Curriculum

Trying to Prove the Impact of Arts Education

By Mary Ann Zehr — April 16, 2009 1 min read
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Eduflack contends in an essay-like blog entry, “Arts Education and Quantification,” that positive academic outcomes from arts education can be quantified. He implies that educators may have to make use of this kind of data to ensure that the arts keeps a strong presence in U.S. schooling.

I gleaned some new information from the essay. I hadn’t known, for example, that the National Assessment of Educational Progress includes data on arts proficiency.

I felt sad reading the essay, however, because I don’t want to accept the idea that the arts, which feeds our spiritual and creative sides, needs to be measured in an objective way for people in schools to ensure its survival in the curriculum.

Last evening, I finished reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, for the second time, and she writes about how an after-school theater and dance program was a lifeline for her as a teenager. Why can’t such testimonies garner the support that arts education needs?

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.