The Importance of Arts Education

The arts are essential to every child's education, which is why the arts are one of the core academic subjects in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Some schools, facing tight local budgets, are cutting arts programs and blaming the cuts on NCLB. In a letter to state and local superintendents, Secretary of Education Rod Paige said that cutting arts is "disturbing and just plain wrong."

Similar to English, math, science and the other core subjects, the arts (dance, music, theater, and visual arts) are challenging subjects with rigorous content and achievement standards at the state and national levels. They require highly qualified teachers who challenge all students, not just those who are considered artistically talented, to perform works of art, create their own works, and respond to works of art and the ideas they impart.

In addition to studying the arts for their own sake, experiencing and making works of art benefits students in their intellectual, personal, and social development, and can be particularly beneficial for students from economically disadvantaged circumstances and those who are at risk of not succeeding in school. Research studies point to strong relationships between learning in the arts and fundamental cognitive skills and capacities used to master other core subjects, including reading, writing, and mathematics.

Tools for Teachers:

The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) is a national coalition of arts, education, business, philanthropic and government organizations that demonstrates and promotes the essential role of the arts in the learning and development of every child and in the improvement of America's schools. With support from the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts, AEP maintains a comprehensive Web site (www.aep-arts.org) of its reports, including:

Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, which is a research compendium that reviews 62 studies of arts learning in dance, drama, music, multiple arts, and visual arts. Interpretive essays examine the implications of the body of studies in each of these areas, and an overview essay explores the issue of the transfer of learning in the arts to other academic and social skills. A Critical Links Tool Kit is available at www.aep-arts.org/resources/toolkits/criticallinks/.*

No Subject Left Behind: A Guide to Arts Education Opportunities in the 2001 NCLB Act, which is a guide for state and local arts and education leaders to learn more about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and the multiple opportunities for arts education. It provides a brief overview of the legislation, including where to find specific references to the arts, descriptions of individual programs with arts-specific examples that have received funding, and links to Web sites for additional information. No Subject Left Behind is available at www.aep-arts.org/resources/advocacy.htm.*

The AEP Web site also provides linkages to its more than 100 member organizations and state- and local-level arts education partnerships, and offers a free electronic newsletter and listserv.

* This document contains contact addresses and Web sites for information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. This information is provided for the reader's convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of information or addresses, or Web sites for particular items does not reflect their importance, not is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered.