college and careers. The NGSS are aligned by grade level and cognitive demand with the English Language Arts and Mathematics Common Core State Standards. This allows an opportunity both for science to be a part of a child's comprehensive education and for an aligned sequence of learning in all content areas. The three sets of standards overlap and are reinforcing in meaningful and substantive ways" (p. xiii).