The Importance Of Art Education In High Schools

All around the United States, art programs are being cut out of the budget in public schools. The arts include dance, band, chorus, theatre, film, drawing, painting, photography and literary arts. Some school board members feel these art programs are not necessary and do not benefit the students in any way. Elementary, middle, and high school students are forced to quit their passion and feel that their talents are not supported by their schools. Although many are not aware, there is a strong connection between arts education and academic achievement. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts in many public schools, the art classes are first on the list to be cut. It is important that the students, parents and teachers

According to Sandra Ruppert, the majority of the American public believes that “the arts are vital to a well-rounded education,” with over half of them rating the importance a strong ten on a scale (“New Harris Poll”). According to this Harris Poll among 1,000 American adults from May 2005, a stunning “eighty-six percent of Americans agree that an arts education encourages and assists in the improvement of a child’s attitudes toward school.” Eighty-three percent feel confident that an education involving art helps students communicate better with everyone around them. Seventy-nine percent believe that “incorporating arts into education is the first step in adding back what’s missing in public education today,” and many feel that it is so important that they would become personally involved to help increase the quality and amount of arts education children receive.

To begin with, education and engagement in fine art programs are an essential part within the school curriculum because subjects such as mathematics, science, and language arts all require cognitive and creative capacities which are enhanced with the process of learning art. For instance, in the article, Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefits Student Achievement, it states that “researchers

Art is around us everywhere we go. Art can be in architecture, landscaping, performances and paintings. The arts can affect the way people think and how they act, like when a young child draws or paints a picture, they have to make small choices that can help them in many aspects of life. BUt sadly the beneficial education tool of The Arts has been in a rapid decline. In her article, School Art Programs: Should They Be Saved?, Valeria Metia says, “During the 1999-2000 school year, 20 percent of schools offered dance and theatre classes, but in the 2009-10 school year, only 3 percent of schools allocated funds for dance classes, and only 4 percent taught theatre.” Since this decrease in art programs students ages 5-18 are missing out on valuable characteristics in their education. Art gives students improved test scores and better thinking skills, significantly higher graduation rates,better performance in schoolwork,development of habits including problem solving, critical and creative thinking, and working with others and a happier and better school day. SInce art is so beneficial to a student's learning we should push harder and get art programs into our public schools again.

Ruppert, S. ( 2006) Critical evidence: how the arts benefit student achievement. National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Retrieved from

“Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance” ("11 Facts about Arts in Education"). Music and art are clearly not two subjects that schools today can afford to cut off funding for based on this evidence. Music and art programs are responsible for increasing school attendance, which can lead to being one of the most important things in a student’s academic success in school. Students have to attend school and be present in order to attain the information from their classes and teachers if they wish to succeed. Better attendance means more students are in class, which means more students are getting the information they need to excel from their teachers, which ultimately means better grades and test scores for schools. As of today, arts are defined as core subjects in only twenty-six states in America (Mandel). If only twenty-six states are treating art education as a core subject, that means that twenty-four states are currently neglecting art programs and not considering them important to their student’s education. If more states are educated on the importance of art programs for young students, and the arts are defined as core subjects nationally, then there will be a

The arts require a large portion of the budget, not only to pay art teachers but also for the materials needed. Yet it doesn't receive the money it needs in view of the fact that a lot of people demean the prevalence of the arts in education claiming that in the real world the arts aren't essential. In recent years the budget cuts have made art education almost a fictitious concept. This is a problem that is critically wounding student's right to a well-rounded toolkit. "A well-rounded educational experience that includes the arts is closely linked to academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity" (Velasco). The benefits of the liberal arts are limitless, by riding schools of art programs, public education is restricting innovativeness and diminishing the limitless of

Students that are involved in fine arts may do better on their test scores. Most children that participate in fine arts have a better act And can cooroperate better with others. Many studies show that all this is true.(“10 Studies on the Importance of Art in Education.”)

