ARTSEDGE: The National Standards for Arts Education

About Standards:

National Standards for Arts Education:

The standards outline what every K-12 student should know and be able to do in the arts. The standards were developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations, through a grant administered by The National Association for Music Education (MENC).

View the full text of the standards.

For reprint permissions, visit MENC.

National Standards for Other Subjects:

For more information on standards in other subject areas, refer to the Mid-Continent Regional Education Laboratory (McREL).

State Standards:

For state standards, visit:

NCSL
ACHIEVE

Tips:

Consult the glossary for definitions of arts-related terms used in the standards.

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CONTRIBUTORS AND ENDORSERS

Coordinating Council
Members of the Writing Task Forces
National Committee for Standards in the Arts
Endorsers
Supporters

Coordinating Council

American Alliance for Theater & Education
Barbara Salisbury Wills, Executive Secretary
Kim Wheetley, Immediate Past President

National Art Education Association
Thomas Hatfield, Executive Director
James Clarke, Immediate Past President

Music Educators National Conference
John J. Mahlmann, Executive Director
Dorothy Straub, President

National Dance Association
Rebecca Hutton, Executive Director
Kathryn Ellis, President

MEMBERS OF THE WRITING TASK FORCES

Dance Task Force - National Dance Association

Rayma Beal
Mary Alice Brennan
Sarah Hilsendager
Dianne S. Howe
Rebecca Hutton
Luke Kahlich
Mary Maitland Kimball, chair
Sue Stinson

Music Task Force - Music Educators National Conference

June Hinckley
Charles Hoffer
Paul Lehman, chair
Carolynn Lindeman
Bennett Reimer
Scott Shuler
Dorothy Straub

Theater Task Force - American Alliance for Theater & Education, in cooperation with the Educational Theater Association

E. Frank Bluestein
Nancy Perzan
Laura Gardner Salazar
Kent Seidel
Kim Wheetley
Lin Wright, chair

Visual Arts Task Force - National Art Education Association

Carmen Armstrong
James M. Clarke
Mac Arthur Goodwin
Thomas A. Hatfield
Larry Peeno
Jeanne Rollins, chair

State Arts Consultants Task Force

Jeanne Belcheff
Joe Giles
Krin Perry
Joan Peterson, co-chair
Frank Philip, CO-chair
James Tucker

NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDS IN THE ARTS

A. Graham Down, Council for Basic Education, chair
Gordon M. Ambach, Council of Chief State School Officers
Libby Chin, Boston Conservatory
Bruce Christensen, Brigham Young University
Thad Cochran, U.S. Senator (R - Miss.)
Glenn Connor, Principal, Meeker Elementary School, Ames, IA
James F. Cooper, Newington-Cropsey Foundation
James Czarnecki, University of Nebraska
Denis Doyle, Hudson Institute
Leilani Lattin Duke, The Getty Center for Education in the Arts
Harriet Fulbright, Center for Arts in the Basic Curriculum
Keith Geiger, National Education Association
Edward Gero, Actor, Shakespeare Theatre; Director of the Ensemble, George Mason University
Michael Greene, National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.
Richard S. Gurin, Binney & Smith, Inc.
Samuel Hope, National Office for Arts Accreditation in Higher Education
C. James Lawler, C. James Lawler Associates
Barbara Laws, Teacher, Norfolk (VA) Public Schools
Ann Lynch, Humana Hospital Sunrise
Arturo Madrid, Trinity University
Roger Mandle, Rhode Island School of Design
Ellis Marsalis, University of New Orleans
Dave Master, Teacher, La Puente Valley Regional Occupation Program; Rowland High School, Rowland Heights, CA
Konrad Matthaei, United Negro College Fund
Major Owens, U.S. House of Representatives (D - N.Y.)
Joseph Polisi, The Juilliard School
Milton Rhodes, Spoleto Festival
Malcolm L. Richardson, President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
Shirley Ririe, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company
Albert Shanker, American Federation of Teachers
Richard Wendorf, Houghton Library, Harvard University
James D Wolfensohn, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

ENDORSERS

The following professional organizations join with the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations in promoting the vision of K-12 arts education as described in the National Standards for Arts Education:

Alliance for Curriculum Reform
American Arts Alliance
American Association of School Administrators
American Choral Directors Association
American Council for the Arts
American Federation of Musicians of the U.S. and Canada
American Guild of English Handbell Ringers
American Music Conference
American Symphony Orchestra League
Association of Art Museum Directors
Association of Teacher Educators
Capezio/Ballet Makers Dance Foundation
Chorus America
College Band Directors National Association
The College Board
Council for Basic Education
Educational Theatre Association
Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda, Inc.
Getty Center for Education in the Arts
Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association
Industrial Designers Society of America
International Association of Electronic Keyboard Manufacturers
The International Network of Performing and Visual Arts Schools
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Meet the Composer, Inc.
Music Distributors Association
Music Industry Conference
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.
National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA)
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA)
National Association of Band Instrument Manufacturers
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Music Merchants
National Association for Music Therapy, Inc.
National Association of Pastoral Musicians, Music Education Division
National Association of School Music Dealers
National Council of Music Importers and Exporters
National Education Association
National Federation of Music Clubs
National Movement Theatre Association
National Music Publishers' Association, Inc.
National Standards for Arts Education
National Piano Foundation
National School Orchestra Association
North American Montessori Teachers' Association
North American Steel Band Association
OPERA America
Percussive Arts Society
Piano Manufacturers Association International
Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc.
Society of North American Goldsmiths
Sweet Adelines International
United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association
The VoiceCare Network
Young Audiences, Inc.

SUPPORTERS

The following professional organizations have added their support for the goals and ideals implied in the National Standards for Arts Education:
American Association of Museums
American Bandmasters Association
American Orff-Schulwerk Association
Arts & Business Council, Inc.
ASSITEJ/USA (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People/United States Center)
Center for Civic Education
College Art Association of America
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Dance Notation Bureau
Dance/USA
International Council of Fine Arts Deans
International Reading Association
Music Publishers' Association
Music Teachers National Association
National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture
National Alliance for Musical Theatre
National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
National Association of Schools of Dance
National Association of Schools of Music
National Association of Schools of Theatre
National Band Association
National Council for the Social Studies
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National League of Cities
National Middle School Association
The National PTA
National School Boards Association
Very Special Arts

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