Iowa Fine Arts Standards

The state of Iowa recently passed standards for Fine Arts, including dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.  While these standards are voluntary, they do provide a common framework across all of the arts for districts such as Southeast Polk who have teacher teams engaging in collaboration around teaching and learning in the fine arts area. 

Iowa’s Fine Arts Standards seek to establish rigorous expectations for excellence in teaching and learning in the arts. Process-based pedagogy empowers students with the knowledge and skills to engage their imaginations, ask authentic questions, and solve problems creatively in order to understand, serve, and innovate in their communities. Iowa’s Fine Arts Standards, derived from the National Core Arts Standards (2014), unite the arts disciplines–dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts–through a common language and framework of four artistic processes and eleven anchor standards. 

Below are some links with resources for using these standards:

Dance Standards

• Dance Standards, K-12

Media Standards

• Media Arts Standards, K-12

Music Standards

• General Music Standards, K-12 (revised from National Coalition for Core Arts Standards)
• Harmonizing Instruments Standards
• Music Composition and Theory Standards
• Music Technology, 9-12
• Traditional and Emerging Ensembles Standards

Theatre Standards

• Theatre Standards, K-12 (revised from National Coalition for Core Arts Standards)

Visual Arts Standards

• Visual Arts Standards, K-12

Early Childhood

Fine arts standards for early childhood are included in the Iowa Early Learning Standards - Area 6, Creative Arts for infants and toddlers, pages 72-77 and Area 13, Creative Arts for preschoolers, pages 134-139.

Resources

Unpacked Iowa Fine Arts Standards

The fine arts are an inclusive and natural vehicle for self-expression, understanding, critical thinking, and community-building. The arts can serve as a light that illuminates students’ understanding of themselves, their beliefs, their experiences, and their value in our world. Iowa’s Fine Arts Standards are the result of careful consideration of highly vetted and regarded national standards, as well as determinations about the diverse needs of students and educators of fine arts in our state. The standards are specific but flexible and allow for teachers to meet the needs of their students in unique, creative, and thoughtful ways. Additionally, for the first time, the new standards unite all fine arts disciplines with a common framework and language and highlight the importance of artistic processes inherent to all of the arts. The adoption of Iowa’s Fine Arts Standards will drive academic excellence, provide a rigorous framework for accomplished arts instruction, and furnish a context for evaluation that supports complex creative thinking and expression.