In recent years many school districts have had to restructure their arts curriculums to meet the growing emphasis on standards that is central to most school reform. This unique collection is meant to assist educators, policymakers, grantmakers and other stakeholders by focusing on the potential benefits of arts education for students and communities alike, and providing examples of creative ways school districts are handling their constraints.

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Turnaround Arts Initiative Final Evaluation Report

January 1, 2015

This final evaluation report provides a description and analysis of program impacts in the pilot cohort of Turnaround Arts schools at the end of their second year, including summaries of: 1) the theory of action and program pillars, 2) the evaluation design and research questions, 3) program operation and implementation in the arts, and 4) outcomes and trends in school reform indicators and student achievement data.

Classroom Examples; Student Outcomes

New Opportunities for Interest-Driven Arts Learning in a Digital Age

July 23, 2013

Traditionally in the United States, schools and after-school programs have played a promi-nent part in teaching young people about the arts. Arts education has been waning in K-12 public schools in recent times, however. This is especially true in low-income communities, where public schools have often cut back on arts instruction so they can devote limited public education dollars to subjects such as writing and math that are the focus of high-stakes standardized tests.When we look outside of school, however, we see a strikingly different landscape, one full of promise for engaging young people in artistic activity. What makes this landscape possible is an eagerness to explore that springs from youths' own creative passions -- what we call "interest-driven arts learning" -- combined with the power of digital technology.This report is a step in trying to understand the new territory. It gives a rundown of scholarship in the areas of arts and out-of-school-hours learning; offers a framework for thinking about interest-driven arts learning in a digital age; examines young people's media consumption; provides a survey of youths' creative endeavors online and elsewhere, along with a look at the proliferation of technologies that young people are using in the arts; and concludes with thoughts about challenges and possibilities for the future

Classroom Examples; Program Models; Student Outcomes

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

April 3, 2013

Every young person in America deserves a complete and competitive education that includes the arts. America's global stature, culture of innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit depend on the strength of a world-class education system. Perhaps now more than ever -- as the country becomes increasingly diverse, the world more interconnected, and the workplace more oriented around technology and creativity -- arts education is key to such a system and to ensuring students' success in school, work, and life. For this reason, the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) created ArtsEdSearch.org -- the nation's first clearinghouse of research examining the mounting body of evidence on the benefits of an arts education. Drawing on the research in ArtsEdSearch, this bulletin 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.

Student Outcomes

Increased Arts Involvement Among Disadvantaged Students Leads to: Finding a Better Job, Earning a College Degree, and Volunteering

March 11, 2013

This infographic and accompanying text shows that low-income students who are highly engaged in the arts are more than twice as likely as their peers with low arts involvement to have earned a Bachelor's degree.

Student Outcomes

Partnerships in Arts Integrated Research

January 25, 2013

The PAIR (Partnerships for Arts Integration Research) complete final report is an evaluation of a four year, federal Department of Education funded Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) project administered by the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools. This project brought together 3 pairings of school populations (a world languages focused magnet cluster school with a fine-arts focused magnet cluster school; a math and science focused magnet cluster school with a fine arts focused magnet cluster school; and a literature and writing focused magnet cluster school with a fine arts magnet cluster school) to work with teaching artists in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classrooms. Results from the six schools were compared with six control schools of similar status, resources, student population, demographic factors, and comparable levels of academic achievement prior to the start of the PAIR project.The PAIR research and evaluation focuses extensively on teacher impact and student achievement. Two principal investigators noted for their work in the fields of teacher education, student learning, and arts in education teaching and learning practices engaged in this research: Dr. Gail Burnaford, School of Education faculty at Florida Atlantic University, who examined the impact of PAIR on classroom teachers, and Dr. Lawrence Scripp, Director of the Center for Music-In-Education, Inc, who analyzed student arts integration and academic learning outcomes and their relation to PAIR teacher professional development outcomes and controlled for student demographic factors. Burnaford's and Scripp's cumulative findings on the impact of PAIR on teacher professional development, student learning and the intersections between teacher and student outcomes over the three-year time period of the project are presented in the three-part comprehensive report.Lawrence Scripp and Laura Tan Paradis (PAIR research coordinator) provide a brief summary of the project findings as an addendum to the comprehensive three-part PAIR Report.

Program Models; Student Outcomes

Arts Corps Program Evaluation Report

November 27, 2012

Founded in 2000 on the principle that all young people -- not just those with resources -- should have access to quality arts learning opportunities, Arts Corps is now a leading nonprofit arts education organization in Seattle. Starting with just a few classes at six sites, Arts Corps now serves over 2,000 K-12th grade students a year at approximately 40 sites. Arts Corps places after-school classes and in-school residencies primarily at schools and community centers serving low-income youth who often have few other opportunities for arts learning. Programs cover the spectrum of arts disciplines from dance to visual arts to photography to music, and include popular classes such as Brazilian dance, theater, comic illustration, spoken word, sculpture and more. Programming is designed to foster artistic competencies and creative habits of mind such as imagination, healthy risk-taking, reflection, persistence and critical thinking. The program operates on a school year, with select workshops occurring in the summer months. Arts Corps has conducted program evaluation since inception and has refined its focus each year to better explore and describe the impacts of arts classes on students. This report represents Arts Corps' evaluation work during the 2011-2012 program year.

