Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Curriculum: The State Academic Standards outline the skills and knowledge that students must have by the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 12. The School Code does contain a provision for districts to develop local standards that are at least as rigorous as the state standards.
Local school districts are responsible for creating written curricula in dance, music, theatre and the visual arts. The Standards-Aligned System model curriculum framework can serve as a tool to help districts create or revise their curriculum.
Instruction: Coursework in dance, music, theatre and visual arts must be taught by certified educators. Dance educators are certified under health and physical education (PDF), music educators are certified under music education (PDF), theatre educators are certified under either communications (PDF) or English (PDF), and visual arts educators are certified under art education (PDF).
Professional development opportunities for arts educators are posted on the Upcoming Events page.
Assessment: School districts are responsible for developing local assessment systems for content areas that have academic standards but are not assessed by a state test.
