The National Standards for Arts Education
Adopted in 1994, the document represents the thinking of the members of the American Alliance for Theater and Education, Music Educators National Conference, the National Art Education Association and the National Dance Association as well as educators, artists, and presenters from across the nation. Now ten years old, the document needs revision, but its continued strength lies in its influence on newer documents from states across the nation. Also, there are overtones of this work in a number of foreign arts standards.

An additional document that may be helpful is the Opportunities to Learn standards written by the same consortium of arts organizations. Opportunities to Learn outlines the facilities and materials, the scheduling patterns and preparation time, teacher/student ratios, safety needed to assure quality arts education for students K-12.

Having a copy of the original documents, but also referencing some of the really fine state standards can be an excellent basis for building course work in the arts.

The entire standards document can be ordered from:
MENC
1806 Robert Fulton Drive
Reston, VA 20191 1-800-828-0229
FAX 703-860-9027

The Dance Standards are available from the National Dance Association for a fee of $20 non member/ $15 member

Call 1-800-321-0789

The Visual Arts Standards are available from the National Arts Education Association # 216 ISBN 0-937652-65-2
$10 / $15 non-members. They also have the Opportunity to Learn Standards # 257 ISBN 0-937652-9003 $12/ $15 non-members

Links to Copies of the Standards
and Supporting Material, 2005

The Kennedy Center's ARTSEDGE Professional Resources:
Standards and Exemplars
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/standards.cfm
includes links to:

• Content Standards listed by arts subject and grade level
• View the full text of the standards

The Putnam Valley Schools
http://edStandards.org/Standards.html
This is a very helpful site since the links to the 50 States for "Developing Education Standards" is quite current. There are two sections:

• Standards by Subject Area (includes Art and Music but these links also lead to Dance and Theatre). Several states that do have arts standards are not listed.
• Standards by State.

States with arts standards revised in the last five years follow. We have annotated the links to help with your search.

Arkansas: Curriculum Benchmarks and Curriculum Models K-8
http://arkedu.state.ar.us/curriculum/benchmarks.html#Music
The Arkansas fine arts and music benchmarks were adopted in 2001; the curriculum models in in2002. The benchmarks contain student-learning expectations by grade level. The curriculum models contain standards, selected assessment and instructional ideas. We could not find the 9-12 arts standards when we visited the site 8/15/05

Hawaii Content and Performance Standards
http://standardstoolkit.k12.hi.us/index.html
Click on Access the HCPS II Database to find the arts . The 2004 draft has Content and Performance Standards for the four art disciplines. There are three strands: How the Arts Communicate, How the Arts Are Organized, How the Arts Shape and Reflect Culture. Integration is encouraged, particularly at the elementary level.   The standards are presented by grade level, K-5 and by Levels 1-7 for middle and high school. A very thorough document, well worth looking at.

Indiana Academic Standards
http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/additionalContent.asp
Each of the four arts has its own set of content standards for grades 1 through 8 and high school, proficient and advanced. The Theatre standards document has a 2004 date.

Kansas Curricular Standards
http://www.ksde.org/outcomes/siacurrstds.html
Visual Arts was adopted in 2002, Theatre 2004, Dance and Music in 2005.

• Visual Arts, the oldest document, is the least elaborate with standards, benchmarks and indicators plus essays discussing classroom and instructional issues.
• Theatre has an introduction and the standards section is written by levels: basic, proficient, advanced, exemplary. Each standard has benchmarks, performance indicators and instructional examples. There is a Scope and Sequence, an Appendix, a Glossary and Resources.
• Dance is similar to Theatre but has a standards section by level and then by standard (which replaces a scope and sequence). The Glossary is very good. The Appendices include several excellent sections: Improvisation (with teaching hints), Choreography (which also includes evaluation), Careers and Resources (a book list).
• Music has a remarkable document that includes the standards with benchmarks, knowledge and performance indicators plus instruction exemplars. The Scope and Sequence is written by standard with performance levels that read horizontally. The Lesson Plan format (includes objectives, assessments, timeline, strategies, extensions, etc.) is followed by Exemplary Lessons that also have scoring rubrics. The Resources are two pages to links with helpful materials.

Kentucky Student Performance Standards
http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/
Curriculum+Documents+and+Resources/
Student+Performance+Standards/
Student+Performance+Standards+Downloads.htm
Adopted in 2001, the Arts and Humanities standards include Knowledge, Application, Concepts and Vocabulary for the Novice, Apprentice, Proficient, and Distinguished levels, and are written for grades 5, 8 and 11. Kentucky's Learning Goals and Academic Expectations at
http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/
Curriculum+Documents+and+Resources/
Academic+Expectations/default.htm are also interesting. They include the arts in what children should know and be able to do.

Louisiana Students Standards and Assessment
http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/ssa/currichome.html
Revised 2003, the document has Content Standards, Web Resources and Course Guidelines sections. The Content Standards section is very difficult to navigate, but the Course Guidelines are interesting.   The documents are designed K-4, 5-8, 9-12 with standards for the four arts disciplines written for Creative Expression, Aesthetic Perception, Historical & Cultural Awareness, Historical & Cultural Perspective, and Critical Analysis strands.

