Teaching theater arts in a high-stakes testing environment: Seven high school theater teachers' experiences

Increasing amounts of pressure have been brought to bear on K-12 theater and other arts programs with the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Utilizing typological analysis as outlined by Hatch (2002) this phenomenological study explored the teaching experiences of seven theater teachers in public secondary schools in the State of Arizona since the implementation of the Arizona Instrument for Measuring Standards (AIMS) test. The AIMS assessment is Arizona's high-stakes test for Adequate Yearly Progress as required by NCLB. This study found that the teachers interviewed felt that theater instruction fosters critical and creative thinking, and also develops life skills, such as public speaking and team-work. Three of the seven teachers reported a shrinking of their student base, including eliminations of whole sections of students, which they attributed to diversion of students to classes for AIMS preparation. Finally, teachers did not, since the implementation of AIMS, experience a change in the meaning they derive from teaching theater, and they continued to derive satisfaction from that work. This study has implication for social change in that it has attempted to draw attention to the significant decrease of public school instructional time for the arts. There is a danger that this intrinsically human way of knowing may cease to exist as a viable part of our public education system and that those most affected by this loss will not be able to replace it from their own resources.