Research has shown that a solid visual arts program provided to students throughout the K-12 years increases academic achievement, increases self-confidence and self-concept and provides opportunities for students to tap all their intelligences. However, recent budget cuts and the high stake testing on Mathematics and English Language arts at all…

This study compared and investigated the arts attitudes and practices of secondary level mathematics and English teachers working in Connecticut public schools deemed either successful or in-need-of-improvement under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. This study considered how educators of subjects directly assessed for NCLB…

The arts and music have been unintended victims of the No Child Left Behind Act. Several reports point to sharp reductions in student access to K-12 arts education, yet some school districts nationwide have managed to buck the trend. These districts, in communities rural through urban, are systemically embedding the arts at the core of teaching…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has changed the face of education in America. Now that the law is coming up for renewal, it is time to deal with the problems and inequities it has created. In this article, the author discusses the two factors at work that NCLB has failed to address: the student and the parent. She also discusses how art can help in…

By integrating and infusing computer learning technologies wisely into student-centered or social constructivist art learning environments, art educators can improve student learning and at the same time provide a creative, substantive model for how schools can and should be reformed. By doing this, art educators have an opportunity to demonstrate…

Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), districts and schools must demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) for all students. Because schools may spend more time improving students' academic skills to meet NCLBA's requirements, some are concerned that arts education might be cut back. To determine how, if at all, student access to arts…

The goal of every school district is to help students succeed academically and personally. But does every district leverage its most valuable resource, its teachers, to meet that goal? At the Valley Stream Central High School District in Nassau County, New York, these authors know how important teacher commitment is to student success, so they…

This article describes Nilaja Sun's groundbreaking one-woman show about a TA, her students, and her school, and includes interviews with the author/performer, an excerpt of the work, and a discussion of the organization behind it.

State and national accountability initiatives are forcing educational administrators to seek curricular interventions that will yield the greatest improvement in students' academic performance in the least amount of time. Though volumes of documentation regarding the value of the arts in education line the shelves of professional libraries and…

This article addresses dimensions of contemporary policy that are influencing art teaching and learning. In the light of recent policy, and its challenges to creativity, art educators have been placed in the position where we need to make trouble through a re-definition and extension of professional responsibility. In response to negative impacts…

What are the benefits of a Fine Arts education? With the advent of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2000, extreme pressure has been put on schools to concentrate the majority of their efforts and resources on reading, math and science skills. Yet, NCLB also states that every child should be well-versed in the arts. Some research has shown that when…

This research study presents one in-depth case study that investigates the successes, challenges, and processes of developing and enacting arts education programming at the elementary school level given the time limitations and other constraints associated with the high stakes testing environment that currently characterizes many of California's…

In this article, the author talks about the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a growing and leading advocacy organization that is focused on transforming teaching and learning in the new century. The Partnership brings together the business community, education leaders, and policymakers to define a powerful vision for 21st-century education and…

State standards, benchmarks, or frameworks have become a way of life for most art teachers. When they write lesson plans, they look over their state's visual art standards and insert a couple that seem to fit that lesson. The National Art Education Standards were developed and adopted in the early 1990s in response to mandates for educational…

External assessments are pervasive in education, particularly with the testing environment created by the "No Child Left Behind" reform initiative. To solidify its position as a core subject within education, art needs to be accountable to its standards at both national and state levels. Art can be assessed for accountability purposes…