Music & Visual Arts

U.S. Department of Education

NCES 2009–494

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS AT GRADE 8

The Arts Framework The NAEP arts framework serves as the blueprint for the assessment, describing the specific knowledge and skills that should be assessed in the arts disciplines. Developed under the guidance of the National Assessment Governing Board, the framework reflects the input of arts educators, artists, assessment specialists, policymakers, representatives from the business community, and members of the public. The National Standards for Arts Education1 also served as an important reference in the development of the NAEP arts framework.

Scoring Students’ Work in the ArtsSpecific scoring guides were developed for scorers to use when evaluating students’ responses that demonstrated a wide range of skill levels in music and visual arts.

Reporting Arts Results The average responding scores for music and visual arts are reported on separate 0–300 scales and cannot be compared.

The average creating task score for visual arts is reported as the average percentage of the maximum possible score ranging from 0 to 100.

Comparisons Between 1997 and 2008Although the questions in the 2008 assessment were taken from those administered in the 1997 arts assessment, some of the scoring procedures could not be replicated in 2008. Comparisons cannot be made between students’ scores in those two years. However, comparisons can be made for the percentages of students who responded correctly to the multiple-choice questions in the assessment, and the percentages of students based on responses to background questions that were asked in both years.

The 2008 NAEP Arts Assessment measured students’ knowledge and skills in the arts by asking them to observe, describe, analyze, and evaluate existing works of music and visual art and to create original works of visual art.

A nationally representative sample of 7,900 eighth-grade students from 260 public and private schools participated in the 2008 arts assessment. Approximately one-half of these students were assessed in music, and the other half were assessed in visual arts.

1 National Standards for Arts Education (1994). Reston, Virginia: Music Educators National Conference.

174

Overall 10th 25th 50th 75th 90thaverage score Percentile score

ss01-M-fig-1

150

194

128

105

0

300200

190

180

170

160

150

140

130

120

110

100

151

174

Music responding scale score

0

200

190

180

170

160

150

140

130

120

110

Race/ethnicity

161

130 129

159

Gender

145

155

300

Music responding scale score

Eligibility for free/reduced-price

school lunch

132

161

White Black Hispanic Female Eligible Noteligible

MaleAsian/Pacific

Islander

p-8-M-F-2

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2008 Arts Assessment.

• White and Asian/Pacific Islander students scored higher than Black and Hispanic students

• Female students scored higher than malestudents

• Students from lower-income families scored lower than those from higher-income families

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS 2008 1

The Music portion of the assessment measured students’ ability to respond to music. Students were asked to analyze and describe aspects of music they heard, critique instrumental and vocal performances, and demonstrate their knowledge of standard musical notation and music’s role in society.

score gap between the lowest- and highest-performing students

Context for Arts Education in Music

2 MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS 2008

0 10 20 30

Percent

40 50 60 70 80 90 100

2008

Once or twicea week 27

At least 3 or 4times a week 57

Subject notoffered 8

Less than oncea week

1997

38

43

9

10

8

Percentage of students by school-reported frequencywith which instruction in music is available

What Students Know and Can Do in Music

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1997 and 2008 Arts Assessments.

Students listened to “Rhapsody in Blue”

At the beginning of the piece, a solo is played on

A a flute

B an oboe

C a saxophone

a clarinet

1

What does the symbol in circle 1 tell the

performer to do?

What is the musical (Italian) name for the

symbol in circle 1?

0 10 20 30Percent

40 50 60 70 80 90 100

19972008

Playinstruments

Write downmusic

Work on groupassignments

Make upown music

Listen tomusic

Sing

16

17

36

26*

33

28

28

30

49

51

35

33

Percentage of students who participate in music activitiesin school at least once a month

attended schools where music instruction was offered at least 3 or 4 times a week in 2008

correct

• More students were asked to write down music since 1997

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2008.

correct

VISUAL ARTS HIGHLIGHTS 2008 3

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2008 Arts Assessment.

