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Introduction
Understanding and Using the National Core Arts Standards
The arts have always served as the distinctive vehicle for discovering who we are. Providing ways of thinking as disciplined as science or math and as disparate as philosophy or literature, the arts are used by and have shaped every culture and individual on earth. They continue to infuse our lives on nearly all levels—generating a significant part of the creative and intellectual capital that drives our economy. The arts inform our lives with meaning every time we experience the joy of a well-remembered song, experience the flash of inspiration that comes with immersing ourselves in an artist’s sculpture, enjoying a sublime dance, learning from an exciting animation, or being moved by a captivating play.
The central purposes of education standards are to identify the learning that we want for all of our students and to drive improvement in the system that delivers that learning. Standards, therefore, should embody the key concepts, processes and traditions of study in each subject area, and articulate the aspirations of those invested in our schools—students, teachers, administrators, and the community at large. To realize that end goal, these new, voluntary National Core Arts Standards are framed by artistic literacy, as outlined in philosophical foundations, lifelong goals, and artistic processes; articulated as anchor and performance standards that students should attain; and supported by instructional resources, including model cornerstone assessments that illustrate how literacy might be measured. The connective threads of this conceptual framework are designed to be understood by all stakeholders and, ultimately, to ensure success for both educators and students.
While broad in concept, the standards are also focused in a framework that delivers the educational nuance of standards in only four artistic processes, bringing together what artists do and what we want for our students. Within this simple and elegant structure, decision-makers from teachers, to superintendents, to parents will be able to move forward in the rich variety of approaches that have become part of the American educational landscape.
The National Core Arts Standards are designed to guide the delivery of arts education in the classroom with new ways of thinking, learning, and creating. The standards also inform policy-makers about implementation of arts programs for the traditional and emerging models and structures of education. As with other subject areas, a commitment to quality education, equitable opportunities, and comprehensive expectations is embedded within the new arts standards.
Dance
The National Core Arts Standards in Dance are designed to enable students to achieve dance literacy.
To be literate in the arts, students need specific knowledge and skills in a particular arts discipline to a degree that allows for fluency and deep understanding. In dance, this means discovering the expressive elements of dance; knowing the terminology that is used to comprehend dance; having a clear sense of embodying dance; and being able to reflect, critique, and connect personal experience to dance.
Four artistic processes organize the standards across the arts disciplines: Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting. Each artistic process includes a set of overarching anchor standards. The anchor standards are consistent among the arts disciplines represented in the National Core Arts Standards and demonstrate the breadth of the work. They are held constant for student learning over time.
Each anchor standard in dance is supported by a process component, an enduring understanding, and an essential question. These additional features will benefit educational leaders and teachers as they consider curricular models and structure lessons aligned to the dance standards. Performance standards describe more specifically what students should know and be able to do in dance and are expressed as measurable outcomes across the grades pre-kindergarten to eighth grade and into high school at three levels of proficiency. The performance standards are the substantive portion of the work and represent the depth of study in dance.
Of significance is that the four artistic processes are addressed linearly in written standards, but are envisioned to occur simultaneously in the actual practice of dance. The dancer imagines, envisions, or improvises movements (creating), executes the movements (performing), reflects on them (responding), and connects the experience to all other contexts of meaning or knowledge (connecting). As a result, one lesson can address many standards at the same time. In a single class, students can learn by solving movement problems, showing their ideas through movement, thinking critically about them, and relating them to other ideas, experiences, contexts, and meanings.
The National Core Arts Standards in Dance are rooted in a creative approach to teaching and learning. They describe expectations for learning in dance regardless of culture, style or genre and impart the breadth and depth of the dance experience through the art-making processes. The goal of the standards is to inspire dance educators and their students to explore the many facets of dance and prepare them for a lifetime of engagement with the art form.
For more information about the National Core Arts Standards in Dance, please refer to the Dance Standards resource page and the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning.
We partner with the National Dance Education Organization.
Model Cornerstone Assessments:
- 2021 MCAs
- Grade 2
- Grade 5
- Grade 8
- High School: Proficient
- High School: Accomplished
- High School: Advanced
Additional Resources:
Dance / Creating
DA:Cr1.1
Process Component: Explore
Anchor Standard: 1. Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Enduring Understanding: Choreographers use a variety of sources as inspiration and transform concepts and ideas into movement for artistic expression.
Essential Question: Where do choreographers get ideas for dances?
DA:Cr2.1
Process Component: Plan
Anchor Standard: 2. Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Enduring Understanding: The elements of dance, dance structures, and choreographic devices serve as both a foundation and a departure point for choreographers.
Essential Question: What influences choice-making in creating choreography?
