Still In Residence: Arts Education In U.S. Public Schools
There is a somewhat common argument in education circles that the focus on math and reading tests in No Child Left Behind has had the unintended consequence of generating a concurrent deemphasis on other subjects. This includes science and history, of course, but among the most frequently-mentioned presumed victims of this trend are art and music.
A new report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) presents some basic data on the availability of arts instruction in U.S. public schools between 1999 and 2010.
The results provide only very mixed support for the hypothesis that these programs are less available now than they were prior to the implementation of NCLB.
Overall, as shown in the graph below, between 1999-00 and 2009-10, there wasn’t much of a decline in the proportion of elementary schools reporting that instruction was specifically available in music (94 percent in both years) and visual arts (a minor decrease from 87 to 83 percent). Most elementary schools provide instruction in these two “core” arts subjects. It is of course possible that music and visual arts instruction, though still available
A new report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) presents some basic data on the availability of arts instruction in U.S. public schools between 1999 and 2010.
The results provide only very mixed support for the hypothesis that these programs are less available now than they were prior to the implementation of NCLB.
Overall, as shown in the graph below, between 1999-00 and 2009-10, there wasn’t much of a decline in the proportion of elementary schools reporting that instruction was specifically available in music (94 percent in both years) and visual arts (a minor decrease from 87 to 83 percent). Most elementary schools provide instruction in these two “core” arts subjects. It is of course possible that music and visual arts instruction, though still available