The impact of a fine art program on academic gains in an elementary school

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fine arts instruction on academic achievement on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) standardized achievement test at a selected Middle Tennessee school. After increased arts instruction, students\u27 scores in mathematics and reading/language arts were analyzed before the school incorporated a new fine arts program into the core curriculum. Student data from the 2005-2006 and the 2006-2007 TCAP achievement tests were used. This study included 101 students in 3 rd through 8th grades. Demographic variables included ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and special education status. Additionally data was gathered from Center for Research in Educational Policy on teachers\u27 perceptions of the school climate before and after the fine arts program was implemented. Results from the survey (School Climate Inventory-Revised) were compared to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between teachers\u27 perceptions of the school climate during the 2005-2006 school year prior to the implementation of the arts focus program, and 2006-2007 school year following the implementation of the arts focus program. Results of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant gain in mathematics and reading language arts on the TCAP achievement test for all participants, African American students, white students, and economically disadvantaged students. There was also a statistically significant gain in reading/language arts on the TCAP achievement test for students with disabilities. There was no statistically significant gain in mathematics for students with disabilities. Additionally there was not a statistically significant difference in teachers\u27 perceptions of the school climate after fine arts were incorporated into the core curriculum. Results of this study showed students scored higher overall after the increase in arts instruction. This study found that an arts focus school setting is effective in helping students achieve academic gains