DA:Cr3.1
Process Component: Revise
Anchor Standard: 3. Refine and complete artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Choreographers analyze, evaluate, refine, and document their work to communicate meaning.
Essential Question: How do choreographers use self-reflection, feedback from others, and documentation to improve the quality of their work?
Dance / Performing
Pr4.1
Process Component: Express
Anchor Standard: 4. Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation.
Enduring Understanding: Space, time, and energy are basic elements of dance.
Essential Question: How do dancers work with space, time and energy to communicate artistic expression?
DA:Pr5.1
Process Component: Embody
Anchor Standard: 5. Develop and refine artistic work for presentation.
Enduring Understanding: Dancers use the mind-body connection and develop the body as an instrument for artistry and artistic expression.
Essential Question: What must a dancer do to prepare the mind and body for artistic expression?
DA:Pr6.1
Process Component: Present
Anchor Standard: 6. Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Dance performance is an interaction between performer, production elements, and audience that heightens and amplifies artistic expression.
Essential Question: How does a dancer heighten artistry in a public performance?
Dance / Responding
DA:Re.7.1
Process Component: Analyze
Anchor Standard: 7. Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Dance is perceived and analyzed to comprehend its meaning.
Essential Question: How is a dance understood?
DA:Re8.1
Process Component: Interpret
Anchor Standard: 8. Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Dance is interpreted by considering intent, meaning, and artistic expression as communicated through the use of the body, elements of dance, dance technique, dance structure, and context.
Essential Question: How is dance interpreted?
DA:Re9.1
Process Component: Critique
Anchor Standard: 9. Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
Enduring Understanding: Criteria for evaluating dance vary across genres, styles, and cultures.
Essential Question: What criteria are used to evaluate dance?
Dance / Connecting
DA:Cn10.1
Process Component: Synthesize
Anchor Standard: 10. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
Enduring Understanding: As dance is experienced, all personal experiences, knowledge, and contexts are integrated and synthesized to interpret meaning.
Essential Question: How does dance deepen our understanding of ourselves, other knowledge, and events around us?
DA:Cn11.1
Process Component: Relate
Anchor Standard: 11. Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.
Enduring Understanding: Dance literacy includes deep knowledge and perspectives about societal, cultural, historical, and community contexts.
Essential Question: How does knowing about societal, cultural, historical and community experiences expand dance literacy?
Credits
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards Writing Teams
Project Director: Phillip E. Shepherd, Manager, Academic Core Branch, Kentucky Department of Education
DANCE
Dance Chair: Dr. Rima Faber, President, Capitol Region Educators of Dance Organization and Founding President, National Dance Education Organization
Dr. Barbara Bashaw, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Karen Kohn Bradley, University of Maryland-College Park and the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Loren E. Bucek, Easthaven Elementary School, Columbus, Ohio
Joan Finkelstein, New York City Department of Education
Shana Habel, Los Angeles Unified School District
Mary Harding, Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, Minnesota
Susan McGreevy, Executive Director, National Dance Education Organization
Dale Schmid, New Jersey State Department of Education
Marty Sprague, Juanita Sanchez High School, Providence, Rhode Island
Pamela A. VanGilder, Madonna Learning Center, Germantown, Tennessee
Dr. Lynnette Young Overby, University of Delaware, Newark
MEDIA ARTS
Media Arts Chair: Dain Olsen, Los Angeles Unified School District, California
Jay Davis, Community Health Advocates School, Los Angeles, California
R. Scot Hockman, South Carolina Department of Education, Columbia
Jeremy Holien, Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, Minnesota
Anne Kornfeld, Newcomers High School, Long Island City, New York
Colleen Macklin, Parsons New School for Design, Brooklyn, New York
Bradley Moss, Maple Mountain High School, Springville, Utah
Betsy Newman, SC Educational Television, Columbia, South Carolina
Michele Nelson, Los Angeles Unified School District
Frank Philip, Arts Assessment Consultant, Annapolis, Maryland
Martin Rayala, Ph.D, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown
James Reinhard, North Allegheny Schools, Wexford, Pennsylvania
Nelle Stokes, Magic Box Productions, Pleasantville, New York
Evan Tobias, Arizona State University, Tempe
MUSIC
Music Co-Chairs: Scott C. Shuler, Arts Education Specialist, Connecticut State Department of Education and Past President, National Association for Music Education
