Although the full impact of bringing the arts to children's lives is beyond measure, the programs offered at Inner-City Arts support creative and intellectual development in ways that can be quantified.
A recent evaluation of Inner-City Arts programs by the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSE&IS) proved conclusively that children who attend classes at Inner-City Arts, and whose teachers actively participate in Inner-City Arts programs, score dramatically better in math, reading and language arts on statewide standardized tests:
- 18% increase in reading scores
- 8% increase in English proficiency
- 25% increase in mathematics scores
Additional benefits* of Inner-City Arts programs include:
- dropout rates are reduced
- students are more focused and engaged in the classroom
- students believe they have control over their future
- students are motivated to achieve
- students learn to manage risk; are no longer at-risk
- students develop skills highly valued in the 21st century workforce, such as creative and conceptual thinking and collaborating with others
Since 1989, Inner-City Arts has brought these benefits to more than 150,000 children.
*Source: James S. Catterall, "The Arts and the Transfer of Learning."
Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student and Academic and Social Development.
Washington, D.C.: Arts Education Partnership, 2002
“Teachers teach you how to be yourself.”
Serena, age 9
Inner-City Arts student