CREATING questions assessed students’ ability to communicate in works of art, think of different solutions to visual problems, and generate ideas for and then create works of art and design.

• White and Asian/Pacific Islander students scored higher than Black and Hispanic students

• Female students scored higher on creating tasks than male students

• Students from lower-income families scored lower than those from higher-income families

RESPONDING questions asked students to analyze and describe works of art and design.

The Visual Arts portion of the assessment measured students’ ability to respond to and create visual art.

score gap between the lowest- and highest-performing students

150

Overall 10th 25th 50th 75th 90thaverage score Percentile score

ss01-VA-fig-1

104

174

0

300200

190

180

170

160

150

140

130

120

110

100

Visual arts responding scale score

193

152

128

Race/ethnicity

54

55

46

43

Gender54

49

Eligibilityfor free/

reduced-priceschool lunch 55

46

0 10 20 30

Percent of maximum score for creating

40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Black

Hispanic

Asian/PacificIslander

Male

Eligible

Not eligible

White

Female

Overall 52

Visual arts creating task score

ps-Gr8-VA-AveCreatingScore

0 10 20 30

Percent

40 50 60 70 80 90 100

200847

At least 3 or 4times a week

30Once or twice

a week

10

Less than oncea week

1997

52

25

5

17

14

Subject notoffered

Percentage of students by school-reported frequencywith which instruction in visual arts is available

4 VISUAL ARTS HIGHLIGHTS 2008

Context for Arts Education in Visual Arts

• No significant changes in the frequency of visual arts instruction from 1997 to 2008

attended schools where visual arts instruction was offered at least 3 or 4 times a week in 2008

0 10 20 30

Percent

40 50 60 70 80 90 100

1997

2008

Choose ownart project

Work in a pair or agroup on anart project

Talk with othersabout own artwork orthat of other students

Write aboutown artwork

Look at videotapes,filmstrips, slides,

or televisionprograms about art

Paint ordraw

Make things outof clay or

other materials

45

43

21*

27

50

43

39

47*

41

38

80

80

53

40

Percentage of students who participate in arts activitiesin school at least once a month

• More students asked to write about their artwork, and fewer students asked to choose their own art project since 1997

* Significantly different (p < .05) from 2008.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1997 and 2008 Arts Assessments.

Students were given a set of colored oil pastels, a charcoal pencil, a mirror, and a sheet of 12-inch by 18-inch white drawing paper to use to create a self-portrait that

expressed something important about their personalities. Students’ self-portraits were rated using four scoring levels: Sufficient, Uneven, Minimal, and Insufficient.

What Students Know and Can Do in Visual Arts

VISUAL ARTS HIGHLIGHTS 2008 5

rated “Sufficient”

rated “Uneven”

rated “Insufficient”

rated “Minimal”

The Nation’s Report CardTM informs the public about the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students in the United States. Report cards communicate the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a continuing and nationally representative measure of achievement in various subjects over time.

Since 1969, NAEP assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, the arts, and other subjects. NAEP collects and reports information on student performance at the national, state, and local levels, making the assessment an integral part of our nation’s evaluation of the condition and progress of education. Only academic achievement data and related background information are collected. The privacy of individual students and their families is protected.

NAEP is a congressionally authorized project of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible for carrying out the NAEP project. The National Assessment Governing Board oversees and sets policy for NAEP.

To learn more about the arts framework, visit http://www.nagb.org/publications/frameworks/ arts-framework08.pdf.

What is The Nation’s Report Card™?

T H E N A T I O N ’ S R E P O R T C A R D

A r t s 2 0 0 8

M u s i c & V i s u a l A r t s H I G H L I G H T SJune 2009

M O R E I N F O R M A T I O NThe report release site is http://nationsreportcard.gov.

The NCES web electronic catalog is http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.

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or call toll free 1-877-4ED-Pubs

or order online at http://www.edpubs.org.

C O N T A C TEmmanuel Sikali202-502-7419 emmanuel.sikali@ed.gov