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Other top priorities in the document are promoting depth over breadth in science education, ensuring greater coherence in learning across grade levels, and helping students understand the cross-cutting nature of crucial concepts, such as energy and matter, that span scientific disciplines

“First of all, it’s not just about what kids know; it’s about what they know and are able to do,” said Mr. McLaren, who also is the president of the Council of State Science Supervisors, an organization for science education officials. “It’s about using the practices of an engineer, a scientist, to gain a deeper understanding of the core knowledge.”

“One huge shift is moving away from covering everything, and instead doing what is essential and doing it very well,” she said.

In essence, the measure directs the Department of Education to develop a plan that transitions all school districts to a standards-based system of education that awards a high school diploma based on a student’s demonstrated proficiency in all areas of assessment. Put more simply, students can go at their own pace and move on once they have demonstrated mastery of a subject.

Rep. Ken Fredette, R-Newport, likened the bill to a dating experience he had in high school. He asked a girl out on a date. He liked lobster; she liked hamburgers. Fredette told her she had to eat lobster but then made her pay, too. He didn’t get a second date. Fredette said LD 1422 essentially was saying “You have to eat what I want to eat and then you have to pay.” He said he couldn’t take that risk with local taxpayers.

“The reality is that LD 1422, simply and very importantly, requires that a diploma have meaning and that it have the same meaning across the state,” said David Connerty-Marin, education department spokesman, on Tuesday. “There should be a measure that students are ready for success beyond high school.”