Introduction

The national graduation crisis has reached epidemic proportions.⁵ More than one million students across the United States drop out of high school each year.⁶ Moreover, nearly one third of all high school students, and nearly half of all African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans, fail to graduate from public high school on time.⁷

The crisis is especially pronounced in New York City, where the four-year graduation rate for the class of 2008 was a dismal 56 percent. Of that class, the graduation rates for Latino and African American students were 49 percent and 51 percent, respectively. In contrast, White and Asian students graduated with rates of 72 percent and 74 percent, respectively.⁸

While students fail to finish high school for myriad reasons—ranging from socioeconomic issues to a lack of interest in the curriculum—in a recent national survey of ethnically diverse high school dropouts, more than half of the respondents said that the major reason for dropping out of high school was that they felt their classes were uninteresting and irrelevant.⁹

It should be noted that some students who do not graduate in four years eventually receive their diploma. On the other hand, more than 20 percent of the class of 2007 were “discharged”–that is, removed from the city’s enrollment rolls without officially dropping out or graduating.¹⁰

The consequences of the graduation crisis are both painful and sustained. Dropouts are much more likely than graduates to be unemployed or living in poverty, in prison or on death row, unhealthy, divorced, or single parents with children who drop out of high school themselves. These outcomes are particularly evident in New York City, where one in every five young people is out of school and out of work.¹¹

Studies attest to the success of strong arts programs as a means to prevent the disengagement that usually predicts dropping out.¹² Arts education has a measurable impact in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy problems, and students at risk of not successfully completing their high school education cite their participation in the arts as a reason for staying in school. The opportunity for students to engage in the arts—through bands and choruses, dance and theater productions, exhibitions of their original art, and publications of original literary and visual work—has always been a strong motivator for students and can play a key role in tackling the graduation crisis.

The findings in this report reinforce the observation that the arts help keep students interested in school and on the path to graduation.

The Economic Benefits of Graduation

By virtually every economic measure, high school graduates are better positioned to lead successful adult lives than those who fail to receive their diploma.¹³ According to Cities in Crisis 2009, a comprehensive analysis of the economic impact of the graduation crisis, earning a diploma increases the likelihood of steady employment by 30 percent and cuts the chances of experiencing poverty in half. The median income for someone without a high school diploma was slightly more than $17,000 annually in 2005, compared to the median income for high school graduates of almost $27,000.¹⁴ Over their lifetimes, graduates earn an estimated $1 million more than high school dropouts.¹⁵

High school graduation impacts not only individuals but also the nation and the economy as a whole. Graduates contribute more to the tax base and take less public assistance than students who drop out.¹⁶ The Alliance for Excellent Education, a national policy and advocacy organization that works to increase graduation rates, estimates that if the students from the class of 2009 who dropped out had graduated, the nation’s economy would have benefited from nearly $335 billion in additional income over the course of their lifetimes.¹⁷

The Power of Arts Education

According to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, “The arts can help students become tenacious, team-oriented problem-solvers who are confident and able to think creatively. These qualities can be especially important in improving learning among students from economically disadvantaged circumstances.”¹⁸

There is growing evidence that the arts contribute to learning across disciplines and to the thought process itself. In March 2008, the Dana Foundation released a series of studies, conducted by leading neuroscientists from six prestigious universities, demonstrating a “tight correlation” between exposure to the arts and improved skills in cognition and attention for learning.¹⁹ At a symposium in May 2008 at Johns Hopkins University, several scientists showed evidence of the “near transfer” from one part of the brain to another of measurable learning and attention abilities attained through arts learning experiences.²⁰

These recent findings are reinforced by a body of work that highlights the positive impact of arts learning on student achievement and academic success.²¹ In a well-regarded U.S. Department of Education study that examined data for 25,000 middle and high school students, students who were highly involved in the arts performed better on standardized achievement tests than those with little or no involvement in the arts.²² Moreover, the students involved in the arts participated in more community service, watched fewer hours of television, and reported less boredom in school.²³ The College Board found that students engaged in arts learning for all four years of high school scored substantially higher on the SAT than students with six months or less training in the arts—58 points higher on verbal and 38 points higher on math.²⁴

Engaging At-Risk Youth

Studies show that access to arts education in school offers distinct benefits to economically disadvantaged youth and students at risk of dropping out.²⁵ An 11-year national study that examined youth in low-income neighborhoods found that those who participated in arts programs were much more likely to be high academic achievers, be elected to class office, participate in a math or science fair, or win an award for writing an essay or poem.²⁶

According to a multicity U.S. Department of Justice study, arts programming not only increased academic performance of those students involved in the project, but also decreased juvenile delinquency and drug use, increased self-esteem, and led to more positive interactions with peers and adults.²⁷

Students themselves have attributed many of the benefits realized through arts education to the increased interaction with caring and supportive arts instructors and educators, as well as to an increase in self-esteem and sense of achievement gained through the learning opportunities.²⁸ Once students experience success in arts classes, they are better able to understand the benefits and the process of the hard work that goes into all learning.