research

Topic: Arts Education: Standards, Evaluation, and Assessment

In 1994, the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations presented the National Arts Standards, a set of voluntary content and achievement standards for K–12 students studying visual art, dance, theater, and music. These standards outline what the nation’s school children should know and be able to do in the arts. Since their creation, the standards have served as a model for endorsement and design by more than 45 state departments of education.

Well-executed evaluation and authentic assessment of arts education programming increase its effectiveness. These findings inform arts education advocacy, policy, and funding at the local, state, and national levels. The arts education field has largely relied on anecdotal evidence to prove the value and significance of the arts’ critical role in education. The field is now grappling with clarifying the distinction between causal and correlative relationships between the arts and learning.