39 Percent of Schools Require Arts for Graduation

By Meg Sommerfeld

Although a majority of school administrators say the arts are a vital part of the public school curriculum, fewer than half the nation's high schools include them in graduation requirements, a federal survey has found.

The study by the National Center for Education Statistics says that more than 80 percent of elementary and secondary school leaders agree that music, the visual arts, and creative writing are "essential" or "very important" relative to other academic subjects. The figures were somewhat lower for drama, theater, and dance.

But despite the strong support from educators, only 39 percent of high schools require that students take classes in the arts in order to receive their high school diplomas, according to the findings released last week. And few high school students have access to courses in drama or...