The WiZard is In - 23-7-2011 at 10:18
A Framework for K-12 Science Education:
Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas:
National Academy of Sciences
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165
Currently, K-12 science education in the United States fails to
achieve these outcomes, in part because it is not organized
systematically across multiple years of school, emphasizes
discrete facts with a focus on breadth over depth, and does not
provide students with engaging opportunities to experience how
science is actually done. The framework is designed to directly
address and overcome these weaknesses.
Magpie - 23-7-2011 at 13:18
"...Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas"
When I see words like these I release the safety on my squirt gun. 
[Edited on 24-7-2011 by Magpie]