In the United States, reform movements have been a part of the science education community for decades. Inquiry-based instruction has a long history in reform documents and while it is not explicitly used in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the underlying tenants of this instructional strategy are still evident. Thus, inquiry-based instruction remains a strategy that science teachers can use to address the expectations set forth in the NGSS. Therefore, it is crucial that researchers provide science teachers with information concerning the characteristics their inquiry-based lessons should exhibit. This study utilized 5 years of data collected on inquiry-based lessons to search for distinctive patterns between pre-inquiry, developing, and proficient and above inquiry-based lessons. Specifically, we were seeking to describe these patterns in terms of the amount of time spent in the different components of inquiry and levels of student cognitive engagement. We ran ANOVAs with corresponding post hoc tests to determine if distinct patterns existed. Results showed that pre-inquiry lessons spent significantly less time: (1) allowing students to display higher-order cognitive engagement and (2) utilizing the engage and explore components of inquiry-based instruction than did developing and proficient/above lessons. Additionally, pre-inquiry lessons spent significantly more class time in non-inquiry tasks, such as checking homework and engaging students in rote memorization activities, and in the explanation component of inquiry-based teaching. Results also showed that developing and proficient/above inquiry-based lessons displayed significant difference in regards to the amount of time spent engaging students in higher-order thinking skills. Implications of these findings speak to at least proficient inquiry instruction being a viable instructional strategy to accomplish the goals set forth in the NGSS.