This "NAEP Arts Report Card" for music, theater, visual arts, and dance is in the form of a CD-ROM. This version includes recordings, videos, and other materials used as stimuli for students, extensive examples of student works of art and performances, and explanations of how these works of art and performances were scored. The report's purpose is to inform educators, policymakers, and the public about student achievement in the arts at the grade 8 level. The 1997 arts assessment was designed according to specifications described in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) "Arts Education Assessment Framework." The "Framework" was developed between 1992 and 1994 through a consensus process involving arts educators, artists, policymakers, representatives from the business community, assessment specialists, and members of the public. The central principle underlying the arts framework is that a complete and rich arts education is a crucial part of the curriculum, and that such an education must emphasize creating and performing as much as studying and analyzing works of art. The major findings of the assessment are that a large percentage of grade 8 students attend schools in which music and visual arts were taught usually by specialists; most students attend schools in which instruction following state or district curricula was offered in music and visual arts, but not theater or dance; and most visual arts and music instruction took place in school facilities that were dedicated to that subject. The CD-ROM offers a menu of: (1) "Overview"; (2)"General Results"; (3) "Music"; (4) "Theatre"; (5) "Visual Arts"; (6) "Dance"; and (7) "Appendices." Included also is an audio, video, and picture index. (LB)