The NAEP 1997 Arts Report Card released November 10 by the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics gives music educators a new opportunity to call the attention of school administrators, parents, and the public to the important role of the arts in K-12 education. In releasing the report, Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said that this assessment "supports a primary rationale for [the National Standards]." He noted that "the results show that as a nation we are falling short in the opportunities we provide to our students for quality arts instruction."

For a look at the report and for ordering information, see the NAEP Web site at http://nces.ed.gov. For remarks by Riley and other speakers at the November 10 press conference at which the report was released, see the Arts Education Partnership's Web site at http://aep-arts.org.