Arts For All: School Arts Survey

Arts for All, a partnership between the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Office of Education, and local partners, developed the School Arts Survey to measure the availability and quality of arts education throughout Los Angeles County. The survey was administered as a pilot to five Los Angeles County schools. Using 16 indicators of quality, access, and equity, the survey can be used to compare arts programs at different schools. Indicators of pedagogy, student learning, school environment, and community engagement were evaluated by school staff using a 10 point scale. Arts for All admits their data may be incomplete due to survey fatigue. For example, some answers about programming were left blank because the question appeared at the end of the survey. After compiling the data, Arts for All ran additional statistical analysis to include indicators of poverty such as location and Title I status as a factor in the analysis of survey data. This report reveals key survey findings. Among them, the strongest quality of instruction is found in music and visual arts at both the elementary and secondary school levels. 43% of elementary schools’ arts program are funded entirely from external dollars. 14% of elementary schools and 28% of secondary schools have a formal written policy regarding arts education that is consistent with the county policy. In addition, schools serving students in high-poverty areas offered less fewer art classes for their students than schools serving more affluent populations. This is a helpful resource for education professionals, researchers performing evaluations of  their school districts’ arts education offerings, and arts advocates.