MAEIA is thrilled to announce a deepened collaboration with our statewide partners. This fall, with support from Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Arts and Culture Council, MAEIA will launch a new arts education survey for a sample of public schools throughout the state. We’ll collect and report arts education data, which will help create measurable growth in improving access to a quality arts education.
Here are some ways data is valuable in arts education:
- Arts education data can support learning, instruction, and resource allocation.
- Teachers use data about student growth to make instructional decisions and to track learning over time. Data offers evidence of teachers’ performance, as well as students’ successes and challenges. School and district data support programming decisions related to resources and professional learning. Data also informs how we serve as arts ambassadors at the state level.
- Arts education data can support schools’ goals.
- Data can inform how administrators can ensure access to quality arts programs as vehicles for student and school success. National research indicates arts exposure correlates with increased student achievement, decreased attrition, and greater parental engagement.
Our next steps together – driving positive change through data.
Michigan’s most recent arts education report (2011) revealed that 108,000 students attended schools with no arts education courses. The report synthesized data from school principals. Key themes of Arts Education in Michigan: Fostering Creativity and Innovation were: lack of student access; need for professional preparation and development; and need for accountability measures for access, participation, and instructor status (certification). We’re excited to share a recommitment with Michigan’s arts education partners to measure what we value.
The survey will support increased access to quality arts education in Michigan. Here’s how:
- The 2023 survey will offer insight into the current status of arts education as a critical component of children’s learning in Michigan.
- Data analysis of survey responses will support a path toward collective action in expanding access to quality arts education for Michigan’s youth.
- Survey results will be used to aid state agencies in targeting resources and working collaboratively to offer tools, professional learning, and communications.
Stay tuned for next steps!
We’re eager to work toward collective impact with you, and we’ll share updates as they’re available. Thank you for your role in arts education. We’re excited to move forward, together.
MAEIA is a project of the Michigan Assessment Consortium with support from the Michigan Department of Education and a Services to the Field grant from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.
Resources
What We Know – And Don’t Know – About the Status of Arts Education (May 2021)
What We Know About the Status of Arts Education (November 2022)
To elevate the role of arts education, measure it | Brookings
NCES – Common Education Data Standards
Barb Whitney is an artist, educator, and administrator. Whether teaching, leading an arts nonprofit, coordinating Michigan’s statewide partners, or conducting national research, her career’s common threads are to uplift and inspire through the arts. She serves as faculty for the Arts, Cultural Management, and Museum Studies Program at Michigan State University and as the MAEIA Engagement and Fund Development Strategist. For more about Barb, visit barbwhitneyart.com. Contact: 517.883.1435, barb.whitney.artist@gmail.com.
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