Improving the Assessment of Student Learning in the Arts

With the creation of national standards for arts learning in the 1990’s, assessment of student learning in the arts has become critical for providers of arts instruction throughout the country. Through the Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth category, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awards millions of dollars each year to support arts education projects that include many forms of assessment designed to measure student learning and program effectiveness. Applicants are required to describe their assessment plans in their proposed projects. However, creating, identifying, and implementing effective assessment tools that support quality arts instruction can be a challenge. Arts educators who provide instruction in schools and communities are looking for models of assessment in all art forms.

Through this project, the Arts Endowment seeks to collect and analyze information on current practices and trends in the assessment of K-12 student learning in the arts and to identify models that might be most effective in various learning environments.

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National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506