THE COMPLETE CURRICULUM Ensuring a Place for the Arts and ...

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NASBETHE COMPLETE CURRICULUMstate policymakers have an opportunityto set requirements for teachersof the arts and foreign languages thatwill ensure high-quality instruction.Several national organizations thatfocus on teacher licensing, such as theNational Board for ProfessionalTeaching Standards (NBPTS), theInterstate New Teacher Assessmentand Support Consortium (INTASC),and the National Council for Accreditationof Teacher Education(NCATE) have done a great deal ofwork in both the arts and foreignlanguages to develop standards forteachers that are aligned with nationalstandards for students. Theseorganizations have developedresources, with input from nationalassociations, that states can use ineither developing or reviewinglicensure requirements for the artsand foreign languages.States should establish separatelicensure areas for each of the K-12 artsdisciplines and for foreign languageinstructors. For example, few stateseven have basic licensing requirementsfor dance and theater. States shouldalso establish alternative routes forindividuals with language skills or forartists. Higher education institutionsshould be included in the review oflicensure requirements to ensureimplementation of the requirementsfor preparation and licensure. Inaddition, states should incorporate thearts and foreign languages intolicensure requirements for administrators.Many decisions about curriculumhappen at the local level, and havingleaders that understand the importanceof the arts and foreign languages is crucialto their survival in the curriculum.States should also examinerecruitment policies and practices forteachers. One state that has achievedsome success in adopting andimplementing a policy for foreignlanguage teachers is Louisiana.Bulletin 741 mandates foreignlanguage instruction for all academicallyable students in grades 4-8, withinstruction being optional for all otherstudents. The classes for grades 4-6must meet for a minimum of 30minutes daily for the entire schoolyear, and for grades 7-8 the requirementis150 minutes per week. Onestep the state has taken to ensure thatschools are able to comply with themandate is to focus on the supply ofqualified teachers—often a challengeregardless of the content area. Toaddress the issue, the state hasnegotiated agreements with foreigngovernments for teacher exchanges tohelp schools sustain the program.States can also encourage studyabroadprograms for teachers.Recommendation 2: Ensureadequate time for high-qualityprofessional development for staffin the arts and foreign languages.State education officials shouldalso help to establish relationshipsbetween local school districts anduniversities in order to provide artsand language teachers with anadequate system for professionaldevelopment. For the arts, manypeople within artistic communitiesacross the nation aid teachers andconsider their professional developmenta top priority; however, there isstill much that state policymakers cando. Data show that hardly any statesrequire professional developmentthat specifically focuses on the arts orforeign languages. State policymakersmust ensure that adequate time,adequate funding, and adequateopportunities are available for highqualityprofessional development forarts and foreign language instructors.Recommendation 3: Ensureadequate staff expertise at the stateeducation agency to work in theareas of the arts and foreignlanguages.Another component of efforts toensure strong arts and languageprograms that easily falls to thewayside in times of fiscal belttighteningis the number of individualsin the state education agency whoMaryland’s Arts Education PolicyOne state that has successfully implemented arts education statewide isMaryland. In 1989, Maryland enacted a policy to require fine arts credit forgraduation. Over the next several years, constituency groups worked together tocreate a movement at the state level for arts education. In 1995, the MarylandState Board of Education adopted the Schools for Success Goal that by the year2000, 100 percent of Maryland’s students would be participating in fine artsprograms that would enable them to achieve state standards in the arts. Theboard requires “each school system to provide an instructional program in...finearts each year for all students in grades K-8.” In addition, several task forces onarts education were formed throughout the mid-1990s to develop content andachievement standards for students. The state is also working to develop optionsfor measuring student achievement in the arts.18
Ensuring a Place for the Arts and Foreign Languages in America’s Schoolsfocus on these content areas. It isimportant to designate staff to focussolely on both the arts and foreignlanguages in order to implementpolicy and ensure compliance. Havingadequate personnel at the state agencyalso ensures that local school districtshave a resource for keeping abreast ofnational, state, and other localdevelopments. At a minimum,creating these positions, orkeeping them funded if theyalready exist, ensures advocatesat the state level for instructionin each curricular area.Recommendation 4. Incorporateboth the arts andforeign languages into core graduationrequirements, while simultaneouslyincreasing the number ofcredits required for graduation.Another critical component to aneducation system for students isgrade-level expectations and graduationrequirements. For the arts,nearly three-quarters of the statesmandate some form of arts educationin public schools, while more thanhalf require arts education in order tograduate. However, the numbers aremisleading. For example, in manystates the Carnegie unit requirementsfor the arts are far below those ofother core subject areas, and in somecases “related” subjects such as homeeconomics can be substituted.Conversely, few states mandateinstruction in foreign languages, withmost opting instead to requireschools to offer instruction.Graduation requirements, as theyexist, allow many high school studentsacross the country to spend asignificant portion of their senior yearin study hall, thus wasting valuablelearning time. More attention hasrecently been given to this lack ofchallenging coursework for highschool seniors. State policymakersshould incorporate both the arts andforeign languages into core graduationrequirements, while simultaneouslyincreasing the number of creditsrequired for graduation. This allows a“More than 90 percent ofrespondents [to a recent poll]agreed that the arts are vital toproviding a well-roundededucation for our children.”student some leeway in decidingwhich courses to take, while providingan important opportunity to experiencethe arts and foreign languagesduring what has become “down time”for students nearing graduation.Recommendation 5. Encouragehigher education institutions toincrease standards for admissionand include arts and foreignlanguage courses when calculatinghigh school grade pointaverages.With enrollment in postsecondaryinstitutions increasing,admission requirements are alsoplaying a role in what students aretaking during their secondary years.Two important issues for considerationare whether the arts and foreignlanguages are required for universityadmission and whether the arts andforeign languages are included in astudent’s grade point averagecalculation (GPA) for universityadmission. Higher education has animportant role in this regard. TheStudy Group recommends thathigher education institutions increasestandards for admission by includingthe arts and foreign languages as partof the required coursework, andthese subjects should be used incalculating a student’s grade pointaverage. By increasing requirementsfor admission, K-12 policies wouldfollow suit, which would have apositive effect for all, includingthose who do not go on to afour-year institution.Only a few states havepolicies that requirecoursework in arts educationfor university admission. WhileK-12 policymakers may nothave authority to set collegeadmissions requirements, they candevelop a policy that requires theinclusion of arts and foreign languagecourses in calculating high schoolgrade point averages. Several associationshave examined the issue ofgrade point average calculation inrecent years and found a link betweenthe courses recommended byguidance counselors and whatstudents take. Establishing strongpolicy that includes the arts andforeign languages in the calculation ofgrade point averages can provide anincentive for students to take suchcourses, and properly recognizes thework of students whose interests andabilities may be in those subject areas.One state that has such a policy isFlorida, which now requires schoolsto include courses in the arts whencalculating a student’s grade pointaverage.Curriculum andInstructionThe act of developing statestandards has not necessarily translatedinto more or better classroominstruction for many students across19
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