The Arts Standards describes what every U.S. student should know and be able to in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. These Standards are an attempt to render, in operational terms, the value and importance of the arts for the educational well-being of our young people and our country. Arts education benefits both student and society. It benefits the students because it cultivates the whole child, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication. This process requires not merely an active mind but a trained one. Arts education also helps students by initiating them in a variety of way of perceiving and thinking.
(p. 6)

The National Standards for Arts Education were developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations under the guidance of the National Committee for Standards in the Arts. The Standards were prepared under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The National Standards for Arts Education are written for all students. The Standards affirm that a future worth having depends on being able to construct a vital relationship with the arts, and that doing so, as with any subject, is a matter of discipline and study. The Standards spell out what every young American should know and be able to do in the arts. The Standards say that students:

• Should be able to communicate at a basic level in the four arts disciplines - dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts.
• Should be able to communicate proficiently in at least one art form.
• Should be able to develop and present basic analyses of works of art.
• Should have an informed acquaintance with exemplary works of art from a variety of cultures and historical periods.
• Should be able to relate various types of arts knowledge and skills within and across the arts disciplines.

CONTENTS
A. Preface: Defining Terms.

B. Introduction:

1. Discovering Who We Are.

2. What Benefits Does an Arts Education Provide?
         An Education in the Arts is for All Students.
         The Arts are Important to Life and Learning.
         The Difference Standards Make.

3. Context and issues:
         Art Standards are at the Core of Education Reform.
         The Standards Provide a Crucial Foundation.
         The Standards are Keys to Each of the Arts Disciplines.
         The Standards are Keys to Correlation and Integration.
         The Standards Incorporate Cultural Diversity.
         The Standards Focus on Appropriate Technologies.
         The Standards Provide a Foundation for Student Assessment.
         The Standards Point Beyond Mere Exposure.
         Adopting the Standards is Only a Beginning.

4. The Standards:
         How the Standards are Organized.
         What Students Should Know and Be Able to Do in the Arts.

C. Standards in the Arts:

Grades K-4:
     Dance.
     Music.
     Theatre.
     Visual Arts.

D. Standards in the Arts:

Grades 5-8:
     Dance. 
     Music. 
     Theatre.
     Visual Arts.

E. Standards in the Arts:

Grades 9-12:
     Dance.
     Music.
     Theatre.
     Visual Arts.

F. Appendix 1: Selected Glossary: 

Dance.
Music.
Theatre.
Visual Arts.

G. Appendix 2: Outline of Sequential Learning: 

Dance.
Music.
Theatre.
Visual Arts.

H. Appendix 3: Summary Statement.

I. Appendix 4: Contributors and Endorsers.