| The relationship between arts learning and the SAT is of considerable interest to anyone concerned with college readiness and admissions issues. The SAT Reasoning Test (formerly known as the SAT I) is the most widely used test offered by the College Board as part of its SAT Program. It assesses students’ verbal and math skills and knowledge and is described as a “standardized measure of college readiness.”
Many public colleges and universities use SAT scores in admissions.
Nearly half of the nation’s three million high school graduates in 2005 took the SAT. Multiple independent studies have shown increased years of enrollment in arts courses are positively correlated with higher SAT verbal and math scores. High school students who take arts classes have higher math and verbal SAT scores than students who take no arts classes. Arts participation and SAT scores co-vary—that is, they tend to increase linearly: the more arts classes, the higher the scores. This relationship is illustrated in the 2005 results shown below. Notably, students who took four years of arts coursework outperformed their peers who had one half-year or less of arts coursework by 58 points on the verbal portion and 38 points on the math portion of
the SAT. |
The SAT and Arts Learning
Arts Course-taking Patterns and SAT Scores, 2005:
VERBAL MATH
4+ years arts 534 540
4 years 543 541
3 years 514 516
2 years 508 517
1 year 501 515
1/2 year or less 485 502
Average for All SAT Test Takers
508 520
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