California Arts Framework Guidelines

The guidelines approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) will direct the work of the arts Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee (CFCC). The guidelines are based on statutory requirements, feedback from four focus group meetings held in August and September of 2018, information provided by the Instructional Quality Commission and the SBE, and public comment.

In general, the California Arts Framework for Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (Arts Framework) shall

1. be aligned to the California Arts Standards for California Public Schools adopted by the SBE in January 2019;
   
   
2. be written in language that is teacher-friendly, practical, jargon-free, and easy to read and be inclusive and supportive of multiple users, including teachers (single and multiple subject), support staff, administrators, and community stakeholders;
   
   
3. provide guidance on use of the framework with explicit guidance for different users, including teachers (single and multiple subject), administrators, and other stakeholders;
   
   
4. provide guidance to help ensure equitable access to high-quality, sequential, standards-based arts education for all elementary, middle, and high school students in California;
   
   
5. outline a vision and goals for standards-based arts education;
   
   
6. include an overview explaining how the standards are organized, with an explanation of the coding system for identifying standards;
   
   
7. provide a myriad of examples and instructional resources, including video and other media/non-text-based resources;
   
   
8. be limited to 1,000 pages in order to be a useful resource to teachers and other educators;
   
   
9. include special guidance relating to the arts and the internet such as discussions of professional integrity, intellectual property, and other issues related to the arts and creativity in a digital world; and
   
   
10. include appendices on topics such as California Education Code sections governing arts education programs; information about arts-related careers; information about state and federal funding resources; guidelines for safe use of artistic materials, tools, and appropriate performing teaching facilities; and a bibliography with hyperlinks to enable quick access to additional research.

The CFCC shall develop a chapter on the instructional cycle. The chapter should support planning for instruction and assessment to ensure equitable access and opportunity for all students. It shall provide the following:

1. Guidance for planning instruction, including
   
   
   1. explanations of the components of the standards and how they work together, including the artistic processes, anchor standards, enduring understandings, essential questions, process components, and performance standards;
      
      
   2. examples of different methods of instruction and pedagogical approaches to teaching the arts;
      
      
   3. explanation about the application of the principles of Universal Design for Learning in the arts;
      
      
   4. examples of differentiation approaches for arts classrooms with students that have a wide range of needs, abilities, and experiences;
      
      
   5. examples of how to address the instructional needs of English learners, at-risk students, and students with disabilities;
      
      
   6. guidance on culturally and linguistically relevant pedagogy; and
      
      
   7. guidance on how to support students with gaps in arts instruction.
      
      
2. Guidance for planning for assessment, including
   
   
   1. discussion on approaches to measuring student learning;
      
      
   2. examples of multiple modes of assessment for both discrete and integrated arts instruction;
      
      
   3. how to build and use both product- and process-based rubrics;
      
      
   4. the design and use of formative and summative assessments for continuous improvement;
      
      
   5. references to current research on effective assessment strategies including suggestions for assessments for English learners, at-risk students, and students with disabilities; and
      
      
   6. sample assessment strategies and tools, such as the Model Cornerstone Assessments provided by the National Core Arts Standards.

The CFCC shall develop a chapter on arts integration which shall

1. include a discussion of approaches to arts integration, the purposes, the outcomes, the benefit to student learning, and the difference between arts-integrated and arts-enhanced lessons;
   
   
2. include a discussion of the differences in learning focuses and outcomes of sequential discrete arts learning, arts-integrated, and arts-enhanced approaches;
   
   
3. include models and examples;
   
   
4. discuss how arts teachers and non-arts teachers might collaborate to plan for and implement integrated instruction; and
   
   
5. indicate alignment and connections across subject areas, especially for elementary teachers.

The CFCC shall develop separate chapters for dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts to support curriculum development and standards implementation within each discipline.

1. Each discipline-specific chapter should include
   
   
   1. a brief overview of the standards for K–8 and high school;
      
      
   2. explanations and examples of modifications and accommodations for serving different student groups (English learners, students with disabilities, gifted and talented, advanced placement, etc.);
      
      
   3. models and examples of what student learning looks like in different classroom settings;
      
      
   4. examples for how to differentiate instruction; and
      
      
   5. a glossary of relevant academic artistic language and terms.
      
      
2. Special guidance should be provided for media arts, as a new discipline to include
   
   
   1. explicit guidance on what media arts is within the context of the arts standards, including subsets of concepts within media arts, such as photography;
      
      
   2. a discussion of the interdisciplinary nature of media arts and various ways media is created, used as a tool for creative content, or is part of the creative process within other arts disciplines;
      
      
   3. a discussion of media arts in the context of Career Technical Education and Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics; and
      
      
   4. emerging approaches and examples of discrete media arts instruction, as well as what embedded media arts looks like in each art form.
3. Special guidance should be provided for music, having five subsets of standards, including examples for teaching and learning with process-based standards.
   

The CFCC shall develop a chapter on supporting arts education. The chapter on supporting arts education shall

1. be accessible for teachers and administrators without educational backgrounds in the arts;
   
   
2. provide strategies for leadership and advocacy and ensuring equal access to arts education within schools and districts for all kindergarten through grade twelve students;
   
   
3. provide guidance to administrators at the school and district levels and school board members about the vision, values, resources, and facilities necessary to ensure optimal learning situations exist in schools so that all students in all grades have access to quality, standards-based arts instruction;
   
   
4. provide examples of how administrators and school board members can support and improve arts education and the benefits of supporting arts education;
   
   
5. discuss the role of parents/families in arts education as well as the role of the community and how to engage with community-based organizations and teaching artists to support arts education;
   
   
6. describe the components of effective arts education programs, including the support of district and site administrators and the involvement of parents and the community;
   
   
7. provide criteria for evaluation and improvement of arts education programs;
   
   
8. provide guidance on how educators and administrators can advocate for and develop new programs; and
   
   
9. provide professional learning resources addressing the learning needs of educators and administrators including the learning of the basics of the arts disciplines, arts assessment, arts education program improvement, collaboration across disciplines and arts integration approaches and models.

The CFCC shall develop a chapter on instructional resources with evaluation criteria for the next arts education instructional materials adoption. The criteria shall include the following:

1. Instructional materials must be aligned to the state-adopted arts standards at each grade level or grade span.
   
   
2. Require instructional materials to be consistent with the Arts Framework.
   
   
3. Instructional materials must be appropriate for use with all students regardless of their disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or living situation.
   
   
4. Instructional materials must provide suggestions for instructional support for English learners, at-risk students, gifted and talented students, and students with disabilities.
   
   
5. Request that publishers of instructional materials provide assessment practices (e.g., entry-level, diagnostic, formative, interim, skill-based, and summative) at each grade level necessary to prepare all students for success in higher arts instruction.
   
   
6. Images must be age-appropriate and depict students at the grade level of instruction, reflect the diversity of California’s students, and be affirmatively inclusive.
   
   
7. The standard(s) being taught must be clearly displayed in the teacher materials.
   
   
8. Instructional materials must provide background information for teachers on the arts discipline being taught.
   
   
9. Instructional materials must provide suggestions for pacing or scope and sequence of instruction.
   
   
10. Instructional materials must provide suggestions for differentiated instruction in the teacher materials.
    
    
11. Instructional materials must show connections to state-adopted standards in other subjects in the teacher materials and provide examples of interdisciplinary instruction.