Why Arts Education is important for School Systems?

By Carrie French

            Budget cuts and restrictive legislation have forced public school systems at every level to carefully review where every dollar is spent. The Great Recession of 2008 was one of the biggest catalysts for the restriction of arts education, but legislation in 2002 solidified the trend. The No Child Left Behind Act took effect and imposed standardized testing requirements for core subjects, like math and literacy. As a result, time and monetary budgets were taken from other subjects. Arts education took the biggest hit and was instantly, completely eliminated in hundreds of school districts across the country.

            Arts education is a wide category, which covers a long list of visual art disciplines as well as performance arts, including music, drama, and dance. There have been extensive studies and articles published on the positive impact that the arts have on children, especially for students in poverty. The evidence clearly shows that a well-rounded arts education sharpens visual and motor skills, improves memory function and reinforces character traits that are valued in the workforce. Collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, patience, tenacity, and confident self-expression are just a handful of positive skills that are attributed to arts education.

            Of course, even with all of these child-focused benefits, education policymakers and school district leaders still have benchmarks to meet and limited funds. Public preschools, elementary schools, secondary schools, and post-secondary institutions all struggle to make decisions that are best for students and the school system itself.

            The initial gut reaction to cut or limit arts access is a limited, ineffective solution. Here are three powerful reasons why arts education is important for school systems. Discover how the arts play a supportive role in meeting other goals:

Challenge: Raising Graduation Rates / Solution: Empower Student Buy-In

            According to a 2012 study by Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the NEA Office of Research and Analysis, involvement in the arts is linked to dramatically lower dropout rates. The longitudinal study followed 25,000 students across the nation and found that the average dropout rate during the 2008 school year was 7%. They dug into the data and separated two important factors: 1) low socioeconomic status, 2) arts involvement.

            Students in poverty are approximately five times more likely to drop out of high school than their high-income peers. The Americans for the Arts study discovered that coupled with low access to the arts, 22% of students in poverty didn’t make it to graduation. Amazingly, only 4% of students in poverty who had high arts involvement dropped out. With increased arts access, school districts were able to reduce dropout rates for the highest-risk population even lower than the study’s national average!

            The arts empower students to find community with other creatives who share their passion and provide an outlet for emotion through creativity. In performance art mediums, like music, dance, and theatre, students feel accountable to their fellow performers and share a common, collaborative goal.

Challenge: Raising Standardized Test Scores / Solution: Self-Directed Learners

            Creation and appreciation of the arts ignite both sides of the brain. By engaging more areas of the brain, students are able to learn independently and make deeper connections in more meaningful ways. Through the independent creation of art projects and translation of printed music on the page, art students become discoverers, creators, and curious learners who strive for higher levels of proficiency.

            Ever since the installation of standardized tests, arts advocacy groups have studied and proved that arts education has a valuable, positive impact on learning in other subjects. Fiske’s 1999 study called Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning studied low-socioeconomic seniors (a population with the highest risk of low-performing test scores.) 33% of those students who received music education raised their test scores as much or higher than high-income peers, compared to only 11% without music.

Challenge: Limited Budget and Public Perception / Solution: Share and Collaborate

            One of the biggest roadblocks for decision-makers – the principals who create schedules, school board members who allocate funds, and government officials who set budgets – comes down to the numbers. Many conversations end with, “We just don’t have the money…” but your community might.

The arts are unique because they can be shared and expressed in ways that traditional core classes cannot. By hosting concerts, displaying visual art in the community, painting murals, putting on plays, and scheduling dance events, the community can see, hear, and become emotionally connected to the learning that is taking place. In addition to boosting the public perception of local education, it also helps to build a sense of value in the community.

Many organizations and philanthropists across the nation work with underserved schools to supplement funds through grants, matching funds, time donations, material gifts, and advocacy. By showing your commitment to the arts, well-rounded student growth, and the community at large, charitable organizations are more likely to play a supportive role.