Fine Arts Component
of the
Missouri Assessment Program

The Missouri Alliance for Arts Education strongly urges the Missouri General Assembly to fully fund the fine arts component of the Missouri Assessment Program, or Fine Arts MAP, as requested by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Full funding of the Fine Arts MAP is essential:

• Inclusion in the statewide accountability system restores the arts as a critical component in education reflecting the integral role the arts play in children's development.
• With Fine Arts MAP data, fine arts educators will have the tools to make informed decisions about curriculum and instruction with the same precision as do teachers of other subject areas.
• The presence of a Fine Arts Assessment will prompt continued professional development and training for teachers in the arts and contributes statewide to overall teacher competency levels.
• Proven instructional strategies integrating the arts will be strengthened as teachers across the state address and provide instruction in fullfillment of the Show-Me Standards Goal 2.1 - 2.7 and Fine Arts 1 - 5.

Exclusion of the Fine Arts MAP may have significant consequences for Missouri's public school students resulting in:

• Reduced class time for instruction.
• Fewer resources allocated to arts education.
• Fewer opportunities for students to meet the expectations of the Show-Me Standards including:
  
  • applying techniques for the development of the arts by creating and doing (FA1),
  • understanding the principles and elements of the arts through knowing the structure of the arts (FA2),
  • analyzing and critiquing works of art by using higher-order thinking skills (FA3),
  • studying the interrelationships of the arts and other disciplines and making connections among the arts and within other subjects (FA4), and
  • understanding the historical and cultural contexts of the arts, which leads to greater understanding of world issues (FA5).

BACKGROUND

Missouri arts educators assisted DESE in developing an innovative, unique arts assessment for fifth-grade students that was field tested in 2000 and implemented as a voluntary assessment in 2001.

Fine arts teachers from all regions of the state developed the questions that were included in the Fine Arts MAP.

The Fine Arts MAP is administered in a video format. The students have the opportunity to hear music and observe close-up views of performances and artwork.

During field testing of the fine arts MAP, it was discovered that not only did fine arts teachers support the test, but students actually enjoyed taking it!