Student Outcomes

Arts Education in Michigan: Fostering Creativity and Innovation

October 11, 2012

In the fall of 2011, Quadrant Arts Education Research, in partnership with Michigan Youth Arts, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Michigan Department of Education, and ArtServe Michigan, began a statewide study of arts education in Michigan schools. The project was designed to create a never-before-available picture of arts education in Michigan and institute baseline information for tracking and measuring future progress. This landmark study provides essential data on student access, teacher training, assessment and accountability in arts education in K-12 schools in Michigan. The data provides the groundwork to drive future arts education policy decisions that effect all Michigan students.The principals of 4163 schools, including 718 private and 293 charter schools, were asked to complete an online survey detailing numerous building-level specifics on arts education in their schools.

Student Outcomes

PAIR Final Comprehensive Report Part 3: Analysis of PAIR Student Arts Integration Assessments and their Intersections with Teacher and Student Performance Outcomes

May 17, 2012

While the previous two parts of PAIR report focused entirely on the impact of PAIR on teacher professional development and on student standardized academic test results, Part 3 of the report is organized into seven sections that present the analysis of multiple student arts integration learning assessment results and the intersection among teacher-student outcome variables by the final year of the project. The results are reported in seven different sections, each featuring its own table of contents, list of figures and tables, and an appendix:A. Snapshots of Arts Integration (SAIL) Interview Response Ratings analyzed for control treatment and within-treatment school differences in students' understanding of arts integration processes and connections;B. PAIR Student Survey Responses analyzed for control-treatment school differences in the perception of arts integration practices in their classrooms and control-treatment schooldifferences in the presence of classroom culture practices most highly associated with PAIR professional development goals and outcomes;C. PAIR Partnership Arts Integration Learning (PAIL) Student Work Samples analyzed for qualitative differences among within PAIR treatment school classroom practices and in relation to the documentation and assessment goals for the PAIR project;D. PAIR Portfolio Conference Performance Assessments of teacher verbal reflections and student individual and group performance assessments analyzed for qualitative differences in PAIR treatment school PAIR student work and portfolio conference performance assessments.E. PAIR Portfolio Conference Performance Assessments of student individual and group performance assessment data analyzed statistically for their relationship to SAIL assessments, PAIL classroom ratings, and teacher portfolio conference performance data.F. PAIR Treatment School Teacher-Student Outcome Intersections analyzed for statistically significant degrees of association between teacher professional development variables analyzed and student learning outcome data.

Classroom Examples; Student Outcomes

Music Matters: How Music Education Helps Students Learn, Achieve, and Succeed

September 20, 2011

Beyond the intrinsic value of music to cultures worldwide, education in music has benefits for young people that transcend the musical domain. The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) reviewed an extensive body of research to identify high quality, evidence-based studies that document student learning outcomes associated with an education in and through music. The results show conclusively that music education equips students with the foundational abilities to learn, to achieve in other core academic subjects, and to develop the capacities, skills and knowledge essential for lifelong success. Benefits of Music Education A. Music education prepares students to learn 1. Enhances fine motor skills 2. Prepares the brain for achievement 3. Fosters superior working memory 4. Cultivates better thinking skills B. Music education facilitates student academic achievement 1. Improves recall and retention of verbal information 2. Advances math achievement 3. Boosts reading and English language arts (ELA) skills 4. Improves average SAT scores C. Music education develops the creative capacities for lifelong success 1. Sharpens student attentiveness 2. Strengthens perseverance 3. Equips students to be creative 4. Supports better study habits and self-esteem

Student Outcomes

Learning to Imagine

July 12, 2011

For the purpose of this discussion, we posit that there are essentially four overarching reasons we educate. They are: preparing students for democratic participation, providing access to knowledge and critical thinking, enabling all students to take advantage of life's opportunities, and enabling students to lead rich and rewarding personal lives. None of these can be achieved fully without attention to the role of imagination. While we acknowledge that not all would agree with our definition of purposes, our comprehensive vision, we believe, can serve our children and our society well.

Student Outcomes

PAIR Final Comprehensive Report Part 2: Impact of PAIR on Student Academic Performance

June 27, 2011

This report is the second part of a three-part comprehensive report filed by both Dr. Burnaford and Dr. Scripp, as Co-Principal Investigators of the PAIR project.The first report, written by Dr. Gail Burnaford [2010], focused primarily on three years of collecting evidence of progress meeting PAIR teacher professional development goals, the evolution of teacher professional development outcomes in comparison with control group teachers, and speculation on theg eneral impact of high quality PAIRteacher practices on student learning.The second and third parts of this report, written by Dr. Lawrence Scripp and his research team from the Center for Music-in-Education and CAPE (2011-2012], focus on the impact of PAIR on student learning. This second report (2011) reports primarily on differences among control-treatment statistical comparisons of PAIR student academic test outcomes. The following third report (2012) features an extensive review of qualitative and quantitative aspects all PAIR student arts integration outcome data. In addition, it provides a comprehensive analysis of the possible statistical links between seven teacher professional development factors and four student learning outcomes.In this paper reports on a research project in arts integration education, conducted in the Chicago Public Schools in partnership with Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE), a research-based organization focused on optimizing the impact of artists and arts learning in schools for the benefit of whole-school improvement in arts learning, teacher professional development, and school culture.

Classroom Examples; Student Outcomes

The Relationships between Fine Arts Course Enrollment and Middle School and High School Academic Ratings, Campus Rating Improvement and Graduation Rates in Texas Public Schools

March 4, 2011

Research continues to demonstrate a correlation between the study of fine arts and overall academic achievement. To explore this relationship of fine arts participation to academic achievement in Texas schools, the Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education, together with Texas Music Educators Association (a TCQAE participating organization) collected data regarding campus academic achievement ratings, campus rating improvement, graduation rates, and fine arts enrollment from 2006 to 2010 as reported by public schools across Texas.

Student Outcomes