1. Visual Arts Education Essential Standards
(Be sure to include introductions of all presenters – and introduction of participants, as desired - during this slide and before beginning the presentation).
Christie Lynch Ebert, Dance and Music Education Consultant, NCDPI
Myron Carter, Theatre and Visual Arts Education Consultant, NCDPI
NC Art Education Association
October 23, 2010

2. Agenda
This slide provides a brief overview of what will be covered during this presentation. When you leave here today, you will have an understanding of:
The background of the ES process;
The makeup of the writing groups;
An understanding of the process for the evolution of the standards (including how feedback informed the process);
The timeline for implementation of the new Essential Standards;
An understanding of the organization (format) of the standards;
Additionally, you will see highlights of the standards for your discipline(s);
You will learn about the support for implementation, as well as other opportunities for you to be involved.

3. Direction from Framework For Change
ES Background
Direction from Framework For Change
Long-Term Goal 1: Overhaul the K-12 SCOS to focus on essential standards in order to narrow and deepen the state’s curriculum
Articulation at each grade level
Infusion of 21st century skills
Reflection of rigor, relevance, and relationships
May 2008
The work Essential Standards process is guided by the Framework for Change Initiative. In 2008, following extensive input from the Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability, the State Board of Education crafted the Framework for Change - 27 recommendations to change dramatically the scope of the Standard Course of Study, assessments and testing.
Long-Term 1: Overhaul the K-12 SCOS to focus on essential standards in order to narrow and deepen the state’s curriculum
Articulation of the skills, understandings, and learning experiences critical at each grade level;
Inclusion of the skills, understandings, and learning experiences necessary to satisfactorily complete the Graduation Project;
Infusion of writing, 21st century content, thinking and learning skills, and life skills throughout the content standards; and
Reflection of rigor, relevance, and relationships between and among subject areas.
Source:

4. Accountability & Curriculum Reform Effort (ACRE)
The bullets on the left outline the different facets of the Accountability and Curriculum Reform Effort, or ACRE. The right side of the slide shows which areas have ES which were adopted by the SBE during Phase I. Note that English II (or English 10) and K-12 Math are being aligned with the Common Core Standards for these areas.

5. Source: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/
Essential Standards are:
Skills, understandings and learning experiences mastered at each grade level to move to the next level
“Must Have" goals of the curriculum
Focused on higher-order knowledge and skills all students should master
Resolution to the "inch-deep, mile-wide" concern about the current SCOS
Assurance that every student learns essential content and skills for the 21st Century
Source:
ACRE: Accountability, Curriculum and Reform Effort mandate from the North Carolina State Board of Education

6. ES Guiding Question
What do students need to know, understand, and be able to do to ensure their success in the future, whether it be the next class, post-secondary, or the world of work?
Guiding question
What do students need to know, understand, and be able to do to ensure their success in the future, whether it be the next class, post-secondary, or the world of work?
This is the guiding question that the writing groups were asked to address when crafting Essential Standards for each content area.

7. ES Identification Criteria
Knowledge & Skills . . .
valuable beyond one test: ENDURANCE
valuable in multiple disciplines: LEVERAGE
necessary for success at next level: READINESS
These are the ES Criteria which were to be used for filtering the development of the Essential Standards in all subject areas:
Endurance-knowledge and skills valuable beyond one test (ex. reading proficiency)
Leverage-knowledge and skills valuable in multiple disciplines (ex. drawing inferences from cultural artifacts such as realia and works of art)
Readiness-knowledge and skills necessary for success at next level of instruction (ex. color wheel or communicative use of tenses)

8. ESSENTIAL STANDARDS
… identified for each level to focus on big, conceptual ideas and enduring understandings to be learned, as well as the levels of cognitive processing needed to ensure student success throughout the K-12 learning process and on into higher education and the world of work.
Essential standards are to be assessed in the classroom via formative, benchmark/interim, and summative assessments.
This graphic illustrates a cake analogy for a comprehensive balanced assessment system - all types of assessment should be involved (This is from the Superintendent’s Vision of a Balanced Comprehensive Assessment System, which is available on the NCDPI website:

9. Essential Standards Filters
During this process, there were many filters that the standards were screened through before coming up with the final document. These include:
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
21st Century Skills
The latest research and best practices
Standards (from other states, national, and international, if applicable)

