Often, the arts must make way for extra math and language arts classes designed to improve children’s standardized test scores. Indeed, 66 percent of public school teachers surveyed agree the arts, science and social studies are crowded out by math and reading instruction. But data shows cutting art may not be the answer to boosting test scores. Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Finland and five other countries that consistently outperform the United States in math and reading all require extensive education in the arts without narrowing their curriculum, according to a report from Common Core, an educational research organization.
Participation in the arts complements other areas of learning. Children who take art are four times more likely than other children to participate in a math or science fair, according to a 2013 publication by the nonprofit arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts. They are three times more likely to win an attendance award, three times more likely to be elected to a class office and four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, the group reports.
Youth art classes offer skills applicable in multiple contexts. Americans for the Arts says art classes help young people learn to be better critical thinkers and problem solvers. Children in art classes learn to see the world from different cultural perspectives and respect others’ viewpoints. Students in these classes learn to plan a project and take pride in seeing it through to completion. All these skills lead to success later in life, according to the group.
Kids from poor backgrounds have a better chance to succeed if they have an arts education. The high school dropout rate in 2008 for low-income high schools was 22 percent for kids who didn’t participate heavily in arts classes. The dropout rate was only 4 percent for low-income teens with heavy participation in arts that year. The 2012 study that publicized this statistic found that the arts reach children who otherwise would fall through the cracks or who have different learning styles, which gives them a reason to get excited about school that isn't consistent with math or reading classes.
In 2012, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said low-income students who took art classes in high schools were more than three times as likely to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree as low-income students without those experiences. These students were better prepared to take that next step to post-secondary study. Students who took four years of art and music classes averaged more than 100 points better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test than students who didn’t take art and music.
The arts teach creativity, which is vital in the workforce. More than 70 percent of employers say creativity is the number one skill they look for when hiring. 97 percent of business leaders say the importance of creativity in the U.S. workplace is increasing, and 99 percent of school leaders agreed. About 50 percent of low-income students who participated in art classes were able to get jobs after graduation. Only 40 percent of low-income non-arts students got jobs.