This report presents the results of the 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the arts, which was given to a nationally representative sample of 7,900 eighth-grade public and private school students. Approximately one-half of these students were assessed in music, and the other half were assessed in visual arts. The Music…

In past years, teachers without professional training in the arts have often been able to avail themselves of summer institutes that introduced them to specific works of art and followed up with artists in the classroom, performance, or trips to an art museum. But what happens when such support is no longer available and teachers have to function…

The author, a physicist, recounts his experiences in learning art and music and extracts some lessons for art educators from those experiences. (IRT)

As part of the background research for their Arts Project, the Agency for Instructional Television has compiled a descriptive list of arts education instructional television programs available for use in schools from kindergarten through grade 12. Programs are listed by title in five categories: (1) Music, (2) Art, (3) Multi-Arts, (4) In-Service,…

This workbook includes high-interest activities, lessons, and projects to further students' interest in and understanding of important exploratory and enrichment topics essential to a balanced middle grades program. The workbook includes lessons and activities that encourage students to learn more about the arts. Instructional strategies are…

This study was occasioned by the arts being presented at the elementary level as a technical skill to be mastered rather than as fine arts to be understood and, later, mastered. This study formulated a preservice education program to produce an elementary specialist with concentrations in both art and music. This study reports one of the main…

Describes a project at the Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Kern County, California, which allows sixth graders to use video technology, computer graphics, and famous works of art to create music videos. Completed videos were shown at a schoolwide visual arts festival. (MDM)

Annotates 13 recent documents and journals from the ERIC database that discuss the benefits of art and music education to children's development and academic achievement. Includes art and music education Internet sites. (LBT)

Describes the Eakin School Project, developed in collaboration with the Nashville (Tennessee) Institute for the Arts (NIA), a five-year project begun in 1991 to make the arts and aesthetic education central to the kindergarten through grade six curriculum at the Eakin School. Students view performances in and around Nashville and are taught by…

This document describes Kentucky's comprehensive plan for arts in the elementary and secondary school curriculum. Major objectives of the plan are to incorporate knowledge and appreciation of the arts and to help students develop skills related to art and music at every grade level. The plan was devised to respond to a perceived lack of…

Describes a two-week arts appreciation unit implemented by a sixth-grade teacher at Graham Elementary School in Los Angeles. The unit introduces the students to Parisian art and architecture, the music of Wagner and Stravinsky, and the paintings of Monet and Chagall. Visual and aural exposure to art and music, group discussions, and hands-on art…

An exploration of the creative process in painting and musical composition, this kit, for use with grades 4-8, provides a structured plan that can extend over several class periods. In "Looking At Art," concentration is on one landscape painting with comparisons to related works. Historical and visual components are analyzed and works are placed…

This document consists of the new national standards for arts education and a summary statement accompanying the book. The standards recommend that by the time they have completed secondary school, students should: (1) be able to communicate at a basic level in the four arts disciplines, dance, music, theater, and the visual arts; (2) be able to…

During the 1970's, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted two assessments of art abilities (1974-75 and 1978-79) and two of music skills (1971-72 and 1978-79) of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds, giving a picture of trends in performance over the course of the decade. State assessments were also conducted by Connecticut and…

Speculates that a balance can be found by focusing on artistic concepts, learned through experience and broadening the range of cultural exemplars. Posits that the balance is best found by teachers in tune with the school community. (KM)