State Expected to Set Guidelines for Achievement in the Arts

Preschoolers will be tapping toes or clapping hands to demonstrate that they’re aware of beat and tempo.

A musically advanced high school senior, on the other hand, will be expected to sing, with expression and accuracy, a repertoire of “vocal literature” representing various genres, styles and cultures.

These tasks are samples of California’s first classroom standards for the arts, which the State Board of Education is expected to adopt this week.

Although not requirements, the standards offer guidelines for school districts that recognize the importance of the arts in a well-rounded education, said Paul Minicucci, deputy director of the California Arts Council, a state agency that encourages development of arts programs.

“We often get calls from school districts asking for ways in which they can help implement an arts curriculum,” he said.

The standards, similar to those in effect in most other states, were developed in response to a law signed by Gov. Gray Davis in September. It called for the state to adopt standards in dance, music, theater and visual arts and to make arts instruction available to all students.

It did not order students to be tested in the arts. But arts educators nonetheless said they view the standards as a significant boost.

“They give everything we’re doing so much more credibility and clout,” said Robin Lithgow, theater advisor in the Los Angeles Unified School District.