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Seton Hall University eRepository @ Seton Hall Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs) Fall 12-2020 Participation in Visual and Performing Arts Courses and High School Graduation Rates in New Jersey Public High Schools Richard L. Celebre Seton Hall University, rlcelebre@gmail.com Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.edu/dissertations Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Celebre, Richard L., "Participation in Visual and Performing Arts Courses and High School Graduation Rates in New Jersey Public High Schools" (2020). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs).edu/dissertations/2816 Participation in Visual and Performing Arts Courses and High School Graduation Rates in New Jersey Public High Schools by Richard Celebre Dissertation Committee Jill Patterson, Ed., Mentor Daniel Gutmore, Ph. Linda Freda, Ed.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education Department of Education, Management, Leadership, and Policy Seton Hall University 2020 Ó 2020 Richard Celebre We certify that we read this thesis written by ______________ in the Fall Semester 2020 and, in our opinion, it is sufficient in scientific scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor in Education. ________________________(Date) Jill Patterson, Ed. Research Mentor ________________________(Date) Daniel Gutmore, Ph. Reader, Member of Dissertation Committee ________________________(Date) Linda Freda, Ed.

Reader, Member of Dissertation Committee Acknowledgments “Man, kids have different types of intelligences, some arts, some athletics, some academics, but all deserve to be nurtured, all deserve a chance to shine their light,” – Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers My lifelong connection to, and affinity for, the arts lead my initial interest in pursuing a study that investigated the impact of art education on students’ academic lives. I started with a broad idea and was guided by the insights, expertise, and collaborative vision of several key contributors, towards a more focused study. I would like to acknowledge and thank those people now. I would like to thank and acknowledge the members of my dissertation committee.

To my mentor, Dr. Jill Patterson, thank you for providing guidance, insights, and positivity throughout this process. Our conversations and collaboration took an idea and transformed it into a study. Without your feedback, confidence, and supervision, none of this would have been possible.

Daniel Gutmore, thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and expertise; the insight you provided was invaluable. Linda Freda, your willingness to join the committee and provide a vision along the way that was guided by real-world administrative experiences was paramount to the completion and value of this study. To my family, thank you for your love, support, and encouragement throughout this process. To simply acknowledge my wife, Caitlin, is not enough.

The completion of this program and study would have never been possible without you in my corner. I am eternally grateful to have you by my side and consider this accomplishment as much yours as mine. Through two pregnancies and a pandemic, you never wavered in your support, positivity, understanding, and love. To my children, Tallulah and Beckett: I hope that this accomplishment may serve as a reminder in your own personal journeys that through hard work and determination, nothing is out iii of reach.

To my parents, Cheryl and Louis, words cannot express the levels of gratitude and admiration I have for you following this and every other experience we have endured together. Finally, I want to thank my siblings, Marlena and Jeffrey. It took 26 years across nine different schools for the three of us to finally share a classroom together as students. I’m sure both of our cohorts, all of our Seton Hall professors, and Dr.

Patterson, as well, realized very quickly just how unique, and at times inevitably distracting, an experience it is to complete a Doctoral program with your two best friends. As your younger brother, working to impress the two of you has always been the only motivation I have ever needed. Thank you iv Dedication To my wife, Caitlin, and my children, Tallulah and Beckett, for all of your love and support. To my parents, Cheryl and Louis, for all of your confidence and help along the way.

v Abstract Emerging issues, including limited financial resources, funding from public sources, and the increasing demand for academic excellence and achievement, are forcing high schools to reassess how current resources are allocated within their institutions. Public schools continue to look to become more efficient and strategic in the allocation of their available resources for promoting academically focused and successful students. The value of programs that are not directly connected to the standardized testing system currently in place, such as arts education, are often overlooked when school districts make their financial decisions. This is problematic because the benefits afforded to students through the participation in visual and performing arts courses are present both inside and outside of the classroom.

To those points, the purpose of this study is to examine if an association exists between the types of arts programs available to students, average schoolwide participation rates, and graduation rates. There were three key findings from this study. Those key findings were that a positive relationship exists between average 4-year participation rates in visual and performing arts and average 4-year graduation rates, that socioeconomic status was an indicator of the number of courses and concentrations offered in a district, and that a school’s DFG did not impact the depth of courses offered. These findings have implications for future policies, practice, and research studies.

