2. 1.21 st Century Learning Skills 2.College and career readiness 3.Helps close the achievement gap 4.Emotional & social learning 5.Prepared to succeed in our diverse society Arts education is an essential part of a complete and competitive education for all Illinois students Importance of Arts Education

3. Illinois Arts Learning Standards Initiative “Are there parts of the NCAS that must be adapted to better serve Illinois students?" Arts learning standards identify what is important for students to know and be able to do in the disciplines of dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. Updating Illinois’ arts learning standards to reflect best practices Foundation = National Core Arts Standards (NCAS)

4. Overall Process PHASE 1 (Dec 2014-Feb 2015) Gather initial input PHASE 2 (Feb-Sept) Build consensus PHASE 3 (Sept-Nov) Engage the wider community PHASE 4 (Nov 2015-May 2016) Finalize Standards, Expand support Led by educators – Steering & Advisory Committees, 6 work groups Statewide & diverse 4 phases. 34 meetings (16 all-day). >1,400 combined volunteer hours Transparency & consensus Extensive outreach: forums & surveys Quality assurance: 11 reviewers

5. Standards Framework The initiative affirms artistic literacy as the goal and recommends the NCAS framework: Artistic processes: (1) Create, (2) Perform/Present/Produce, (3) Respond, (4) Connect Anchor standards EUs/EQs – Enduring Understandings & Essential Questions The initiative recommends changes to some performance standards (see website)

6. Strengths & Highlights Flexibility, non-prescriptive Emphasis on process (vs. just product) Big ideas & integrated learning Media arts, a first for Illinois standards Research & technology Supporting other standards, e.g., CCSS

7. See the standards at www.IllinoisArtsLearning.org/www.IllinoisArtsLearning.org/