10. Visual Arts Writing Group
In arts education, there were 4 separate writing committees, one for each arts education discipline: dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts. Each group had leads for each grade span (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12) as well as “floating leads” who work across all grade levels.
The Essential Standards revision process for Arts Education began in Spring of 2009 and continued through the completion of the Version 3.0 standards in June 2010.
The writing groups encompassed all 8 education regions in NC, had a range of experiences, and were comprised of K-12 educators, administrators, central office staff, IHE members, professional association, and other representatives
K-12 Writers

11. PROCESS: Arts Education Essential Standards
This section includes information about the Essential Standards development process.

12. Timeline September 2010 2012-13 School Year
Version 3.0 approved by SBE
School Year
Implementation
This slide shows the progression from the completion of Version 3.0 of the standards, through the presentation to the State Board of Education, and anticipated implementation during the school year.

13. PHILOSOPHY: Arts Education Essential Standards
This section includes information about the philosophy of the Essential Standards. The following is from the Preamble to the standards, which is based on the National Standards for Arts Education:
The arts have been part of life from the very beginning and are an inseparable part of the human journey. They have described, defined, and deepened the human experience. The arts are everywhere in our lives, adding depth and dimension to the environment we live in, and shaping our experience daily. The arts help students perceive and think in new ways. The arts are a powerful economic force as well, from fashion, to the creativity and design that go into every manufactured product, to architecture, to the performance and entertainment arts that have grown into multibillion-dollar industries.

14. Philosophy: Powerful Tools
Students of the arts disciplines gain powerful tools for:
understanding human experiences, both past and present;
teamwork and collaboration;
making decisions creatively and solving problems;
adapting to and respecting others' diverse ways of thinking;
understanding the influence of the arts and their power to create and reflect cultures;
analyzing nonverbal communication, and making informed judgments about products and issues; and,
communicating effectively.

15. Philosophy The Arts are CORE: ESEA NC BEP Balanced Curriculum
“While not all students will become professional dancers, musicians, actors, or visual artists, all students will benefit from skills and processes that are developed through the arts and that can be applied in a variety of disciplines and settings.” (Preamble, Arts Education Essential Standards, 2010).
The arts are core subjects in the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the NC Basic Education Program, and, as such, are included as core subjects every student should learn as part of a balanced curriculum for all children in North Carolina.
While not all students will become professional dancers, musicians, actors, or visual artists, all students will benefit from skills and processes that are developed through the arts and can be applied in a variety of disciplines and settings.
One example of this is the creative process for any work of art and its direct correlation to the processes used for writing.

16. PURPOSE: Arts Education Essential Standards
Purpose: The North Carolina Arts Education Essential Standards provide a comprehensive framework for each of the arts disciplines (dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts) in the public schools.

17. VISUAL ARTS Are innate in every society
Provides a multi-sensory means to communicate symbols and values
Are a multi-faceted creative process which includes the development of perceptual awareness and the ability to use materials expressively
The visual arts program is designed to develop visual literacy by promoting fluency in various modes of visual communication
Visual Arts
From the beginning of time, the compulsion to create a visual vocabulary has been as innate in every society as the desire to acquire a system of spoken symbols. Visual art from past civilizations is frequently one of the few remaining clues with the power to illuminate which values were held most dear. Today, every aspect of our designed environment will serve to explain who we are to those of the future. The pattern of human growth in society is to develop a multi-sensory means of communicating symbols and values. A child discovers objects, those objects take on meaning, and this meaning is denoted and communicated through the various means of expression available to that child. The visual arts program is designed to develop visual literacy by promoting fluency in the various modes of visual communication. Students learn the visual arts by using a wide range of subject matter, media, and means to express their ideas, emotions, and knowledge. They evaluate the merits of their efforts and this assessment forms the basis for further growth that extends to all disciplines in school and to life. Visual arts education is a multifaceted creative process which includes the development of perceptual awareness and the ability to use materials expressively. Through participation in visual arts, students have the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the creativity and diversity inherent in all of us.
This program description may be found in the Preamble to the Essential Standards.

