WHY A FINE ARTS EDUCATION?
Many recent studies are finding that students who take Fine Arts courses throughout their public school education in grades K-12 are scoring higher on standardized tests, especially in the areas of language arts and mathematics. These same studies show that students who take Fine Arts courses have higher critical thinking skills, greater self-esteem, perform much better in school academically, attend school more often, and are less apt to drop out of school.
Studies also show that students who took four or more years of music in secondary schools scored an average of 20-40 points higher on both verbal and math portions of the SATs than students who took no fine arts courses. A College Entrance Examination Board study found that students who took more than four years of music and the other Fine Arts scored 34 points better on verbal SATs and 18 points on math SATs than those who took music for less than one year.
The Council for Basic Education, addressing the symposium, "America's Culture at Risk" in Washington D.C. on March 6, 1991 states that testimony during three public forums was "almost universal in insisting that involvement in music and other Fine Arts powerfully encourages self-esteem, self-expression, creativity, and self-discipline." The commission recommends a national "full-scale, multilevel effort, from the grass roots up" to insure comprehensive educational requirements in music and the other Fine Arts for all U.S. public school children from kindergarten through 12th grade. |
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