File Structure

The JSON files available for download reflect the underlying data schema. Accordingly they are conventionally normalized. The language preferentially draws from the canonical documents:

There are some exceptions. For example, if it appeared that a grammatical error in the canonical language was corrected in the PE evidence statement pdf, the corrected language was used.

There are twenty files:

  • Two central files, one describing the core portions of the performance expectation and one describing the evidence statements;
  • Four sets of two files each describing the two-level hierarchies of the Science and Engineering Practices (SEP), Crosscutting Concepts (CCC), Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science (ETS Connections, or ETS), and Nature of Science (NOS);
  • One set of four files describing the four-level hierarchy of the Disciplinary Ideas (DCI): The Discipline, Core Idea, Component Idea, and the Subidea;
  • Five Links files describing n:n relationships of performance expectations and SEP, CCC, NOS, ETS, and DCI;
  • One Topics file that doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Some evidence statements include equations and other symbols, which have been set in $\LaTeX$ and rendered with $\KaTeX$. They are MS-PS2-2, MS-PS3-1, HS-ESS1-4, HS-ESS3-3, HS-PS2-3, HS-PS2-4, and HS-PS4-1, plus HS-ESS2-4, HS-ESS3-6, HS-ETS1-1, and HS-LS1-7. The last four use $\LaTeX$ merely to subscript the “2” in “CO${}_2$”. You can, of course, edit the download file to implement a different solution.

performance_expectations.json

Core PE data – 208 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string PE code (e.g., “HS-PS1-1”)
topic_id int FK to topics
grade_level string K, 1-5, MS, or HS
description string Full PE statement
clarification_statement string Optional clarification
assessment_boundary string Assessment limits
source_document string Source PDF filename

evidence_statements.json

Evidence statements for each PE

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
pe_code string PE code
content JSON Structured evidence statement content

SEP (Science & Engineering Practices) – Two-Level Hierarchy

sep/practices.json

Top-level SEP practices – 8 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Practice code (SEP1-SEP8)
number int Practice number (1-8)
name string Practice name
abbreviation string Short abbreviation
description string Practice description

sep/subpractices.json

SEP subpractices (grade-banded) – ~200 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Subpractice code (e.g., “SEP1-K2-a”)
sep_id int FK to practices
grade_band string Grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
is_progression int 1 if progression statement
description string Subpractice text
comment string Internal comment
sort_order int Display order within grade band

CCC (Crosscutting Concepts) – Two-Level Hierarchy

ccc/concepts.json

Top-level CCC concepts – 7 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Concept code (CCC1-CCC7)
number int Concept number (1-7)
name string Concept name
abbreviation string Short abbreviation
description string Concept description

ccc/subconcepts.json

CCC subconcepts (grade-banded) – 81 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Subconcept code (e.g., “CCC1-K2-a”)
ccc_id int FK to concepts
grade_band string Grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
description string Subconcept text
sort_order int Display order within grade band

ETS (Engineering, Technology, and Society Connections) – Two-Level Hierarchy

ets/core_ideas.json

Top-level ETS core ideas – 2 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Core idea code (ETS-CONN1, ETS-CONN2)
name string Core idea name
abbreviation string Short abbreviation
comment string Internal comment

ets/statements.json

ETS statements (grade-banded) – 25 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Statement code (e.g., “ETS-CONN1-K2-a”)
core_idea_id int FK to core_ideas
grade_band string Grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
description string Statement text
comment string Internal comment

NOS (Nature of Science) – Two-Level Hierarchy

nos/categories.json

Top-level NOS categories – 8 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Category code (NOS1-NOS8)
number int Category number (1-8)
name string Category name
abbreviation string Short abbreviation
associated_with string Associated dimension (Practices or Crosscutting Concepts)
comment string Internal comment

nos/understandings.json

NOS understandings (grade-banded) – 86 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Understanding code (e.g., “NOS1-K2-a”)
category_id int FK to categories
grade_band string Grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
description string Understanding text
sort_order int Display order within grade band
comment string Internal comment

DCI (Disciplinary Core Ideas) – Four-Level Hierarchy

dci/disciplines.json

Top-level DCI disciplines – 4 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Discipline code (PS, LS, ESS, ETS)
description string Discipline name
sort_order int Display order

dci/core_ideas.json

DCI Core Ideas (2nd level) – 13 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
discipline_id int FK to disciplines
code string Core idea code (e.g., “PS1”, “LS2”)
description string Core idea name

dci/component_ideas.json

DCI Component Ideas (3rd level) – 44 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
core_idea_id int FK to core_ideas
code string Component code (e.g., “PS1.A”, “LS2.B”)
description string Component idea name

dci/subideas.json

DCI Subideas (4th level, grade-banded) – ~450 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
code string Subidea code (e.g., “ESS1.A-MS-a”)
grade_band string Grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
component_idea_id int FK to component_ideas
description string Subidea text
boundary_note string Optional boundary note
comment string Internal comment

Links Files – PE to Dimension Relationships

links/pe_sep_links.json

Junction table linking PEs to Science & Engineering Practices

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
pe_id int FK to performance_expectations
subpractice_id int FK to sep/subpractices

links/pe_ccc_links.json

Junction table linking PEs to Crosscutting Concepts

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
pe_id int FK to performance_expectations
subconcept_id int FK to ccc/subconcepts

links/pe_nos_links.json

Junction table linking PEs to Nature of Science connections

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
pe_id int FK to performance_expectations
understanding_id int FK to nos/understandings

links/pe_ets_links.json

Junction table linking PEs to ETS (Engineering) connections

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
pe_id int FK to performance_expectations
connection_id int FK to ets/statements

links/pe_dci_links.json

Junction table linking PEs to Disciplinary Core Ideas

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
pe_id int FK to performance_expectations
subidea_id int FK to dci/subideas
is_secondary int 1 if secondary DCI
cross_reference string Cross-reference to other PEs

Other Files

topics.json

Topic bundles for PEs – 54 records

Column Type Description
id int Primary key
grade_level string Grade level (K, 1-5, K-2, 3-5, MS, HS)
description string Topic description
category string Grade name or discipline code (PS, LS, ESS, ETS)