Technology Arts Training Program
Research

Arts and At-Risk Students
At-risk youth with no arts classes have a drop-out rate of 22%.⁴ At-risk youth with many arts classes have a drop-out rate of 4%. ⁴ The students who were at risk of not successfully completing their high school educations but stayed in school cited their participation in the arts as their main reason for staying in school. Factors related to the arts that positively affected the motivation of these students included a supportive environment that promotes constructive acceptance of criticism and one where it is safe to take risks. ¹

Arts and School Success
Low-income students who are highly engaged in the arts are twice as likely to graduate college as their peers with no arts education.⁴ Students who are involved in the arts are three times more likely to win an award for school attendance. ⁴

The SAT and Arts Learning
The relationship between arts learning and the SAT is of considerable interest to anyone concerned with college readiness and admissions issues. The average SAT score of a student with four years of arts education is 100 points higher than a student with no arts classes. ⁴ The SAT Reasoning Test (formerly known as the SAT I) is the most widely used test offered by the College Board as part of its SAT Program. It assesses students’ verbal and math skills and knowledge and is described as a “standardized measure of college readiness.” Many public colleges and universities use SAT scores in admissions. Nearly half of the nation’s three million high school graduates in 2005 took he SAT. Multiple independent studies have shown increased years of enrollment in arts courses are positively correlated with higher SAT verbal and math scores. High school students who take arts classes have higher math and verbal SAT scores than students who take no arts classes. Arts participation and SAT scores co-vary—that is, they tend to increase linearly: the more arts classes, the higher the scores. This relationship is illustrated in the 2005 results shown below. Notably, students who took four years of arts coursework outperformed their peers who had one half-year or less of arts coursework by 58 points on the verbal portion and 38 points on the math portion of the SAT.

Arts participation and SAT scores co-vary—that is, they tend to increase linearly: the more arts classes, the higher the scores. This relationship is illustrated in the 2005 results shown below. Notably, students who took four years of arts coursework outperformed their peers who had one half-year or less of arts coursework by 58 points on the verbal portion and 38 points on the math portion of the SAT.

Students who participate in arts learning experiences often improve their achievement in other realms of learning and life. In a well-documented national study using a federal database of over 25,000 middle and high school students, researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles found students with high arts involvement performed better on standardized achievement tests than students with low arts involvement. Moreover, the high arts-involved students also watched fewer hours of TV, participated in more community service and reported less boredom in school.²
Quoted from Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement

Studies show children from low-income families are less likely to be consistently involved in arts activities or instruction than children from high-income families.³

¹ Barry, N., J. Taylor, and K. Walls (2002), “The Role of the Fine and Performing Arts in High School Dropout Prevention.” In R. Deasy (Ed.), Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, Washington, DC: AEP. (top)

² Catterall, James S. (2002), “Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School.” In R. Deasy (Ed.), Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social
Development, Washington, DC: AEP. (top)

³ See Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga (2002), “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: Extending an Analysis of General Associations and Introducing the Special Cases of Intensive Involvement in Music and Theatre Arts.” In R. Deasy (Ed.), Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, Washington, DC: AEP. Vaughn, Kathryn and Ellen Winner (2002), “SAT Scores of Students Who Study the Arts: What We Can and Cannot Conclude about the Association.” In R. Deasy (Ed.), Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, Washington, DC: AEP. (top)

⁴ See Americans for the Arts: Facts and Figures. This publication draws on classic arts education research such as Champions of Change, as well as new reports like Arts Education in America: What the Declines Mean for Arts Participation. Presented in an comprehensive format, this e-book highlights key data points.
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More Information
National Arts and Humanities Youth Program
Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement.pdf
List of Current Research on Arts and Learning
Americans for the Arts: Facts and Figures

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