Preparing Students for the Next America: The Benefits of an Arts Education

Preparing Students for the Next America: The Benefits of an Arts Education offers a snapshot of how the arts support achievement in school, bolster skills demanded of a 21st century workforce, and enrich the lives of young people and communities. It draws on the research in the Arts Education Partnership’s ArtsEdSearch.org, the nation’s first clearinghouse of research on the impact of arts education on students and their school communities.

Statistical Data on the Benefits of an Arts Education—Especially for At-Risk Students

• Do students who have arts-rich experiences in school do better across-the-board academically?
• Do students who have arts-rich experiences in school become more active and engaged citizens, voting, volunteering, and generally participating at higher rates than their peers?

A report by James Catterall, Susan Dumais and Gillian Hampden-Thompson titled The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth answers these questions and does so against the backdrop of convincingly large data sets. Leveraging four large national databases, The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth analyzed the academic and civic behavior outcomes of teenagers and young adults who have engaged deeply with the arts in or out of school. The findings from this report are especially pertinent for at-risk students because, to control for the extra curricular arts activities oftentimes afforded affluent students, the researchers focused their analysis on teenagers who came from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Here are just some of the eye-catching findings by the numbers for all students, but especially at-risk students:

Academic Achievement

1. Eighth graders who had high levels of arts engagement from kindergarten through elementary school showed higher test scores in science and writing than did students who had lower levels of arts engagement over the same period.
2. Students who had arts-rich experiences in high school were more likely than students without those experiences to complete a calculus course.
3. High school students who earned few or no arts credits were five times more likely not to have graduated than students who earned many arts credits.
4. High school seniors with high-arts backgrounds were nearly three times as likely as low-arts students to have worked on their school yearbook or newspaper. They were also more likely to have participated in intramural sports.
5. Students who had intensive arts experiences in high school were three times more likely than students who lacked those experiences to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Civic Engagement

1. High school students from low SES backgrounds with arts-rich experiences participated in student government and school service clubs at four times the rate of low-SES students who lacked those experiences.
2. Young adults who had arts-rich experiences in high school were more likely than other young adults to have volunteered recently.
3. Young adults who had arts-rich experiences in high school were more likely to vote and/or to participate in a political campaign. Virtually all of these differences were observed only in low-SES groups. (While this caveat may narrow the conclusions you can draw about the importance of an arts education, I find it to be an especially empowering finding. Can an arts education increase voter participation in low SES communities? Consider the implications for politicians and activists looking to increase voter turn out.)
4. 30% of college students who had intensive arts experiences in middle school and high school chose a college major that aligns with preparation for a professional career. That figure is twice the percentage of low-arts 20-year-olds who had chosen such majors.
5. Intensive arts involvement was found to correlate strongly with higher academic achievement—a clear precursor of many higher-paying, professionally rewarding jobs.

This report is quick to caution that it does not make the case for a causal relationship between the arts and these outcomes. With all this dutifully rigorous and academic throat clearing aside, the statistical correlations drawn from these large data sets combined with common sense make this report a convincing and empowering read. I don’t have to tell you the arts matter, but now you will have the numbers to back it up.

Source: The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from four longitudinal studies (March 2012). James S. Catterall with Susan A. Dumais and Gillian Hampden-Thompson. National Endowment for the Arts1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20506-0001

6 Research Findings You Didn’t Know about the Arts and Student Achievement

Did you know that high school students who take arts classes have higher math and verbal SAT scores than students who take no arts classes. Even more telling, arts participation and SAT scores co-vary—that is, they tend to increase linearly: the more arts classes, the higher the scores?

Did you know that students who were consistently involved in orchestra or band during their middle and high school years performed better in math at grade 12. The results were even more pronounced when comparing students from low-income families?

Did you know that children’s ability to draw inferences about artwork transfers to their reasoning about images in science. In both cases, the critical skill is that of looking closely and reasoning about what is seen?

Did you know that when students have an opportunity to engage in a dramatic enactment of a story, their overall understanding of the story improves and that this effect was most pronounced with first graders who were reading below grade level?

Did you know that The arts nurture a motivation to learn by emphasizing active engagement, disciplined and sustained attention, persistence and risk taking, among other competencies?

Did you know that the arts help create the kinds of learning environments conducive to teacher and student success by fostering teacher innovation, a positive professional culture, community engagement, increased student attendance, effective instructional practice and school identity?

These and other research findings can be found in Sandra Ruppert’s Critical evidence: How the arts benefit student achievement published in 2006 by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the Arts Education Partnership. This publications offers a summary of evidence related to the links between arts and subject area skills. It describes in nontechnical terms what the research says about how the study of the arts contributes to academic achievement and student success—and it does so with a surprisingly snazzy design aesthetic.

11 Reasons Why the Arts Are Basic to Education

1. The arts enhance students creativity and increase creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.
2. The arts use both hemispheres of the brain and develop cognitive, affective, and psycho-motor skills.
3. The arts increase communication skills vitally needed in today’s complex society.
4. The arts enhance basic literacy skills including cultural literacy and non-verbal stimuli.
5. The arts enable students to acquire aesthetic judgement, a skill which enhances daily life and affective individual choices.
6. The arts develop self-esteem and help students gain a more positive self-concept.
7. The arts provide better cross-cultural understanding through knowledge of civilizations and cultures past and present.
8. The arts improve the school atmosphere and can aid in improving student attendance and decreasing the dropout rate.
9. The arts provide numerous career opportunities both in the commercial and entertainment industries.
10. The arts improve student performance in other subject areas.
11. The arts are a valuable teaching tool in working with students with physical or mental disabilities and those with limited English proficiencies.

Source: Arts for Everykid: A Handbook for Change, by Cory Ann Alperstein and Ronnie B. Weyl.