Today's schools are preparing children, starting at an early age, for future educational and career opportunities that will help them succeed. With strict standards that must be met, measured in part by testing, it's not unusual for both time and funding to be shifted away from arts education to achieve this goal. While this might seem like a…

The Moth is a nonprofit performing arts organization dedicated to true stories told live, and its education programs make space for students and educators to tell their stories. In this edited transcript of a panel discussion given by student alumni of Moth storytelling programs, participants discuss the impact of personal narrative performance on…

This piece presents a theoretical exploration of the potential for the creation of policy that would inform the inclusion of arts and particularly theater courses in all community colleges. In April 2017, Fong et al. released a comprehensive meta-analysis that explored the relationship between psychosocial factors of self-perception and motivation…

While resources for the gifted are not abundant, many schools do offer classes, programs, services, and/or clubs that broaden student learning beyond the curriculum. What can educators do to expand the horizons of gifted children--to open their minds to new worlds of knowledge and understanding? Programs for gifted students, particularly those…

Teachers act out a play every day that includes soliloquies, dialogue, questions, cues, and demonstrations to evoke a response from their audiences. Learning requires that the students--or audience--see a new concept in a motivating and dynamic environment, a setting that provokes inquiry and an understanding of how new knowledge applies to real…

For most students, classes in the arts are more than just a means of gathering credits, they are about getting involved in what the students like, at least for a period. They feel that the classes are a healthy escape, a time to recuperate and do what they do well. In the art classrooms, music studios, and video labs, students feel they are part…

This article describes a practical, sure-fire way for media specialists to boost student achievement. The method is called data-driven collaboration, and it's a practical, easy-to-use technique in which media specialists and teachers work together to pinpoint kids' instructional needs and improve their essential skills. The author discusses the…

Schools that bring in teaching artists often look beyond their school walls--to other sources of funding and for collaborative partnerships--to work with teaching artists from the community. For the teaching artist with an expansive vision and a willingness to try new approaches, opportunities may be opening up beyond the typical…

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…

Teachers can help minority children close the academic achievement gap in intermediate and middle school by combining literacy instruction and content-area material. This connection improves reading achievement and increases curriculum knowledge, even if students have previously experienced difficulty with primary school reading. Fortunately,…

NAEP (National Assessment of Education Progress) has developed its first set of assessment tasks for measuring student achievement in theatre. These tasks draw on a wide range of dramatic forms and use both paper-and-pencil and performance tasks. Sections in this serial issue include: "The Importance of Theatre"; "The Theatre…

The Focus on NAEP series briefly summarizes information about the ongoing development and implementation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each of the five issues in this collection provides an overview of an aspect of NAEP assessment related to the arts. The issues are: (1) "The NAEP 1997 Arts Education Assessment:…

This paper describes a process used to create or revise a gifted education program and a model gifted education program for elementary schools that includes methods of identification and ideas for programming. The following steps are outlined for creating or revising a gifted education program: (1) read relevant textbooks to get a feel for gifted…

Argues that although improving academic achievement is the crux of Title I, the arts can contribute to enhancing academic achievement in at-risk students. An example of this approach is provided via partnership between the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington (DC) metropolitan school districts. (GR)

Explores a discussion about the role of arts education in relation to academic achievement in the Netherlands. Focuses on discussion at the elementary school level dealing with the topic of the extended school day, while also addressing discussions at the secondary level related to arts examinations. Includes references. (CMK)