*For more information or to ask a question about the National Music Standards, please use the National Music Standards forum page.
You may also benefit from…
- Updated lesson plan database (“My Music Class”)
- Additional support materials/processes for purchase, including: The Solutions Music Group, powered by NAfME, with consultants ready to help school districts calibrate the standards to their situations. The NAfME Workbooks for teacher evaluation, which draw on the Model Cornerstone Assessments to help inform the student achievement part of the teacher evaluation equation.
A historical note:
As of June 2014, the new National Standards were completed and are available for use.
Developed by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, and based on artistic processes, these include music standards prepared by NAfME.
Read the new National Standards and create your own online Standards notebook.
The National Coalition for CORE ARTS STANDARDS released New National Core Music Standards on June 4. The new standards replace those previously adopted in 1994, and represent a notable shift in the Coalition’s recommended approach to improving each student’s musical education experience, supporting educators with enhanced instructional strategies, and emphasizing the benefits of music education for the community at large.
Unlike national Common Core standards that have been widely criticized for narrowing student learning opportunities, the New National Core Music Standards aim to broaden and deepen learning opportunities for students.
Unlike controversial education standards mandated within other disciplines, the New National Core Music Standards were written by a team of professional music educators and vetted through a two-year inclusive public review process. The standards were developed by the profession for the profession, with a student-centered focus that respects each professional educator’s teaching style and unique contributions.
The goal of the new standards is not to impose restrictive rules governing what to do or how to teach, but to provide voluntary and pragmatic flexible processes and strategies that can be welcomed, implemented, and assessed in every American school district.
Credits. The Core Music Standards were written by individuals with more than 1,800 years of experience teaching PreK-12 music: 540 years in general music, 1,000 years in ensembles, 130 years in teaching with and through technology, and 200 years of teaching theory/composition. In addition, the standards writing teams reached out to and involved a group of expert Research Advisers for input based on current pedagogical research. A list of the principal contributors appears at Core Music Standards Contributors.
Copyright. All rights reserved. Copyright in the National Core Arts Standards is held by the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) in trust for the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. For Copyright information and permissions, go to http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/copyright
