Years of research have provided much correlative data supporting the arts in education. Below are some of the most recent and compelling reports and studies.
For a comprehensive database of arts education research go to ArtsEdSearch.
The Arts Education Partnership published reports in March 2014 on arts education in all fifty states. For more information on the state of arts education across the nation go to the summary of state policies and the research and policy briefs.
Council on Foreign Relations
Released in March 2012, the Council on Foreign Relations' Independent Task Force Report No. 68: U.S. Education Reform and National Security discusses the value of the arts in education:
"The 9/11 Commission highlighted four U.S. shortcomings that opened the door to the terrorist attacks. One of these was a failure of imagination on the part of U.S. security agencies. The Task Force believes that all young people—those who aim to work in national security and those who aim to work in corporations or not-for-profit organizations—must develop their imaginations from an early age…The Task Force members believe that to retain this important competitive edge, lessons in creativity— whether in the arts or in creative analysis or imaginative problem solving, must begin in early elementary school." (p. 47).
National Endowment for the Arts
Released in March 2012, The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies shows how arts education can lead students to better academic outcomes, higher career goals, and a more civically engaged behavior. The study reports these and other positive outcomes associated with high levels of arts exposure for youth of low socioeconomic status.
U.S. Department of Education: Arts Education Survey
In April 2012, the U.S. Department of Education released its first congressionally mandated survey of arts education in our nation’s K-12 schools in more than a decade. The data was collected via several Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) surveys during the 2009-10 school year. This report provides national data about arts education for public elementary and secondary schools, elementary classroom teachers, and elementary and secondary music and visual arts specialists.
The VIVA Project: Time, Teachers and Tomorrow’s Schools
In December of 2011, members of The VIVA Chicago Teachers Idea Exchange Writing Collaborative presented their report, “Time, Teachers and Tomorrow’s Schools,” to CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis.
The Teaching Artist Research Project
The TARP report includes serious reflection on the conditions and policies that have affected arts education in schools, particularly over the last 30 years, a period of intense school reform efforts and consistent erosion of arts education for students. The report includes important qualitative data about teaching artists, documenting their educational background, economic status, the conditions in which they work, and their goals as artists and educators. It also includes insights about how learning in the arts is associated with learning in general, illuminating findings from other studies that have suggested a powerful connection between arts education and positive outcomes for students in a wide range of domains.
Changing Worlds: Unlocking Pathways to Learning
Arts programming was a factor leading to improved standardized test scores at three schools in Chicago over three years, according to a report released by the educational arts non-profit Changing Worlds and Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning.
Changing Worlds is a Chicago based educational arts nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster inclusive communities through oral history, writing and art programs that improve student learning, affirm identity and enhance cross-cultural understanding. In the 2011-2012 school year, Changing Worlds worked with 19 CPS schools.
Arts Alliance Illinois: Arts & Economic Prosperity IV
Arts & Economic Prosperity IV is the most comprehensive study of its kind conducted in the United States, and features a national report along with customized findings for 182 unique study regions, including Chicago. The study conducted by Arts Alliance Illinois and Americans for the Arts focused on the economic impact created by nonprofit arts and culture organizations. Data collection for the Chicago study was conducted in 2011 by Arts Alliance Illinois and compiled by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.
In the city of Chicago, data from 486 eligible nonprofit arts and culture organizations and over 1,000 surveys of Chicago nonprofit arts and culture audiences were included. To access the summary of the report, click here, and for the full report, click here.
Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools
On May 6, 2011 the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) released its landmark report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools.
The culmination of 18 months of research, meetings with stakeholders, and site visits all over the country, this report represents an in-depth review of the current condition of arts education, including an update of the current research base about arts education outcomes, and an analysis of the challenges and opportunities in the field that have emerged over the past decade. It also includes a set of recommendations to federal, state and local policymakers.
Blogs
ARTSBlog – Americans for the Arts (AFTA) provides updates on arts education legislation
Barry’s Blog – Barry Hessenius of WESTAF offers news, advice and opinion for the arts administrator
Edutopia’s list of Arts Education Blogs
Additional Websites and Resources
- Americans for the Arts: Arts Education Webinars On-Demand
- Arts For All
- ArtsEdSearch
- Champions of Change – The Impact of the Arts on Learning
- Chicago Guide for Teaching and Learning in the Arts
- City of Chicago Cultural Plan 2012
- CPS Arts Education Plan
- CPS Department of Arts Education
- Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development
- Learning Through the Arts
- Revitalizing Arts Education Through Community-Wide Coordination
- The Arts and Education Reform: Lessons from a 4-year Pilot of the A+ Schools Program
- The Core Arts Standards
- The Educational Value of Field Trips
- The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools
- The Impact of Arts Education on Workforce Preparation
- The Skills Connection Between the Arts and 21st-Century Learning
- The State We’re In – a report card on Public Education in Illinois
- Time and Money: Using Federal Data to Measure the Value of Performing Arts Activities
- What Student Leaders can do to Increase Arts Education
- Why Arts Education is Crucial, and Who’s Doing it Best
- Why is Arts Learning So Unique in Its Impact