Tennessee Musician - Vol. 67 No. 1

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National Core Arts Standards: An Introduction
Johnathan Vest
Standards. If you are in the field of education,
then that word immediately brings something to
mind. That something maybe positive, like achievement
or success. You may correlate standards with
negative terms like accountability or testing (and
whether these terms are negative depends on who you
ask). Or, it may only elicit an eye roll, signifying your
exasperation with one more thing – one more fad, one
more idea that will eventually be replaced by the next
of that change, and it presents a real challenge to our
discipline. Music has never been considered a “core”
subject by the traditional educational establishment,
but we haven’t seen a nationwide focus away from the
arts like this since the launch of Sputnik in 1957
and the ensuing “star wars.” (It is worth mentioning
that there is a STEM to STEAM Caucus that has been
formed in Washington, D.C. [with the “A” representing
the arts], but even this seems more focused on
visual art and graphic design than music).
“Music educators (as well as other non value-added tested
subject area teachers) have not been as susceptible to the
frequency of change in standards and curricula as our
colleagues in math and language”
group of people after the next election cycle.
Why new standards? Music educators (as well
as other non value-added tested subject area teachers)
have not been as susceptible to the frequency of
change in standards and curricula as our colleagues
in math and language. Since 1994, the Nine National
Standards for Music Education have been in place.
These standards are fairly general, so many states
expanded them to align with more specific curricular
models (Danielson, Marzano, etc.) 20 years, however,
is a long time, and the educational, scientific and
cultural landscapes have changed drastically since
then. The focus on STEM courses (science, technology,
engineering and math), for instance, is part
If music educators are going to present our
subject as vital to the education of the whole child,
then we must prove that it indeed is. We must show
it. It’s not enough to tell people that what we do
makes our students more thoughtful, more analytical,
more literate, and more human; we must provide
data. Music educators also take pride in how creative
our students are becoming by participating in our
music classes and ensembles. Creation is at the top
of Bloom’s Taxonomy (1994). Way to go, us! I hate
to burst the bubble, but there is nothing inherently
creative about reading notes off a page. Note reading
is a very basic skill, near the bottom of Bloom’s
Taxonomy. Likewise, interpreting the gestures of
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TM | Volume 67 number 1