The practitioners and researchers engaged in the study of science instruction and student learning will be well placed to inform the ongoing efforts by various stakeholders to set standards for student achievement in science at various grade levels. The standards themselves are, and should be, based on more than research. Much depends on society’s educational goals for its children and the relative importance it places on competing goals. But goal setting can be more rational if it is well informed. One strand of the SERP science work we propose is the consistent attention to, and articulation of, what is possible and with what commitments (investment in teacher education, instructional time, etc.). This should be done through careful data collection and regular stock-taking of results across studies.