Several of the arts educators we work with have mentioned over the years that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was the first time the arts were recognized as one of five core subject areas (including in a recent interview of Perpich Center for Arts Education's Mike Hiatt). However, in a review of NCLB documents from the U.S. Department of Education, very few list core subject areas, and when they do, there are more than five core areas listed. The documents that refer to core academic ares indicate subjects in which teachers must be qualified, and these include English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.
Furthermore, some documents from the U.S. Department of Education suggest that the artse are viewed more as an enhancement than as a core subject. These include a letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary Ronald Tomalis, in which all arts activities not considered to be "the music" or "the arts" class are considered enhancements. This allows flexibility for schools in providing the arts (including bringing in artists as paraprofessionals into the classroom, the model used by another of our clients, Performing Arts Workshop), but also leads to challenges in truly integrating the arts as a core academic area.
A final weakness is that of the core subjects, only reading and math have assessment requirements, with science to be added in the coming year. States are required to test students in reading and math, and also subject themselves to peer review around reading and math implementation.
Several of the arts educators we work with have mentioned over the years that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was the first time the arts were recognized as one of five core subject areas (including in a recent interview of Perpich Center for Arts Education's Mike Hiatt). However, in a review of NCLB documents from the U.S. Department of Education, very few list core subject areas, and when they do, there are more than five core areas listed. The documents that refer to core academic ares indicate subjects in which teachers must be qualified, and these include English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.
Furthermore, some documents from the U.S. Department of Education suggest that the artse are viewed more as an enhancement than as a core subject. These include a letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary Ronald Tomalis, in which all arts activities not considered to be "the music" or "the arts" class are considered enhancements. This allows flexibility for schools in providing the arts (including bringing in artists as paraprofessionals into the classroom, the model used by another of our clients, Performing Arts Workshop), but also leads to challenges in truly integrating the arts as a core academic area.
A final weakness is that of the core subjects, only reading and math have assessment requirements, with science to be added in the coming year. States are required to test students in reading and math, and also subject themselves to peer review around reading and math implementation.