Richard Wells, Simsbury Public Schools (retired) and Music Chair for the Connecticut Common Arts Assessment Project
Dr. Richard Baker, Southern University and A & M College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Bob Cooper, South Kitsap School District, Port Orchard, Washington
Thomas Dean, Mount Pleasant High School, Newark, Delaware
Armalyn De La O, California State University, San Bernardino, Superintendent of Schools Office, San Bernardino, California
Terry Eder, Plano (Texas) Senior High School
Barbara J. Good, Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada
Michael Jothen, Towson University, Phoenix, Maryland
Carolynn A. Lindeman, San Francisco (California) State University
Johanna J. Siebert, Webster Schroeder High School, Webster, New York
Robyn Swanson, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green
Music General Music Grades Pre K-2 Sub Committee
Johanna Siebert, Chair
Tim Adams, Center Elementary School, Ellington Public Schools, CT
Julie Beauregard, Oregon State University
Al Heary, Webster Central School District, NY
Denise Ondishko, Riverview Charter School, Beaufort, SC
Jennifer Wetzel-Thomas, Mokena School District #159, Downers Grove IL
Researcher: Wendy Valerio, University of South Carolina
Music General Music Grades 3-5 Sub Committee
Barbara Good, Chair
Nyssa Brown, Perpich Center for Arts Education, MN
Kay Lehto, Gilbert Elementary School, Clark County School District, NV
Sandra Nicolucci, Boston University Music Education Department, MA
Lynn Rechel, Arlington Public Schools, VA
Leah Riggs, Silverdale Elementary School, Central Kitsap School District, WA
Rebecca Squire, Saugatuck Elementary School, Westport School District, CT
Christine Hayes, Chair - Council for General Music Education, Whitewater, WI
Researcher: Denise Odegaard, Fargo, ND
Music General Music Grades 6-8 Sub Committee
Richard Baker, Robyn Swanson, Co-Chairs
Jacalyn Beam, Christina School District, DE
Michelle Divine, Whitman Junior High, Warwick, RI
Debra Hopkins, Lincoln Elementary, Silverton, OR
Stephen Nystrup, Glastonbury Public Schools, CT
Kim Yannon-Stock, Dodd Middle School, Cheshire, CT
Researcher: Ann Clements, Pennsylvania State University
Music Performing Ensembles Sub Committee
Armalyn De La O, Tom Dean, Michael Jothen, Co-Chairs
Renata Bratt, Professional Musician, San Francisco, CA
Sandra Brown, Plymouth Middle School, Plymouth, MN
Terry Eberhardt, Howard County Public Schools, Ellicott City, MD
Windy Fullagar, Alexander Graham Middle School, Charlotte, NC
Alan Gumm, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant
Susie Jones, Mt. Hood Community College, OR
Mary Wagner, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
Researcher: Al Holcomb, Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ
Researcher: Glenn Nierman, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Researcher: Bret Smith, Central Washington University
Researcher: Katie Strand, Indiana University
Researcher: Martin Norgaard, Georgia State University, Atlanta
Music Harmonizing Instruments Sub Committee
Bob Cooper, Carolynn Lindeman, Co-Chairs
Carol Broos, Gumee, IL
Anne Fennel, Vista Academy, CA
Julie Gragg, Kingman Middle School, AZ
Philip Martin, Campbell HS, Litchfield, NH
Scott Seifried, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Brad Van Patten, Irvine Unified School District, CA
Karen Childress-Evans, San Diego Unified School District, CA
Ed Duling, Bowling Green, OH
Researcher: William Bauer, University of Florida
Music Composition/Theory Sub Committee
Terry Eder, Tom Dean Co-Chairs
Judd Danby, Jefferson HS, Lafayette, IN
Robert Deemer, SUNY Fredonia, NY
Michael Levi, College of St. Rose, Albany, NY
Frank Doyle, Northport HS, Long Island, NY
Stephen Nystrup, middle school, Glastonbury, CT
Researcher: Patricia Riley, University of Vermont, VT
Music Model Cornerstone Assessments
Bill Bauer, School of Music of the University of Florida
Frederick Burrack, Kansas State University
Ann Clements, The Pennsylvania State University School of Music
Al Holcomb, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, New Jersey
Glenn Nierman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Denese Odegaard, Fargo (North Dakota) Public Schools
Kelly Parkes, Virginia Tech
Phillip Payne, Kansas State University
Patricia Riley, University of Vermont
Bret Smith, Central Washington University
Katherine Dagmar Strand, Indiana University
Wendy Valerio, University of South Carolina Children’s Music Development Center
THEATRE
Theatre
Co-Chairs: Dr. Mary J. Schuttler, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Betsy Quinn, Evanston (Illinois) School District 65
Rachel Evans, Kean University, Union, New Jersey
Julia Ashworth, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Victoria Brown, Lucy School, Middletown, Maryland
Wendy Duke, Akron (Ohio) School District
Linda Krakaur, University of Maryland at College Park
Jennifer Little, Franklin High School, North Bergen, New Jersey
Jack Mitchell, California State Department of Education, Sacramento
Sarah Pleydell, University of Maryland, College Park
Joshua Streeter, Towanda (Pennsylvania) Area School District
