State Education Standard State Education Standard

January 2020 — Volume 20, No. 1

Expanding Access to High-Quality Arts Instruction

By Mary Dell'Erba

Researchers and policymakers alike recognize the lasting benefits of participation in high-quality arts coursework and in integrating arts into other content areas. Federal policymakers signaled their support for arts education by passing the Every Student Succeeds Act, with its inclusion of the arts as part of a “well-rounded education.” Yet many states and districts still lack the data or resources to ensure that all students have equitable access to arts opportunities. 


Expanding Access to High-Quality Arts Instruction





Also In this Issue

Children play xylophones. Image credit: Blanca Velazquez-Martin

The Art of Early Childhood Education

By Eleanor D. Brown

Arts integration shows promise for school readiness, emotion regulation, and stress reduction in the youngest, most vulnerable students.





Image credit: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research

How Arts Education Supports Social-Emotional Development: A Theory of Action

By Camille Farrington and Steve Shewfelt

Instructional practices rooted in action and reflection could transform how all disciplines build students' competencies.





Painted Desert Sunset. Image credit: iStock

Advancing Arts Education in Arizona

By Catherine "Rusty" Foley

Arizona leverages partnerships, ESSA funding, and a diploma seal to bolster equitable access to arts learning.





Hands of young potter, creating earthen jar on the circle. Image credit: iStock

Arts in Turnaround Strategies

By Valerie Norville

A+ Schools and Turnaround Arts schools commit to a model of school improvement.





Using Arts Data to Match Community Organizations to School Needs

By Valerie Norville

Six communities follow Chicago's lead in developing arts education census data and maps.





Choir behind microphones. Image credit: iStock

Using ESSA to Leverage Arts Education Policy

By Lynn Tuttle

Several states are using ESSA to increase access and quality in arts instruction.





Students making mosaic. Image credit: iStock

The ESSA Arts Indicator in Illinois: A Study in the Art of Policymaking

By Jonathan VanderBrug

Arts educators bring creativity and process expertise to their work on statewide accountability.





Boy builds gumdrop and toothpick structure. Image credit: iStock

The Role of Arts Integration and Education in Improving Student Outcomes

By Andrea Boyle, Jim Lindsay, Meredith Ludwig and Yinmei Wan

If research is to inform state policy, important gaps in research should be filled.





Arts as a Core Academic Subject. Image: ECS

Expanding Access to High-Quality Arts Instruction

By Mary Dell'Erba

Advancing research and innovative policies can move states toward universal access to a quality arts education.







Featured Items

Multiracial group of teachers walking in school hallway. Image credit: iStock i

Strengthening the Principal Pipeline through State Leadership Academies

Missouri, Delaware, and North Carolina have developed evidence-based professional learning for current and prospective school leaders to increase their effectiveness and reduce turnover.
A multi-ethnic group of seven children standing in a row in a school hallway, laughing and smiling at the camera. The little boys and girls are kindergarten or preschool age, 4 to 6 years. i

State Advances in Early Childhood Education Seed Plans for 2024

In 2023, several states made significant strides toward universal pre-K, increased funding and support for early educators, and improved literacy and math instruction.
Business people sitting on books. Image credit: iStock i

Curriculum That Counts

Authors in this issue of the Standard draw lessons from a spectrum of state policies that are being used to increase the adoption of high-quality curriculum.

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