Research Links the Arts with Student Academic Gains - Author David E. Gullatt - Essay

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by moss~

State and national accountability measures push education leaders to adopt curricular interventions that improve student achievement efficiently, yet arts programs are often the first cut when budgets tighten and test results face public scrutiny. The article argues that research shows performing and visual arts strengthen students’ reasoning—concrete and abstract—support creativity from concept through completion, and improve learning for students and adults, while surveys and national reporting highlight persistent underfunding and unequal access.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

The Arts and Academic Gains

The State of Affairs

The Necessity of the Arts

Research Links the Arts with Student Academic Gains by David E. Gullatt Abstract State and national accountability initiatives are forcing educational administrators to seek curricular interventions that will yield the greatest improvement in students’ academic performance in the least amount of time. Though volumes of documentation regarding the value of the arts in education line the shelves of professional libraries and support for the arts as part of a comprehensive educational program is the subject of articles, speeches, and symposia, when push comes to shove, when resources are precious, and when test results are published in newspapers, arts are the first to go (Tambucci 2006). Ironically, the arts—disciplines that theorists, as well as teachers in the trenches, claim to improve higher-order thinking skills—are the very programs that typically are eliminated from the school district’s budget when money is limited (Berube 1999). If the arts are responsible for helping to create strong thinkers, then why are school leaders hesitant to fund programs featuring the arts? The State of Affairs Two decades of efforts to raise standards with a focus on academic fundamentals and on closing the achievement gap have steadily eroded the arts’ place in public education (Rabkin andRedmond 2006). The deterioration of arts is ironical because research findings show that the performing and visual arts challenge students to use reasoning skills—both concrete and abstract—to draw conclusions and formulate ideas. Arts encourage creativity and imagination from concept to process to completion. Moreover, in both large and small districts across the United States, arts have been found to enhance learning for students and adults alike (Sternberg 2006) . The Educational Forum • Volume 71 • Spring 2007 • 211 Gullatt Day (1998) and Perrin (1994) suggested that the arts stereotypically were considered frills and that these programs were offered only to the gifted and talented. Day (1998) further stated that parents tended to oppose the inclusion of arts programs because they, themselves, were not instructed in the arts; therefore, they did not deem these programs necessary. In many school districts, a sense exists that arts are leisure activities and entertainment. Some believe that arts provide poor preparation for a viable career. These perceptions are difficult to overcome (Dillon 2006) A public awareness campaign survey (Davidson and Michener 2001) revealed that 73 percent of respondents felt that arts were important to children’s development and that arts should be available to all students, not just the economically privileged. These results were based on 1,008 telephone interviews with individuals over the age of 18 from all geographic areas of the United States. Respondents also stated that arts provided children with a well-rounded education and promoted skills such as creativity, self-expression, and individualism. Research findings show that the performing and visual arts challenge students to use reasoning skills—both concrete and abstract—to draw conclusions and formulate ideas. When asked whether the amount of arts instruction their children received in schools was adequate, 71 percent of respondents reported that they were satisfied with current levels (Davidson and Michener 2001) . When such a high percentage of people feel that current arts education is acceptable, funding becomes difficult to acquire, according to Berube (1999) . School board members, who represent the general public, assume that findings such as these reflect the thinking of their constituents and deny future requests for funding. A national report concerning arts education in America’s schools (Carey et al. 1995) revealed that arts education was lacking. Fifteen percent of the elementary education students in America received no visual arts instruction. Of the students who did receive visual arts instruction, 43 percent received art

FAQs

Why do educational administrators seek curricular interventions that improve academic performance quickly?

Because state and national accountability initiatives pressure leaders to produce the greatest improvement in students’ performance in the least amount of time.

What does the article say research shows about performing and visual arts?

It states that performing and visual arts challenge students to use reasoning skills to draw conclusions and formulate ideas, while also encouraging creativity and imagination.

How does the article describe the availability of arts instruction across schools?

It reports that arts access has eroded over time, with national findings showing gaps in visual arts instruction and differences in how music, drama, theater, and dance are represented.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by moss~