GROUNDBREAKING STUDY LINKS HIGH H.S. GRADUATION RATES TO STRONG ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAMS
High school graduation rates and access to arts education are closely linked, according to a new study of New York City public high schools released today by The Center for Arts Education.
The report — titled “Staying in School: Arts Education and New York City High School Graduation Rates” — is the first-known analysis of the relationship between graduation rates and indicators of arts education. The Center for Arts Education (CAE) correlated different sources of data collected separately by the NYC Department of Education, which have never been looked at together before.
Based on an analysis of data from more than 200 high schools (the largest number for which consistent, comprehensive data was available), over a two-year span, schools with the highest graduation rates offer the most access and resources to support arts education, as measured across nine separate indicators of the resources necessary to provide quality arts education. Students at schools with the lowest graduation rates have the least access to the benefits of a quality instruction in the arts.