HS-ETS1-3
The standard
Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to judge an engineering solution, not just describe it. They should identify the problem, list the criteria for success, rank which criteria matter most, and compare trade-offs across limits like cost, safety, reliability, appearance, and impacts on people and the environment.
Mastery looks like a clear evidence-based recommendation, with reasons for why one option is better than another under the given constraints. Students often get stuck treating all criteria as equal, ignoring who is affected, or choosing the flashiest design without explaining trade-offs.
Ways to teach it
- Have teams use a weighted decision matrix to compare three water filter designs using cost, safety, reliability, waste, and ease of use.
- Ask students to write a recommendation memo explaining which flood barrier design a town should choose and what trade-offs the town accepts.
- Give an exit ticket with two design options and ask students to name one prioritized criterion, one constraint, and one trade-off.
- Use a local issue, such as school bus electrification, to compare cost, emissions, maintenance, noise, and community concerns.
Plan a lesson for HS-ETS1-3
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- MS-ETS1-1
Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific princ...
- HS-ETS1-4
Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions withi...
- MS-ETS1-2
Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- HS-ETS1-1
Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.