ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to estimate the within-child associations of in-school arts education and achievement in reading and mathematics, using four waves of data (kindergarten, 1st-grade, 3rd-grade, and 5th-grade) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Fixed effects techniques were applied to adjust for the confounding effects of all stable child characteristics. Arts education (minutes per week of art and music instruction) positively predicted academic achievement and growth in reading and mathematics from kindergarten to 5th-grade. Moreover, the positive associations increased in strength as students progressed to later grades.
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Acknowledgments
Grateful acknowledgments go to Daniel Hart, Paul Jargowsky, and Chris Nave for their technical advice and review of this article. Opinions stated are those of Abigail Todhunter-Reid and do not necessarily reflect those of the affiliated parties.