Introduction

In Toward Civilization: A Report on Arts Education (National Endowment for the Arts 1988). The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) identifies several reasons why arts education is important. The first purpose of arts education is to give young people a sense of civilization. "The great works of art provide guideposts to cultural literacy" (p. 14). Arts education also fosters creativity and teaches effective communication. Another purpose of arts education is to provide tools for critical assessment of what one reads, sees, and hears. In addition, the arts can often reach students who traditionally have had difficulty in standard academic environments and can improve the general learning environment for all students.

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act recently passed into law by Congress recognizes the importance of arts education by acknowledging the arts as one of the core subjects in the National Education Goals. Goal 3 states that children will be able to demonstrate competency over challenging subject matter, including the arts. In addition, the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994, Part D - Arts in Education, states that arts education should bean integral part of the elementary and secondary school curriculum. Other national initiatives related to arts education, such as the voluntary National Standards for Arts Education and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the Arts, also seek to place the arts in the mainstream of educational reform.

Despite these initiatives in arts education, there have been no national data documenting the status of arts education since 1989, when the National Arts Education Research Center at the University of Illinois conducted a survey of arts education in American public schools (Leonhard 1991). In order to obtain current information on this topic, NEA and the National Institute . on Student Achievement, Curriculum, and Assessment (formerly the Office of Research) in the U.S. Department of Education commissioned a survey to collect data concerning public schools' policies and practices in arts education. The in.formation from the survey is intended for use in the development of policies and implementation of programs designed to meet state standards and national education goals such as those set forth by the Goals 2000 Act.

The survey was conducted during fall 1994 for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) by Westat, Inc., a research firm in Rockville, Maryland, through the NCES Fast Response Survey System (FRSS). Since the format of arts instruction in elementary and secondary schools differs considerably, two separate survey instruments were designed for this study. However, both surveys included a common set of questions concerning general information applicable to both instructional levels about schools" arts programs.

The questionnaires were addressed to the principals, who were asked to complete them or have the staff persons most knowledgeable about the schools" arts programs provide information on the following general questions:

• What arts subjects are being taught in public schools, and how are they taught?
• How do schools and districts support arts education?
• How have schools" arts programs changed compared to 5 years ago?

The elementary and secondary surveys were conducted with two different nationally representative samples of public schools. Included in the elementary school sample were schools that had a beginning grade of 6 or lower, but no grade higher than grade 8, as well as combined schools, which are schools that include both elementary and secondary grades. Included in the secondary sample were schools that had no grade lower than 7, and combined schools. Summary findings are presented separately for all elementary schools and all secondary schools, and by the following school characteristics:

• School enrollment

  Elementary
  - Small: less than 300
  - Moderate: 300-599
  - Large: 600 or more

  Secondary
  - Small: less than 400
  - Moderate: 400-999
  - Large: 1.000 or more

• Geographic region

  - Northeast
  - Southeast
  - Central
  - West

• Metropolitan Status

  - City
  - Urban fringe
  - Town
  - Rural
  

Data have been weighted to national estimates of public schools. All comparative statements made in this report have been tested for statistical significance through chi-square tests or t-tests adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni adjustment and are significant at the .05 level or better. However, not all statistically significant comparisons have been presented.

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