Assessment Report Roundup

Arts Education

“Investigating Causal Effects of Arts Education Experiences: Experimental Evidence from Houston’s Arts Access Initiative”
By Sasha Jones — March 05, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Arts experiences can reduce disciplinary infractions, increase students’ engagement, and improve writing skills, says a new study by the Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

Forty-two Houston schools, representing more than 10,500 students in grades 3-8, were assigned by lottery to take part in the Arts Access Initiative, through which schools receive influxes of arts education via community partnerships, local art organizations, cultural institutions, and teaching artists.

Researchers found schools that increased students’ access to arts education had 3.6 percentage points fewer students receiving disciplinary infractions, 0.13 of a standard deviation higher writing performance on Texas state tests, and significantly higher scores on a survey of students’ sense of compassion for others.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 06, 2019 edition of Education Week as Arts Education

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Equity & Diversity Webinar
Classroom Strategies for Building Equity and Student Confidence
Shape equity, confidence, and success for your middle school students. Join the discussion and Q&A for proven strategies.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Disrupting PD Day in Schools with Continuous Professional Learning Experiences
Hear how this NC School District achieved district-wide change by shifting from traditional PD days to year-long professional learning cycles
Content provided by BetterLesson
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Assessment A Huge Publisher and a Big Testing Company Are Teaming Up. What This Means for Educators
Four key questions to consider about how the pairing of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NWEA might affect educators.
3 min read
Students testing.
Getty
Assessment Spotlight Spotlight on Assessment
This Spotlight will help you examine updated testing guidance from the U.S. Dept. of Ed, analyze college-placement test scores, and more.

Assessment Opinion We Are More Than Our Grades: A Student's Perspective
Students have come to believe that their GPA and test scores are the ultimate reflection of their self-worth, writes a college senior.
Bailey Striepling
3 min read
Conceptual illustration of Students emerging from a field of giant discarded letter grades.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty Images
Assessment Letter to the Editor Grading for Growth Through Competency-Based Education
Competency-based education can better prepare today's children for tomorrow's challenges, writes this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Illustration of an open laptop receiving an email.
iStock/Getty