vi Table of Contents Chapter I Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1 Statewide Standardized Assessments in New Jersey Public Schools……………….3 Study Purpose and Research Questions…………………………………………….…6 Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………………….7 Assumptions, Limitation, Delimitations………………………………………….10 Chapter II Review of Literature………………………………………………….16 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………20 Benefits of Visual and Performing Arts Education on Academic Achievement……21 Motivational Outcomes of Visual and Performing Arts…………………………….24 Summary of Literature…………………………………………………………………26 Chapter III Methodology………………………………………………………………………27 Research Questions……………………………………………………………….39 Chapter IV Findings…………………………………………………………………….……41 Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis……………………………………….…42 Quantitative Preliminary Findings………………………………………………….47 Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis…………………………………………….47 Qualitative Preliminary Findings………………………………………………….52 Chapter V Conclusions and Recommendations ……………………………………….……54 Summary of Quantitative Findings in Relation to Research Questions…….54 Summary of Qualitative Findings in Relation to Research Questions……….57 Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations………………………………….……59 Policy and Practice Implications………………………………………………….69 vii CHAPTER I: Introduction Visual and performing arts courses have exposed many students to positive learning experiences that leave lasting constructive effects on youth development (Davenport, 2010). Participation in visual and performing arts courses has been linked to increased academic performance in classrooms, specifically in subjects such as language arts and mathematics (Eisner, 2002). Skills learned in visual and performing arts courses are oftentimes transferred into the classroom and beyond and have been known to impact students’ self-efficacy, as represented by their feelings of self-worth, persistence, and confidence (Bandura, 1994). Similarly, studies have found that students who participate in visual and performing arts courses develop motivational skills through engagement, which helps to foster perseverance and risk- taking in the classroom (Ruppert, 2006).

Standardized testing has been around since the early 1900s, with the majority of schools in the United States engaging in some form of standardized testing by the 1930s (Perrone, 1991). With the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001 by President George W. Bush, the achievement gap that existed at that time between disadvantaged and advantaged students was targeted (Tanner and Tanner, 2007). As a result, the United States has emphasized student achievement as defined by high test scores in core subject areas such as reading, mathematics, and science on standardized tests.

This added emphasis also comes as a result of the Soviet’s launch of Sputnik in 1957, which made the United States’ students out to be falling behind the rest of the world in these subjects (Tienken, 2013). “The Soviets’ launch of Sputnik created an educational crisis in the United States; at least that is what public school critics claimed. Bureaucrats in Washington, D., quickly set out to fix our schools” (Tienken, 2013, p. When defining student achievement, the literature often ascertains that measuring 1 achievement is done by standardized test scores, particularly in Language Arts and Mathematics subject areas (Elpus, 2013).

Consequently, National policy and the standardized testing movement places focus on tested subjects, which threatens the importance placed on Visual and performing arts. Regardless of the well-researched and documented defects of the tests themselves, educational policymakers and school administrators have continued to be reliant on the data they collect from these tests to make decisions. Often, educational policymakers utilize standardized tests to push for political and school reforms (Tanner and Tanner, 2007). The negative aspects of standardized testing were discussed by Madaus and Russell (2010) when they noted: The negative effects are many.

They include narrowing the curriculum, decreasing attention on non- tested subjects, changing preschool and kindergarten curricula, narrow test preparation, corruption of test results, cheating, triaging “bubble” students, retaining students in grade, increased dropout rates, and increasing student stress and anxiety. All of these paradoxical negative consequences of high-stakes testing are chronic, predictable, and well documented over centuries and across continents (2010, p. As a way to try and combat this, the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) worked to pass a resolution in the 1970s which stated, “When cuts in the curriculum become necessary, they should be made across the board rather than categorically” (Mark, 2008, p. Pressures on music education, revolving around funding and time of instruction, have continued to today.

As recently as the No Child Left Behind Act, states were required to “Create and implement accountability standards and to determine success by testing students in curricular areas identified as core subjects” (Mark, 2008, p. While art was identified as one of these core academic subjects, the law required testing in only reading, mathematics, and science leading administrators to focus their resources on these subjects rather than on the non-testing subjects (Mark, 2008). With Visual and performing arts linked to positive student outcomes, particularly motivation and perseverance in the classroom, the lack of resources being allocated 2 in their direction continues to threaten their ability to be as impactful as necessary. During President Obama’s Administration, an initiative was implemented that was designed to purposefully infuse arts education into eight underperforming schools from high poverty areas (Stoelinga et al.

The “Turnaround Arts Initiative” found not only improvements across the board in attendance rates but improvements in reading proficiency in seven of the eight schools, as well as improved math proficiency in six of the eight (Stoelinga et al. While national policies, like President Obama’s Turnaround Arts Initiative, emphasize the importance of visual and performing arts, they continue to not be tested, further threatening the priority school districts place on them when making decisions about funding and course offerings Statewide Standardized Assessments in New Jersey Public Schools These challenges are evident in New Jersey. Similar happenings surrounding statewide standardized testing are found within the New Jersey public school systems, with the emphasis placed on Language Arts and Mathematics. According to the New Jersey Department of Education: State assessments provide a limited but important snapshot of how different groups of students are performing academically.

They also provide communities some information about whether districts are utilizing resources in a productive and equitable manner and are used with other measures to identify what schools and districts require additional support from the NJDOE. Most importantly, assessments provide critical information for enhancing curriculum, and improving teaching and learning in all schools (Repollet, 2018, p. Since 1978, New Jersey has administered statewide standardized assessments in one form or another, and in 1982, the completion of a standardized assessment was added to the requirements for graduation (Repollet, 2018). As recently as 2018, New Jersey’s Department of Education looked into further developing their statewide standardized assessment plan that is still rooted in 3 the standards-based instruction that has been adopted within the state.

In accordance with federally mandated assessment requirements, New Jersey implements the following statewide standardized assessment in their public schools; (a) Grade-level assessments in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics must be given to all students in grades 3 through 8, and once in high school.