Maryland Voluntary Curriculum
http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/arts/index.html
The 2004, PreK-8 draft copy has four strands for each of the four arts disciplines: Perceive and Respond; Historical, Cultural & Social Context; Creative Expression & Production; Aesthetics & Criticism

Minnesota Arts Standards
http://education.state.mn.us/html/intro_standards_arts.htm
Find under Academic Excellence/Standards. Revised standards, adopted in 2003, include strands for: Artistic Expression (Primary, Intermediate), Artistic Interpretation (Middle), Artistic Creativity and Performance (Middle), Analysis and Interpretation (High School), and Creation and Performance (High School). There are sub-strands for the four art forms K-8. Sub-strands under the High School grade span are: 1. Creative Writing, 2. Dance, 3. Media Arts, 4. Music, 5. Theater and 6. Visual Arts. This is an outstanding document! Also note: Overview of Arts Standards and Graduation Requirements - February 2005. Very impressive new state requirements for the inclusion of at least three of the arts K-12 with a requirement of at least two of the arts K-8 and at least one of the arts at the high school level!!

Mississippi Visual and Performing Arts Framework
http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/ACAD/ID/
Curriculum/Arts/curriculum/FRMWRK03.HTM
Revised in 2003, this remarkable document for the four arts includes five strands: Creating/Performing, Critical Analysis, Cultural History, Aesthetics, Connections. Each art form has Competencies and Suggested Teaching Strategies plus Suggested Assessments for grades K-4 and for four levels at both the middle and high school.

Missouri Frameworks for Curriculum Development
http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/
frameworks/finearts.html
Adopted in 2003, the frameworks for the four arts disciplines are written at the K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 levels and include four strands: History, Criticism & Analysis, Aesthetics, Product/Performance. Each strand at each level includes: What All Students Should Know, What all Students Should be Able to Do and Sample Learning Objectives

New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards For Visual and Performing Arts
http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/s1_vpa.htm
Revised in 2003, the visual and performing arts standards provide both the foundation for creating local curricula decisions and the opportunity for meaningful assessments in all four art forms. There are five standards for visual and performing arts, each of which has a number of lettered strands. These standards, and their associated strands, include three areas that combine the arts: Aesthetics, Critique, and World Cultures, History, and Society. Creation and Performance and Elements and Principles of the Arts are written for the four art disciplines.

North Dakota Content Standards
http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/standard/content.shtm
Adopted in 2000, the standards are written at the K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 levels. Each of the four arts disciplines has its own standards but they all include Benchmarks, Specific Knowledge and Sample Activities expected of the students.

Ohio Academic Content Standards
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/
academic_content_standards/acsarts.asp
Scroll to the end of this page to find the links to the documents. Adopted in 2003, Ohio has used five Overarching Content Standards: Historical, Cultural & Social Contexts; Creative Expression & Communication; Analyzing & Responding; Valuing the Arts/Aesthetic Reflection; Connections, Relationships & Applications to develop Benchmarks in the four arts disciplines at the K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 grade levels. Writing teams are developing three sets of Model Lessons that should be available this year.

Pennsylvania Academic Standards for the Arts and Humanities
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/stateboard_ed/cwp/
view.asp?A=3&Q=76716
A quite remarkable, 2003 document that shows the relationships among the four arts by including all art forms together for each of the five strands: Production, Performance & Exhibition; Historical & Cultural Contexts; Critical Response; Aesthetic Response. Each strand is written for grades 3, 5, 8 and 12. Has interesting definitions of each art form.

South Carolina Visual and Performing Arts Standards
http://www.myscschools.com/offices/cso/
standards/vpa/default.cfm
Adopted in 2003, the standards are written at grades: PreK, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 and advanced 9-12. Each of the four arts has its own set of standards.

Tennessee Curriculum Standards
http://www.state.tn.us/education/ci/standards/index.php
Music and Visual Arts are written at each grade level through grade five and by course at the middle and high school. Each level has: Content Standards, Learning Expectations, Performance Indicators, Sample Performance Tasks, Integration/Linkages. Theatre is written K, 1-3, 4-6, 6-8 and high school. Theatre mirrors Music and Visual Arts at the high school level but at the elementary level has charts with topics in the left column and performance indicators in the right. We believe the document dates from 2001 and later.

Utah Fine Arts Education
http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/FineArt/
A very elaborate site with core curriculum standards and suggested lesson plans for dance, music, theatre, visual arts and film.

Vermont's Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities
http://www.state.vt.us/educ/new/
html/pgm_curriculum/arts.html
The standards for the four arts disciplines were revised in 2000 and Grade Level Expectations adopted in 2004 for Per-K-K, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and high school. There are four groupings: Skill Development, Reflection and Critique, Making Connections, and Approach to Work. Skill Development is specific to each discipline: Reflection and Critique, Making Connections, and Approach to Work are common across the arts.

Virginia Standards of Learning
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/
Superintendent/Sols/home.shtml
The standards for the arts will be revised in 2006.

Washington Essential Academic Learning Requirements & Grade Level Expectations
http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/EALR_GLE.aspx
available 2008.

West Virginia Content Standards & Objectives
http://wvde.state.wv.us/csos/
Adopted in 2003, the Standards are different for each of the four art disciplines. There are interesting descriptors for performance at five levels from novice through distinguished.

Wyoming State Standards for the Fine and Performing Arts
http://www.k12.wy.us/eqa/nca/pubs/standards.asp
Revised in 2003, the assumption is that K-12 students will receive instruction in Drama, Music and the Visual Arts each including four strands: Creative Expression through Production, Aesthetic Perception, Historical & Cultural Content, Applications to Life. The document consists of Performance Indicators written at four levels: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced for grades K-4, 5-8 and 9-12.

Arizona Arts Standards with Performance Objectives
Adopted 4/28/97; being revised.

The Integrated Arts Standards, written by ASU faculty and the Arizona Commission on the Arts Education Specialist, are an example of how the Arizona Standards for Music, Visual Arts, Theater, and Dance can be integrated to reinforce basic arts concepts and insure the inclusion of all the arts in the classroom. The Standards include first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grades.

See also the accompanying guides to Dance, Music, Theater, Visual Arts Criticism.

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