| A growing body of research documents the benefits of learning in and through the arts, from academic achievement to personal efficacy. Federal law recognizes the arts as a core subject area for K-12 public schools, and Oregon content standards articulate sequential expectations of what all students should know and be able to do in the disciplines of music, theater, dance, and visual arts. Despite these statutory commitments, little is known about the actual condition of arts education in Oregon public schools. This study mines existing data from the Oregon Department of Education to: 1) establish baseline measures of access to arts education during the 2009-2010 academic year; and 2) identify relationships between access and other school characteristics such as geographic location, school type, and Title I designation. This study's findings hold significant implications for state policy, and its unique methodology can inform the wider field of arts education policy research. |