18. INTENT: Arts Education Essential Standards
Course of Study
The intent of the Arts Education Essential Standards, along with the National Standards for Arts Education, is that a comprehensive understanding of one or more of the arts be accomplished by each student throughout the K-12 program.
Students at the high school level will have the option of studying an individual arts discipline as an area of interest, or specializing and/or completing a concentration in studies to prepare them for further education and/or a career in the arts.

19. ORGANIZATION: Arts Education Essential Standards
This section includes information about the organization of the Essential Standards. Organization
Each grade level and high school proficiency level includes Essential Standards, Clarifying Objectives, and Assessment Prototypes, which are organized by Strands. These components are specific and vary for each arts discipline.
Content and skills that are not limited to particular materials or methodology, but that can be delivered through multiple approaches and materials, are described through the Essential Standards and Clarifying Objectives for each area.
Sample Assessment Prototypes provide additional clarification of the Clarifying Objectives and illustrate ways that these objectives might be assessed in the classroom.
Specific support materials, tools for implementation, and other information will be provided through the Essential Standards Instructional Toolkit and professional development.

20. ES Components [ES] - Essential Standards (<10)
[COs] - Clarifying Objectives (approximately 2-5 per ES)
[APs] - Assessment Prototypes (samples)
Strands:
Organization
Common threads of understanding
Learning Progression:
K-8 Grade Levels
HS Proficiency Levels
Organized to embed multiple entry points
For all disciplines, the ES are organized as follows:
Essential Standards (<10)
Clarifying Objectives (approximately 2-5) – at least 2 per ES and no more than 5
Assessment Prototypes (many) – sometimes aligned with individual COs and sometimes address multiple COs
Organized to embed multiple entry points
Strands provide:
Organization
Common threads of understanding
Program Description
The Essential Standards communicate what students should know and be able to do as a result of instruction at each grade level (K-8) or proficiency level: beginning, intermediate, proficient, and advanced (9-12). Because of the broad base of knowledge and skills involved in creating, performing, responding to, and understanding the arts, experiences and learning must occur in a sequential manner.

21. ES Format: Arts Education

22. HIGHLIGHTS: Arts Education Essential Standards
This section includes highlights specific to the Arts Education Essential Standards.

23. Arts Education Four separate courses of study:
Dance
Music
Theatre Arts
Visual Arts
Aligned with National Standards
21st Century Skills embedded throughout
National Standards are embedded throughout ES and CO
Standards were filtered through 21st century skills which are infused throughout the ES, CO, and APs
Uses RBT verbs that are consistent across disciplines and clearly measurable

24. Arts Education Use of RBT verbs (one verb per objective)
Common clarifying objectives regarding history and culture, aligned with Social Studies curriculum, for all arts disciplines
Assessment: included and aligned
Common clarifying objectives regarding history and culture by grade and proficiency level, aligned with Social Studies curriculum, for all arts disciplines
Includes assessment prototypes specifically aligned to ES and COs for each arts discipline thereby clarifying the objectives; additional guidance on assessment will be provided in instructional toolkit. Please keep in mind that the Assessment Protptypes are examples only, and are not required.

25. Arts Education Sequencing and Progression:
Articulated K-12 with multiple entry points embedded
Organized grade-by-grade (K-8) and by proficiency level (9-12)
Student Profile
Progression of standards at HS level: Beginning (for students without or with limited K-8 experiences); Intermediate (for those students who have received K-8 progression); Proficient; and Advanced. Students may pursue coursework from beginning through advanced levels of learning in multiple courses within each arts education discipline.
Suggested use of a student profile, which would document previous and current academic performance and experiences in each of the arts disciplines and can serve as a portfolio for further arts studies and/or careers.
Proposed policy change: honors courses based on proficiency level (specialization in an arts discipline: proficient or advanced standards) – Levels I – IV are no longer defined; courses which utilize standards at the proficient or advanced levels should be eligible to be developed as honors courses. This will help bring arts education honors opportunities in line with other content areas and provide students with documentation of advanced coursework.

