Keeping Arts at the Core of Education

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Keeping Arts at the Core of Education
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The Status of Arts Education in Illinois Public
Schools
October 2005 Patricia Cirillo, Ph.D.,
President, Cypress Research Julie E. Adrianopoli,
Public Policy Director, Illinois Arts Alliance
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Major Finding 1
Almost all superintendents and principals agree
that the arts are an essential part of a quality
education, that arts education helps students
perform better on standard achievement tests and
that arts education is important to success in
life.
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Attitudes Towards Arts Education ( Strongly
Agree or Agree combined)
of schools/districts
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Major Finding 2
Despite strong support for arts education, almost
20 of Illinois principals surveyed report having
no arts program in their school (visual arts,
theater, music or dance), and 28 of
superintendents report that none of the four arts
disciplines were considered part of the core
curriculum in their school districts.
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Percentage of Schools Offering Arts Program By
Discipline
Principals

• 20 of responding schools reported none of
  these 4 arts programs were available.
• 8 reported all four.
• On average (median), 2 of the 4 disciplines are
  offered in Illinois schools.

of schools
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Percentage of Districts that Believe Arts
Disciplines Are Part of Core Academic
Curriculum
Superintendents

• Twenty-eight of the responding districts reported
  no arts disciplines were part of their core
  curriculum.
• Two percent reported that all four were.
• Median number reported part of core was just
  over 1

of districts
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Percentage of Students Receiving Instruction in
Arts By Grade Level

• Amount of instruction decreases as students
  advance in school, in terms of proportion of
  students receiving instruction in any given
  grade.
• About 1/3 of students in elementary school
  receive no instruction in the arts
• about 1/2 of students in middle school receive no
  instruction
• and, gt 2/3 of high school students receive no
  instruction

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Arts Offered in Before or After-School Arts
Programs

• At most (depending on arts discipline music is
  the most common), half of all Illinois school
  districts offer a before- or after-school arts
  program in most or some of schools.
• At a maximum, about half of those schools with
  programs consider them to be co-curricular.
• A small minority of high school students
  (one-in-nine) participate in any extra-curricular
  arts activity.

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Major Finding 3
Students in Illinois do not have equal access to
arts education, the largest determining factor
being where they live. Students in rural areas
and small school districts receive the least
amount of arts education. Inconsistencies in the
delivery of arts education also exist among
schools within large urban districts and between
suburban school districts.
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Measures of Arts Education

• Level of arts education can be measured in many
  different ways. Allowing for local flexibility
  and control, an index was calculated for each
  school and district, so that various
  manifestations of arts education were
  acknowledged.
• Schools Arithmetic combination of 10-13
  different measures
• School Districts Arithmetic combination of 17
  different measures.

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Disparities and Inconsistencies

• Discriminators
• Urban/suburban vs. Rural
• School District/School Size
• Within Urban Areas (Chicago) Per
  Pupil-Expenditure Levels
• Not Discriminators
• Race/Ethnicity
• Socioeconomic factors
• Social factors

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Presence of Arts Education in Illinois
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Presence of Arts Education in Chicago
Neighborhoods
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Major Finding 4
Nearly one in ten Illinois (9) superintendents
reported having no certified arts teachers in any
art discipline anywhere in their districts.
Twenty-three percent of schools have no arts
specialists.
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Percentage of Districts with Zero Full or
Part-time Certified Arts Specialists in Each
Subject
Superintendents

• Almost 9 of the responding districts had zero
  certified arts specialists in any of the four
  disciplines.

of districts
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Percentage of Schools with Zero Full or
Part-time Certified Arts Specialists in Each
Subject
Principals

• 23 of responding schools had zero certified
  arts specialists in any of the four disciplines.
  

of schools
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Percentage of Districts with Arts Education
Supervisor/Curriculum Coordinators
Superintendents

• Most school districts (74) have zero arts
  education supervisors or coordinators.

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Major Finding 5
11 of school districts in Illinois require no
arts instruction in any grade. In addition, 80
of high school principals report that the
students in their schools are not required to
take a single course in the arts in order to
graduate.
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Percentage of Districts Where Arts Instruction is
Required by Grade

• 11 of school districts (not shown) do not
  require any arts education in any of the grades.
• 9 of the districts require arts education in all
  of the grades.

Superintendents
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Percentage of High Schools that Require Arts
Coursework in Order to Graduate who responded
yes

• In addition.
• For 80 of high schools, no coursework in any of
  the four arts disciplines is a graduation
  requirement.
• Two-thirds of the school districts have no arts
  requirement for high school graduation (not
  shown).
• Almost all of those who do have a requirement
  (25 of the total base) have set that requirement
  at 1 credit.

High School Principals Only
of schools
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Number of Different Courses Offered in Each
Discipline Every Year Median Scores
High School Principals Only

• High schools which do offer an arts curriculum do
  fairly well in terms of course variety in visual
  arts and music.

of different courses
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Is Student Performance in the Arts Assessed and
Reported Like in Other Subjects?
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Major Finding 6
According to principals and superintendents, the
most significant barrier to arts education is
budget considerations, with lack of available
time in the school day also a major barrier.
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Biggest Impact on Ability to Implement Arts
Programs

• In ranking eight potential barriers to their
  ability to implement arts programs in their
  districts or schools, superintendents and
  principals were in agreement that 1) budget,
  and, 2) available instruction time were the
  biggest barriers.
• Less important (but not unimportant) barriers
  were No Child Left Behind Act available space
  (facilities) available resources (materials)
  Available/qualified staff standardized testing
  or parent/community support.

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Percentage of Budget Allocated Specifically to
Arts
Superintendents

• On average (median), 2-3 of district budgets
  are allocated to arts education.

of districts
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Aspects of Arts Education Changed Compared to 5
Years Ago - Decreases
Superintendents
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Aspects of Arts Education Changed Compared to 5
Years Ago - Decreases
Principals
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Schools Reliance on Outside Sources for Funding
to Support Arts Program
Principals

• 62 reply on outside sources of funding to
  support their arts program.

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Districts with Existing or Very Recent Arts
Education Partnerships with Outside Cultural
Organizations
Superintendents

• Partnerships are more common among urban schools.

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Percentage of Districts Using Arts Integration as
an Instructional Strategy in Most, Some, Very Few
or None of Their Schools
Superintendents

• English/Language Arts and Social Science
  subjects are most likely to use arts
  integration as an instructional strategy.

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Level of Arts Education Students Will Receive in
Next 5 Years
Superintendents
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Illinois Creates Recommendations for Change

• Full-time Person at ISBE Focusing on Arts
• Statewide Requirement
• Increased Funding from 2 million to 5 million
  in FY07
• Planning at District Level
•  
• At Least One Certified Arts Specialist in Every
  School
• District and Statewide Reporting
•  
• Professional Development for Arts Educators and
  Classroom Teachers
• Arts Coursework Included in the High School GPA
  Calculations
• One Credit Arts Requirement for Entrance in All
  Illinois Institutions of Higher Learning

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What Can You Do?

• Join the Illinois Creates coalition and get
  others to join too www.IllinoisCreates.org
• Become a member of IAA
• Share your story with IAA
• 312-855-3105 ext 11
• julie_at_artsalliance.org

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What Else Can You Do?

• Invite your state legislators to performances and
  introduce them if they attend
• Set up a meeting with your legislators engage
  students in the process
• As you discover new research share that with your
  legislators and your local school board
• Form a local arts education coalition in your
  area
• Initiate an arts education planning process in
  your district
• Educators be excellent at what you do and be
  part of school decision making!

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Funding For This Research Has Generously Been
Provided By
www.IllinoisCreates.org