The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes a wide variety of ways for educators to support student success--including programs and funding streams that can be used to support arts education. To access the funding, education agencies must show evidence for how their proposed program can support or improve student outcomes. It can be difficult…

The development of the 1997 assessment of arts education marks the third time music and the visual arts have been addressed in a national assessment. Using the consensus process, a framework was produced that describes the 1997 assessment. The process was founded on the vision of a society that believes the arts are essential to every child's…

In this document, standards for knowledge and skill acquisition of Maine students in the visual and performing arts are identified. The document serves as a guideline for teachers regarding what students should know and be able to do at various checkpoints throughout arts education. The arts identified include dance, music, theater, and visual…

This summary report provides samples from and highlights of the national assessment in arts education at the eighth-grade level conducted in 1997 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The arts assessment measured students' literacy in the arts through their knowledge and skill in creating, performing, and responding to…

The last several years have seen a growing resolve among educators and policymakers to assure the place of a solid arts education in U.S. schools. In 1997, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted a national assessment in the arts at grade 8. The assessment included the areas of music, theater, and visual arts. For each of…

Dance, music, theater, and visual arts are everywhere in life, adding depth and dimension to the environment and shaping people's experiences, often deeply and subtly. This Arizona standards guide is based on the premise that all students will achieve the essentials level in the four arts disciplines (the aforementioned music, visual arts,…

These arts standards represent a consensus concerning what every young student should know and be able to do in the arts. The Consortium of National Arts Education Associations believes that every student at every level, pre-kindergarten through grade 12, should have access to a balanced, comprehensive, and sequential program of instruction in the…

This handbook is a guide to help educators and administrators with the decisions they face in the design of an arts assessment. The guide is divided into two broad parts: Part 1: "Background for Thoughtful Arts Education Assessment"; and Part 2: "Assessment Design in Action." The guide includes: (1) a brief background on the…

These South Dakota fine arts content standards identify what students must know and be able to do. This document is a compilation of numerous sources and many years of experience in the teaching of fine arts. For each discipline (dance, music, theater/dramatic arts, and visual arts) the document gives an introduction and definition, multiple…

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…

This guide to content standards in the visual and performing arts in the state of Delaware is the work of a curriculum framework commission whose members have crafted clear standards for development of curriculum that will prepare Delaware's students to become effective, productive citizens. Standards-based education reform is an initiative for…

The purpose of New Jersey's Visual and Performing Arts Standards is to improve student achievement in arts education, not arts-as-entertainment, not art-assembly projects, not art-as-activity. An education in the arts requires curricular scope and sequence and the intellectual rigor of experiential learning. The Visual and Performing Arts…

This curriculum framework for the arts defines expectations for student learning in the arts in New Hampshire. The framework standards do not comprise a curriculum with designated course offerings, teaching methods, or materials; instead, they provide a vision for the future, outlining expectations for student learning at the end of grades 4, 8,…

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) developed 30 American Indian content standards for arts education, based on the 1994 U.S. national content standards. Like the national standards, they are intended to apply across all grade levels (K-12) and are divided into the four arts disciplines of dance, music, theater, and visual arts. The purpose of…

As part of the school reform legislation of 1985, the Illinois State Board of Education established State Goals for Learning in six fundamental learning areas: language arts, mathematics, science, social science, fine arts, and physical development and health. The next step is to develop standards that will more clearly define the knowledge and…