26. HS Proficiency Levels Beginning Intermediate Proficient Advanced
Standards are for students with no or limited K-8 progression in the arts education discipline (dance, music, theatre arts, or visual arts).
Standards are for students who have had a complete K-8 progression or who have achieved beginning level standards in the discipline at the high school level.
Standards are for students who have achieved intermediate level standards in the discipline at the high school level.
Standards are for students who have achieved proficient level standards in the discipline at the high school level.
Students at the high school level will have the option of studying an individual arts discipline as an area of interest, or specializing or completing a concentration in studies to prepare them for further education and/or a career in the arts. The Essential Standards communicate what students should know and be able to do as a result of instruction at each proficiency level: beginning, intermediate, proficient, and advanced (9-12).
Additional information Concentrations: It is recommended that concentrations in the arts reflect a sequence of courses in an arts discipline to include at least one advanced level course. Courses beyond the intermediate level are considered advanced. These would include specialization in any area of study within an arts discipline as well as honors, AP, or IB courses. The completion of the concentration should lead to a culminating project or capstone experience which allows the student to demonstrate advanced skills in the arts discipline and which may also be used as part of a professional portfolio for entrance into institutions of higher education or a career in the arts. For example, producing a student-written play; choreographing a dance for a public performance; publishing and conducting a student-written musical composition; producing a student exhibition of original artwork, etc.
Note: students of various proficiency levels may be served within the same class or course.

27. STRANDS
This section includes a summary of the strands for each arts education discipline’s Essential Standards.

28. Visual Arts Strands Visual Literacy (V) Contextual Relevancy (CX)
Critical Response (CR)
These are the strands in Visual Arts through which the Essential Standards are organized.

29. Visual Arts Standards Alignment with National Standards
*Note: This chart illustrates the primary alignments with the national content standards; additional alignments with content standards and performance indicators occur across the Essential Standards, Clarifying Objectives, and Assessment Prototypes.
NC Essential Standards
(2010)
National Standards for Visual Arts Education (1994)
V1: Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively.
(1) Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
(2) Using knowledge of structures and functions
(3) Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
V2: Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression.
V3: Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes safely and appropriately.
CX1: Understand the global, historical, societal, and cultural contexts of the visual arts.
(4) Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
CX2: Understand the interdisciplinary connections and life applications of the visual arts.
(6) Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines
CR1: Use critical analysis to generate responses to a variety of prompts.
(5) Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others
This chart illustrates the alignment of the Visual Arts Essential Standards with the existing National Standards (1994).

30. VISUAL ARTS Strand: Contextual Relevancy
Essential Standard CX1: Understand the global, historical, societal, and cultural contexts of the visual arts.
Strand: Critical Response
Essential Standard CR1: Use critical analysis to generate responses to a variety of prompts.
Strand: Visual Literacy
Essential Standard V1: Use the language of visual arts to communicate effectively.
2nd Grade Visual Arts
6th Grade Visual Arts
Advanced High School Visual Arts
2.CX.1.1: Exemplify visual arts representing the heritage, customs, and traditions of various cultures.
6.CR.1.2: Use formative, self-evaluation strategies and results to improve the quality of art.
A.V.1.4 Analyze the compositional components of art.
AP: Students look at examples of weaving traditions from various cultures such as Native American, African, and Nordic, and create art illustrating techniques used by some of these cultures.
Evaluate students’ success at exemplifying art techniques used by various cultures’ by implementing variations of these techniques in their own art.
AP: Students self-evaluate throughout the artistic process and make alterations and adjustments to a work of art, explaining their choices.
Evaluate students’ successful explanation of their revisions to their art based on their self-evaluations.
AP: Deconstruct compositions to determine the relationships of the Elements of Art and Principles of design to each other and to the entire composition.
Evaluate students’ successful deconstruction of art works in order to explain the relationship of the elements and principles verbally or in writing.
VISUAL ARTS: This slide illustrates one elementary, one middle grades, and one high school example of Essential Standards, Clarifying Objectives, and Sample Prototypes from different strands of the Essential Standards.

31. Framework for 21st Century Skills
CORE SUBJECTS
English, Reading, or Language Arts
World languages
ARTS
Mathematics
Economics
Science
Geography
History
Government and Civics
The next few slides illustrate some sample alignments of the Arts Education Essential Standards with the Framework for 21st Century Skills (one example per framework component per discipline – an extensive alignment with many more sample connections will be included in the instructional toolkits). Additionally, many of the Clarifying Objectives have the potential for connecting with 21st century themes and skills.
(Partnership for 21st Century Skills)
This slide lists the CORE SUBJECTS, as identified in the Framework for 21st Century Skills and by Federal Law.

