As the common core state standards become reality, teachers have reason for concern. In this article the author outlines the roots of what has been called the corporate reform in education and its effects on the arts, poverty, and disabilities. The financial contributions of the Gates and Broad foundations led to the corporatization and nationwide…

Visual arts teachers engage in complex work on a daily basis. This work is informed by practical knowledge that is rarely examined or drawn on in research or in the development of policy. Focusing on the work of secondary visual arts teachers, this article reports on a research program conducted in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia.…

School reform and teacher evaluations have become primary concerns for education policymakers in recent years. However, a standard one-size-fits-all method of evaluation, such as value-added evaluation, may not give an accurate assessment of all teachers. This article proposes an alternative to the general evaluation of visual arts educators by…

Although goals change and reflect the issues of the time, two primary goals of education in a democracy have remained constant over time. The first goal is to educate for vocational competence and the second is to produce caring, intelligent, and wise citizens. Articulating the connection of design education concepts to the economy and social…

This paper grabs hold of the "assessment tiger" by considering the history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) "Arts Report Cards" for the visual arts, which were constructed and have been administered four times within thirty-five years. Two purposes of the NAEP have persisted since its founding: (1) measuring learning and…

This historical narrative tracks the evolution and devolution of visual arts education from Dewey's progressive era pedagogy and the theory of the arts as experience through the modern accountability movement. Archival material, state curricular documents, and conversations with policymakers show an increasing focus on core subject areas of…

Because of education reform policy and misconceptions about artistry and artistic assessment, visual art education remains in the margins of high school education. One response to the lack of supportive arts education policy is the Advanced Placement (AP) Studio Art Program, a visual arts assessment at the high school level that engages large…

This article provides functional, moderate, and constructive arts education policy lessons drawn from the development of two Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) visual arts education policy statements over the past fifteen years. These lessons can help formulate action-oriented school, district, state, and national pre-kindergarten-20…

The author describes an ongoing National Endowment for the Humanities project that is devoted to building multiple competences by studying Rembrandt and seventeenth century Dutch culture. Its uniqueness consists in its designing of a state-of-the-art Web site that interrelates the humanities, social studies, visual arts, and technology. A major…

In this article, the author analyzes Arthur Efland's "Art and Cognition," which advocates study of the visual arts for its cognitive benefits. The author argues that Efland's cognitive premises are largely sound but that his specific recommendations often belie the general principles he espouses. Efland focuses on the interpretation of baffling…

Since the dawn of time, human imagination has resulted in creating extensions of self (that is, tools) as a means to overcome obstacles produced by genetic limits. Whether the tool extends thought or sense; whether the tool is organic, such as language, or inorganic; and whether electronic, digital, or analog, the artist plies the science or…

This paper chronicles the development and updating of a visual arts education policy paper produced by the Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC). The first statement was drafted and approved by the membership and published in 1995. The revision process for the second statement began in the spring of 2003 and was reviewed by the board of…

This article is adapted from the Handbook of Research and Policy in Art Education. Elliot Eisner and Michael Day (eds.) [c] 2004 by Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, Mahwah, NJ, and the National Art Education Association. To study art education is to discover and engage a field rich with achievement and promise. On one hand, this comes as no…

Educational assessment is more than measurement, rubrics, and grades. Its real focus needs to be on learning. Art educators need to pay attention to the assessment of daily learning as well. Everyday assessment of classroom learning is crucial because it provides feedback directly to students in the process of their learning, more than mere…

This is the second installment of Chapter 1, "The Assessment Context," by F. Robert Sabol, from "Assessing Expressive Learning: A Practical Guide for Teacher-Directed Authentic Assessment in K-12 Visual Art Education," edited and written by Charles M. Dorn, Stanley S. Madeja, and F. Robert Sabol. [c] Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ 2003.…