The Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, Prekindergarten Through Grade Twelve, represents a strong consensus on the skills, knowledge, and abilities in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts that all students should be able to master at specific grade levels, prekindergarten through grade twelve, in California public schools.

The standards were built on the components of arts education contained in the Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, which was adopted by the State Board of Education in 1996. The strands and standards in this publication describe the content that students need to master by the end of each grade level (prekindergarten through grade eight) or cluster of grades (grades nine through twelve at the proficient and advanced levels).

These standards were developed in response to Senate Bill 1390 (Murray), signed by Governor Gray Davis in September 2000. That bill calls for the adoption of visual and performing arts content standards by the California State Board of Education and states that instruction in the visual and performing arts should be made available to all students. However, as with standards in other curriculum areas, the bill does not require schools to follow the content standards. Nothing in the bill mandates an assessment of pupils in the visual or performing arts. As stated in the bill, 'The content standards are intended to provide a framework for programs that a school may offer in the instruction of visual or performing arts.'

The visual and performing arts standards presented here are comprehensive and provide important guidance for schools to prepare curricula for students in prekindergarten through grade twelve. For the four disciplines of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts each with its own body of knowledge and skills the standards are organized into five strands that are woven throughout all artistic experiences. The standards incorporate both traditional means of artistic expression and newer media, such as cinematography, video, and computer-generated art.