THE NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR ARTS EDUCATION, 1994 By: Allyson Nilsen

Background After the America 2000 report omits art education from their list of core subjects, a push for National Standards for the Arts begins in 1992 with a coalition between the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment of the Arts. Between June 1992 and June 1994, the Music Educators National Conference [MENC] received $1 million dollar to develop voluntary national standards for each of the four arts disciplines: music, visual arts, theatre, and dance in grades K-12.

Why create Standards? The standards for arts education were created to reach a consensus amongst educators in describing the knowledge, skills, and understanding that all students should acquire in the arts. The standards provided a basis for a developing curriculum.

Organization of the Standards The standards are organized into three sections by grade level: K-4, 5-8, and Within each section are content standards, followed by achievement standards that fulfill the content standard for that age range. Since not all students study one or more of the arts disciplines in grades 9-12, "Proficient" and "Advanced" levels of achievement have been identified at this level. All high school students are expected to achieve at the "Proficient" level in at least one art.

The Music Education National Standards: Content Standards Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. Reading and notating music. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. Evaluating music and music performances. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Criticism of the Standards Recently there have been critics of how well the National Standards, particularly the Music National Standards, have been implemented in the classroom. Most critics agree that music educators do a great job of fulfilling Standards 1 and 2, singing and playing, but they say teachers have accomplished little with the other seven standards.

Activity Group 1: Standards 3 and 5, Grades K-4 Group 2: Standards 6 and 7, Grades 5-8 Group 3: Standards 8 and 9, Grades 9-12

Sources The National Standards for Arts Education: A Brief History. education-a-brief-history education-a-brief-history Conway, Colleen. The Implementation of the National Standards in Music Education: Capturing the Spirit of the Standards. Music Educators Journal March, vol. 94, no. 4.