Schools and educators are beginning to understand the value of inclusion of art education in K-12 curriculum more and more each year. So much so, that many states are adopting common core standards and hiring highly qualify teachers to teach in the subject area of visual arts. “Research over the past decade reveals areas where effective arts education strategies, especially arts integration techniques, have yielded practical and impressive results,” (Education Digest, 2011). Part of what is driving this initiative is the understanding that some students learn most effectively through the arts (Robinson, 2013). Recent research reflects that art integration correlates with low-performing learners by increasing test scores. Studies conducted in North Carolina and Oklahoma with art integration programs tracked consistent gains in student achievement as compared with state and district averages

Art in our culture today is not as appreciated as it used to be, due to the decrease in interest, many people find creative arts classes such as drawing classes, and theatre classes are not as important and are useless to the educational system. Schools all over the country have begun cutting art classes from the academic programs, assuming it will be better for the student’s sake. However, a recent poll found that eighty percent of the American people believed that creative arts classes will enhance academic performance. In addition, studies have also shown that arts programs teach a specific set of skills that are not taught in the academic curriculum. This means if the studies are true, cutting arts classes could lower students’ test scores and their overall grades. Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, the authors of “Art for our Sake: School Art Classes Matter More than Ever-But Not for the Reasons You Think,” stated that, after visualizing different art classes in different schools, they realized that the students are not only taught the basics of art but also the willingness to learn from their mistakes, which are not taught elsewhere in schools. The students are also taught how to analyze their work and their peers work, as well. According to Winner, arts classes are important to the educational system because it teaches appreciation and self-value. It also teaches the students certain aspects of knowledge that

Art education has been proven to help with “cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skills” as well as “motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork” (Smith). Having the ability and patience to sit down and paint a masterpiece or work through a song on the piano requires high focus and dedication. Students willing to do this will in turn have stronger skills to focus and be dedicated in other subjects. The mixture of all these abilities gained from participation in art programs lead to higher test scores and overall better performance in school. Still, these are only a few of the assets provided by art education.

    The arts engage students who may not be engaged in other classes. The YouthARTS Development Project and the National Endowment for the Arts and the United States Justice Department engaged in at-risk youth in art programs showed that the participants had an increased ability to work with others and were able to finish tasks, had better attitudes towards school, had fewer court referrals, and had an improved self-esteem (Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development).

“People are forgetting that math is taught when a child is playing an instrument. English is taught when a child is reading or writing a script. Critical thinking is taught when a child is analyzing art” (Sabrina Holcomb). There is a significant correlation between participating in the arts, and success in school. Multiple studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between playing an instrument, and an increase in scores in mathematical subject. In these studies, it was also noted that students who were more creative were better problem solvers than students who were not as creative. All of these characteristics are sought after in the work force, meaning that the arts not only help during the school years, but in work and business as well (Ron Whitehorne). Also, it is important to note that “Low-income students who had arts-rich experiences in high schools were more than three times as likely to earn a B.A. as low-income students without those experiences. And the new study from the National Endowment reports that low-income high school students who earned little or no arts credits were five times more likely not to graduate from high school than low-income students who earned many arts credits” (Tyleah Hawkins). The arts have always been used as a form of expression and inspiration for people across the world, the arts have also been shown to improve high-risk student's outlook on their schooling. Research has shown that the arts help improve standardized test scores like the ACT or SAT (Tyleah Hawkins).People who support the arts believe that quality art education can help engage at-risk students in ways that other subjects such as math, science, or reading cannot. This is why it is believed that the arts are a key tool in the prevention of high-school dropout. There are many studies that point to a lower dropout rate for students who participate in

Figure 1 represents the answers of 97 people when they were asked whether art education was important in school from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. 100% of them answered that art education was important. This poll was conducted using people of various ages, demographics, and backgrounds (Saal).

Education in the arts is an essential part in the development of the human brain. Not only is art important in schools, but in all of society as well. The arts are a necessity to society because they encourage energy and creativity and help to encourage students to be creative, flexible, and to express themselves. Arts cannot be learned just by occasional exposure. The arts need to be taught in school and also practiced outside of school. Not only does art stimulate our brain, it also helps with establishing a process and helps with learning other subjects such as math and science. Art has been practiced since the beginning of the human race and overall is one of the most important subjects.