Access To Arts Education PDF Download

Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), districts and schools must demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) for all students. Because schools may spend more time improving students' academic skills to meet NCLBA's requirements, some are concerned that arts education might be cut back. To determine how, if at all, student access to arts education has changed since NCLBA, the Congress asked: (1) has the amount of instruction time for arts education changed and, if so, have certain groups been more affected than others, (2) to what extent have state education agencies' requirements and funding for arts education changed since NCLBA, (3) what are school officials in selected districts doing to provide arts education since NCLBA and what challenges do they face in doing so, and (4) what is known about the effect of arts education in improving student outcomes? GAO analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education (Education), surveyed 50 state arts officials, interviewed officials in 8 school districts and 19 schools, and reviewed existing research. To identify factors that may contribute to changes in access to arts education for certain groups, GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education require the department's planned study of NCLBA implementation to ask survey respondents why any changes in instruction time they report occurred. Education generally agreed with our recommendation. Appended are: (1) Scope and Methodology; (2) Average Amount of Instruction Time Elementary School Teachers Reported Spending; (3) Arts Education Requirements and Funding, by State, School Years 2001-2002 and 2006-2007; (4) Studies Meeting GAO's Criteria for Methodological Quality; (5) Comments from the Department of Education; and (6) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 10 tables and 4 footnotes.).