WaPo: Hoping to Turn the Beat Around

Arts being squeezed out... lobbying for more attention to Arts in NCLB reauth... relevant as we are assessing Arts in 2008...

Hoping to Turn The Beat Around
Even as Attention to 'No Child' Law Squeezes Class Time, Teachers in Manassas Champion the Value of Music

By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 17, 2007; Page B01

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Music and the arts are listed in No Child Left Behind guidelines as "core" subjects, but there is no money in the law to support such programs nor any mandate requiring schools to provide them. As instructional time in math, language arts and other subjects students must achieve proficiency in has risen, time devoted to other subjects has declined. Time spent on arts and music in 2007 is about half what it was before No Child Left Behind became law in 2002, according to a report recently released by the nonprofit Center on Education Policy.

Educators are lobbying legislators to raise the profile of music education when No Child Left Behind is reauthorized, action that had been expected this year but has been delayed until next year. They are pushing for more money for arts programs and seeking a requirement that school systems report to the federal government on the status of their music education programs.