NSES Content Standard G  History and Nature of Science: Historical perspectives  Grades 9-12, page 204  The historical perspective of scientific explanations demonstrates how scientific knowledge changes by evolving over time, almost always building on earlier knowledge.

 
Benchmark 1A The Nature of Science: The Scientific World View
Grades 9-12, page 8
From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how the world works. More often, however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications of prior knowledge. Change and continuity are persistent features of science.

Benchmark 1B The Nature of Science: Scientific Inquiry
Grades 9-12, page 13
New ideas in science are limited by the context in which they are conceived; are often rejected by the scientific establishment; sometimes spring from unexpected findings; and usually grow slowly, through contributions from many investigators.