32. Core Subjects
K.CX.2.2: Identify relationships between art and concepts from other disciplines, such as math, science, language arts, social studies, and other arts.
This slide illustrates one sample alignment per discipline with Core Subjects. Please note:
1) The ARTS are defined as CORE SUBJECTS in the 21st Century Framework and by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), formerly NCLB.
2) Connections with core subjects are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for visual arts.

33. GLOBAL AWARENESS
3.CX.1.4: Compare purposes of art in different cultures, time periods, and societies.
This slide illustrates sample connections between the Arts Education Essential Standards and the 21st Century Theme of Global Awareness.
Note: Connections with global awareness are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline).

34. Financial, Economic, Business & Entrepreneurial Literacy
7.CX.2.1: Analyze careers in art and a variety of other careers in terms of the art skills needed to be successful.
This slide illustrates sample connections between the Arts Education Essential Standards and the 21st Century Theme of Financial, Economic, Business & Entrepreneurial Literacy.
Note: Connections with financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline).

35. THEATRE ARTS, and VISUAL ARTS:
Civic Literacy
DANCE, MUSIC,
THEATRE ARTS, and VISUAL ARTS:
Use (dance, music, theatre arts, or visual arts) to explore concepts of civics and economics (such as systems, functions, structures, democracy, economies, and interdependence).
*Common Clarifying Objective in all four arts education disciplines.
This slide illustrates one sample connection between the Arts Education Essential Standards and the 21st Century Theme of Civic Literacy – note that this is a common clarifying objective that occurs in all four arts education disciplines and is aligned with the social studies standards.
Note: Connections with civic literacy are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline.

36. Health Literacy
B.V.3.1 Understand the appropriate and safe use of tools, media, and equipment.
This slide illustrates sample connections between the Arts Education Essential Standards and the 21st Century Theme of Health Literacy.
Note: Connections with health literacy are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline.

37. Literacy Environmental
I.V.3.2: Select media appropriate for communicating content.
This slide illustrates sample connections between the Arts Education Essential Standards and the 21st Century Theme of Environmental Literacy
Note: Connections with environmental literacy are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline. Any of the COs noted could be used to explore, communicate about, or make use of environmental resources through the creation of dance, music, theatre, or visual arts.

38. Learning and Innovation Skills
7.CX.2.3: Implement collaborative planning and art skills to solve problems.
Note: Connections with learning and innovation skills are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline.
Learning and Innovation Skills include:
Creativity and Innovation
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Communication and Collaboration

39. Information, Media, and Technology Skills
A.CX.2.4: Analyze the influence of digital media and technology on creating art.
Information, Media, and Technology Skills include:
Information Literacy
Media Literacy
ICT (Information, Communications & Technology) LITERACY 
Note: Connections with information, media, and technology skills are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline.

40. Life and Career Skills
8.CX.2.1: Compare personal interests and abilities to those needed to succeed in a variety of art careers.
Life and Career Skills include:
Flexibility and Adaptability
Initiative and Self-Direction
Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
Productivity and Accountability
Leadership and Responsibility
Note: Connections with life and career skills are interwoven throughout the Arts Education Essential Standards – this chart illustrates just one sample alignment for each arts education discipline..

41. Future Directions: Essential Standards
Instructional Toolkits
Development
Use
Professional Development
To introduce standards
To provide support
Implementation:
This section includes information about professional development and support for implementation of the new standards.

42. Additional Information
ACRE Website (to access the standards and for additional information including updated timelines):
Arts Education Website:
Arts Education Listserv:
> Resources > NCDPI Arts Education Listserv Updates
Please visit: for regular updates on Phase II Essential Standards and to provide feedback to drafts when they are posted (expected early April 2010)
Provide feedback to drafts (April 2010) – important to provide feedback in a timely manner
Join listservs for ES updates and other opportunities for involvement (i.e. toolkit)

43. Contact Information
NC Department of Public Instruction
Division of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction
K-12 Programs Section
Helga Fasciano, Section Chief
Christie Lynch Ebert
Arts Education Consultant
Dance and Music
Ph:
Myron Carter
Arts Education Consultant
Theatre and Visual Arts
Ph: