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MI Youth Arts Roundtable Releases Michigan Arts Education Survey Report

MYA Roundtable Releases Michigan Arts Education Survey Report

 This afternoon, the Michigan Youth Arts Roundtable released a report detailing its findings from the Michigan Arts Education Survey. The Michigan Youth Arts Roundtable consists of leadership from ArtServe Michigan, Michigan Youth Arts, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Michigan Department of Education. The Michigan Arts Education Survey was designed to create a never-before-available picture of arts education in Michigan and institute baseline information for tracking and measuring future progress. This study provides essential data on student access, teacher training, assessment and accountability in arts education in K-12 schools in Michigan and lays the groundwork to drive future arts education policy decisions that have an effect on all Michigan students. The survey, conducted by the Quadrant Arts Education Research was sent to principals of 4163 schools, including 718 private and 293 charter schools. Each respondent was asked to complete an online survey detailing numerous building-level specifics on arts education in their schools, including: types of music, visual arts, theatre and dance courses offered; number of students enrolled in arts courses; number of hours in a year dedicated to arts education; certification level of teachers providing arts education; and budgets allocated to arts education. A total of 826 schools completed the questionnaire – a 20% response rate. A total of 460,066 students, or 30% the total student population, were represented by responding schools. Among the key findings are that 12% of Michigan high schools do not satisfy the state graduation requirement of a single credit in the arts, and a projected 108,000 K-12 students in Michigan lack any access to arts education. Further, on average just $1.67 per pupil is spent in elementary school on arts education in Michigan – that’s less than a penny a day per student. The study shows that while the vast majority of Michigan schools have at least one arts course, most schools fall well short of state curriculum guidelines for arts education, and annual per-pupil spending for curricular support of arts education averages just pennies a day. Yet the study also found significant correlations between robust arts education programs and high test scores on the Michigan Merit Examination (MME) and the ACT – schools with stronger arts education programs had higher test scores. Click here to view the Full ReportClick here to view the Executive SummaryClick here to view the RecommendationsClick here to view the Questions Asked in the Survey With this data in hand, ArtServe will now lead the way at the policy level in working with the Michigan Department of Education, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Legislature to advance the recommendations made in the report. Further, ArtServe will be presenting the results of the report to the Michigan State Board of Education at its November 20th meeting. Help us continue to advance our arts education efforts by making a $10 dollar donation today.As always, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to reply to this email or call Mike Latvis directly at 248-379-5897.