Leslie Van Leishout, North Thurston Public Schools, Lacey, Washington
Gustave J. Weltsek, Indiana University/Ivy Tech Community College, Bloomington
Elisabeth Westphal, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, Illinois
Scott Wilson, Centennial High School, Columbus (Ohio) City Schools
Susan Yelverton, Satchel Ford Elementary, Columbia, South Carolina
VISUAL ARTS
Visual Arts Chair: Dennis Inhulsen, President, National Art Education Association and Principal, Patterson Elementary School, Holly, Michigan
Kristine Alexander, The California Arts Project, California State University, San Bernardino, California
September Buys, Greenville Middle School, Greenville, Michigan
Susan J. Gabbard, Oklahoma City Public Schools, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dr. Olivia Gude, University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Art and Design, Chicago, Illinois
Debra Hannu, Duluth Public Schools, Duluth, Minnesota
Joyce Huser, Kansas State Department of Education, Topeka, Kansas
Elizabeth (Betsy) Logan, Auburn Junior High School, Auburn, Alabama
Vanessa López, Roland Park Elementary Middle School, Baltimore, Maryland
Cheryl Maney, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Concord, North Carolina
W. Scott Russell, Loudoun County Public Schools, Leesburg, Virginia
Dr. Marilyn Stewart, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Department of Art Education and Crafts, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Kathi R.Levin, NCCAS Project Consultant, National Art Education Association, Reston, Virginia
Visual Arts Model Cornerstone Assessments
Chair, Dr. F. Robert Sabol, NAEA Past President and Professor of Visual and Performing Arts, Purdue University, Crawfordsville, Indiana
Dr. Olivia Gude, Professor, School of Art and Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Debra Hannu, Visual/Media Arts Educator, Duluth Public Schools, Duluth, Minnesota
Joyce Huser, Fine Arts Education Consultant, Kansas Department of Education, Topeka, Kansas
Kirby Meng, Art Educator, Union Grove High School, McDonough, Georgia
Laura Milas, Art Department Chairperson, Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, Illinois
W. Scott Russell, Elementary Art Educator, Loudoun County Public Schools, Leesburg, Virginia
Dr. Marilyn Stewart, Professor of Art Education, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Diana Woodruff, Director of Visual Arts K-12, Acton Public and Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools, Acton, Massachusetts
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) Leadership 2014-2015
Michael Blakeslee, Senior Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, National Association for Music Education
Dr. Jane Bonbright, Founding Executive Director Emeritus, National Dance Education Organization
Richard W. Burrows, NCCAS Media Arts Committee Co-Chair, Newark (New Jersey) Public Schools, Special Assistant/Arts
Amy Charleroy, Director of Arts, Office of Academic Initiatives, The College Board
David A. Dik, National Executive Director, Young Audiences Arts for Learning
Kristen Engebretsen, Arts Education Program Manager, Americans for the Arts
Marcie Granahan, Executive Director, American Alliance for Theatre and Education
Debora Hansen, State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education, Delaware Department of Education
Dennis Inhulsen, President, National Art Education Association
Dr. Amy Jensen, Advocacy Director, American Alliance for Theatre and Education
Kathi R. Levin, NCCAS Project Consultant, National Art Education Association
Robert Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer, Americans for the Arts
Marcia McCaffrey, President, State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education, New Hampshire Department of Education
Susan McGreevy-Nichols, Executive Director, National Dance Education Organization
James Palmarini, Director of Educational Policy, Educational Theatre Association
Dr. Pam Paulson, NCCAS Media Arts Committee Co-chair, Perpich Center for Arts Education Minnesota
Jeff M. Poulin, Arts Education Program Coordinator, Americans for the Arts
Dr. Deborah B. Reeve, Executive Director, National Art Education Association
Narric Rome, Vice President of Government Affairs and Arts Education, Americans for the Arts
Dr. Nancy Rubino, Senior Director, Office of Academic Initiatives, The College Board
Dr. F. Robert Sabol, Past President, National Art Education Association
Dr. Scott Shuler, Immediate Past President, National Association for Music Education
Lynn Tuttle, Past President, State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education, Arizona Department of Education
Cory Wilkerson, State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education, Project Manager
Julie Woffington, Executive Director, Educational Theatre Association
Partnership Organizations
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center Education
National Coalition for Arts Standards (2014) National Core Arts Standards. Rights Administered by Young Audiences, Inc. New York, NY, www.nationalartsstandards.org all rights reserved.