Wyoming, like many other states, is wrestling with the legacy of high-stakes testing ushered in by NCLB, the resulting rigorous standards of Common Core, and now the opportunities offered by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Wyoming state board is grappling with the best approach to revising standards, including for math and science, in a system that still has components from earlier reforms. The author, as a former junior high science teacher and chair of the Wyoming State Board of Education, reflects on his career journey and the lessons gained along the way that informs his work on the state board.