The article below was written in 2010. Since then, Arizona has developed its own College & Career Ready Standards. These standards will be fully implemented throughout the state in the 2014-2015 school year. In anticipation of this change, the Arizona Commission on the Arts published a pair of exclusive blog series devoted to the new standards. Click here to read these series.
Allow me to introduce some facts about the Common Core Standards. Basically, these standards define the knowledge and skills students should achieve during their K-12 education. They aim to ensure that students graduate high school with the ability to confidently succeed in entry-level, credit bearing academic college courses, and in workforce training programs. Governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia are committed to developing a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12.
You may be asking yourself, “Where do the arts fit in the new Common Core Standards?”
In May of 2010, the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) convened community and cultural partners to determine how to move forward with the creation of common core standards in the arts. From the beginning, this process has been completely transparent. SEADAE streamed live feed of their May meeting, and many of the planning documents are available on the SEADAE website.
Why should you – as an arts educator, administrator or arts advocate – be invested in the development of the common core arts standards?
This is an opportunity for the arts to stand shoulder to shoulder with other subject areas. The Common Core Arts Standards will provide a guideline for embedding consistent through lines in arts education, nationwide. This development of these standards is an ongoing process that will ultimately need your help. As practitioners, your feedback will be critical. Surveys will look to better understand how the standards are used, and will seek to identify what works and what doesn’t work for you. Your voice and support are critical components of this process. Stay tuned for more information on how to get involved in Arizona.
Want to know more? Check out recent blogs on this topic at the Americans for the Arts, Arts Education Blog Salon:
- National Standards for the Arts
Lynn Tuttle, Director of Arts Education and Comprehensive Curriculum at the Arizona Department of Education
- The New Common Core for the Arts are Imperative
John Abodeely, Program Manager at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
- An Open Letter to Pre-Service Arts Educators
Rachel Evans, Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at Kean University, New Jersey
Mandy Buscas
Arts Learning Director
