“When it comes to music and visual arts, American teenagers could use some help,” writes Maria Danilova in Tuesday’s (4/25) Associated Press. “The National Center for Education Statistics reported Tuesday that in 2016, American eighth graders scored an average 147 in music and 149 in visual arts on a scale of 300. Some 8,800 eighth graders from public and private schools across the country took part in the test, which was part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation’s Report Card.… The achievement gap has narrowed between white and Hispanic students from a difference of 32 to 23 points in an average score in music and from 26 to 19 points in arts.… Girls continued to outperform boys.… While white students scored an average of 158, black students got 129 on the music test and the margin of difference was similar on the arts portion of the exam.… ‘Every student should have access to arts education to develop the creativity and problem-solving skills that lead to higher success both in and out of school,’ said Ayanna Hudson, director of arts education at the National Endowment for the Arts.” The League of American Orchestras helped to develop a toolkit regarding the report card, available here.
Posted April 26, 2017
