IMPACT OF THE ARTS!

A new study from the The Kennedy Center finds that students who have art classes are better at problem solving, creativity, and are more engaged in school:

"Arts in Education Research Study"

"An impact evaluation of arts-integrated instruction through CETA:     

"This comprehensive study of arts integration examines Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) program's impact on hundreds of fourth and fifth graders, among 32 schools across five school districts in the Metro D.C. region.

The study reports results from students, parents, and teachers on the topics of creativity—which encompassed ideational behavior, positive attitudes, social creativity, flexibility, and creative personality traits—and student engagement, which included emotional engagement, interest, effort, and grit. 

By using a control group in the study design with the appropriate sample size, the findings can be generalized to the larger population of 4th and 5th graders across the United States. The study examined predictors of higher standardized test scores and found attitudes about art, flexibility, and creativity are associated with higher standardized test scores.

Among the 12 key findings, the study found students in arts-integrated classrooms are more creative, engaged, and effective at problem solving than their counterparts who are not in arts-integrated classrooms."  http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/arts-integration/ceta-white-paper

Thank you to Suzy Harris at the Birmingham Museum of Art for bringing this to my attention! 

Anna Nichols