23 / 28
National Core Arts Standards (NCAS)
Unpacking the NCAS
A summary of the NCAS highlight the following points:
At the completion of the
Implications for DoDEA Adoption and Implementation
portion of this professional de-
velopment, please go to the
NCAS Customize Handbook Web site and download your personal, customized
handbook for the courses you teach. Once you have your own handbook, take your time to read, reflect, and
delve deeper into the NCAS. A number of diagrams are presented below to help you unpack and understand
the various components of the standards.
The NCAS form the basis for student performance.
The NCAS are measurable and attainable learning events-based on artistic goals that progress
across grades and levels to create a sequential progression accompanied by skill development in
the application of scientific practices and concepts.
Rooted in backward design, their foundation is an outcomes-based, standards-based approach to
PreK-12 arts education across disciplines.
The NCAS address artistic literacy, artistic practice, and related assessment and provide guidance
to track student learning while clarifying connections between the arts and 21
st
Century Skills.
The NCAS make connections across content areas and link specifically with common core ELA and
math. The NCAS are student performance expectations—NOT curriculum.
The NCAS include philosophical foundations, lifelong goals (defined in the vision of arts literacy),
enduring understandings and enduring questions, artistic processes and MCAs.