One middle school student said, "I'm reading test preparation booklets, not Shakespeare..."

What we've lost in the demand for accountability is the rich, well-rounded education that we all want our children to have.
-Randi Weingarten
President, United Federation of Teachers

Narrowing the curriculum in elementary school deprives students of an important opportunity to develop broad vocabulary and background knowledge necessary for strong reading comprehension later on. That lack of opportunity results in several negative consequences as students move into upper elementary school and secondary grades.
Source: The Hidden Costs of Narrowing the Curriculum, The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement

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Updated: 7/29/08

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Home > No Child Left Behind > Resources

Resources

Learning in the arts is at the core of high quality education

Strengthening Arts Education in No Child Left Behind
Americans for the Arts, 2008

Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement
Arts Education Partnership, 2006

Making a Case for the Arts
Arts Education Partnership

Many districts report that NCLB has pressured educators to narrow the curriculum

Instructional Time in Elementary Schools: A Closer Look at Changed for Specific Subjects
Center on Education Policy, February 2008

Majority of School Leaders Report Gains in Achievement, But a Narrower Curriculum Focus Under No Child Left Behind
Center on Education Policy, March 28, 2006

Schools Cut Back Subjects to Push Reading and Math
Sam Dillon, New York Times, March 26, 2006

The Hidden Costs of Narrowing the Curriculum
The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, August 2006

E.D. Hirsch Jr. The Knowledge Deficit, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Other resources

National Signatories
Americans for the Arts

Arts Education Funding and Research Through The U.S. Department of Education
Americans for the Arts, 2008

Summary of Arts Education Research and Facts
Americans for the Arts

Powerpoint Presentation on NCLB
Americans for the Arts

Recommendations to Reauthorize The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Council of Chief State School Officers

Joint Statement on Reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
National Governor's Association, The Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of State Board of Education, 2007

Arts Education: Creating Student Success in School, Work, and Life
November 7, 2006

Media Paints Art in Fading Light
Douglas Gould and Company, 2005

Third Space: When Learning Matters
Arts Education Partnership

No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference

Teaching to the Test?
Ulrich Boser, Education Week, June 7, 2000

Organizations

Office of the Superintendent of Public Administration

US Department of Education

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