Giving Compass' Take:

• The 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress included an art education question about participation which provides new data, such as state-by-state breakdowns.

• How can arts administrators and donors utilize this new research? 

• Learn more about what is next for the arts education field. 

Yesterday, an Education Commission of the States staff member with the memorable name of Claus von Zastrow published a blog reporting the findings of an art education question included in the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Math. It’s a substantial discovery—akin to when new stars are detected in a constellation, or a new species of insect is identified. His blog post and the accompanying data tables are a must-read. My blog here is about the context that must be considered in his discovery.

As Claus mentions, the federal agency tasked with administering the “Nation’s Report Card” (the National Assessment Governing Board or NAGB) decided to terminate one of these two federal studies this past July, which immediately alarmed arts education advocates and education staff in the U.S. Senate who were frustrated by this unexpected development. It appears that federal arts education research has been cut by 50%.

This question, put to the 147,000 students that were a part of the 2019 Math NAEP sample, must be the single largest arts education data point in the history of federal education research.

Now, the question only refers to one discipline, (visual) art education—I’m sure my friends at the National Art Education Association and the Arts Education Partnership will be excitedly digesting this data for quite some time—so it’s in no way capturing the full arts education picture. But here are three simple highlights I’ve spotted from this single question, with thanks again to Claus for assembling the data.

  • For the first time ever in history, there is a state by state breakdown of participation in art education.
  • As conventional wisdom holds, students from wealthier families have greater participation in art classes.
  • Art education can be provided in any location—city, suburb, town, or rural community.

Read the full article about arts education research by Narric Rome at ARTS Blog.