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The purpose of the 2015 Local Arts Agency (LAA) Census was to characterize the different ways that LAAs perform their vital roles in every community. LAAs share the goals of enabling diverse forms of arts and culture to thrive locally, ensuring broad accessibility to the public, and building healthier communities through the arts.

The census provides details about LAA staffing and oversight, services and programs, partnerships and collaborations in the community, grantmaking, diversity within staff/volunteers/board and diversity in programming, marketing and communications practices, arts education, services for the military, and operating revenues and expenditures, and more. For a more detailed listing of question groups, please refer to the Description of Variables below.

This study contains data from the two forms of the surveys (Full and Abbreviated--a subset of the Full survey). These surveys were distributed online to 4,377 individual Local Arts Agencies in the United States which were known to Americans for the Arts in 2015. A total of 1,127 LAAs responded to the census survey. 641 submitted the Full survey; 486 completed the Abbreviated survey. The overall response rate was 26%.

The data is contained in two separate datasets comprising results from the two surveys. The Full Survey (dataset 1) contains data from the 641 respondents who completed the long survey. The Combined Surveys (dataset 2) contains responses from both the 486 respondents of the abbreviated survey as well the corresponding 641 responses from the full survey for a total of 1,127 respondents. The rate of response from large and mid-sized LAAs was very high, while small and volunteer-driven LAAs were underrepresented in the survey respondents.

The National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) provides descriptive data on the educational activities of the U.S. population and offers researchers, educators, and policymakers a variety of statistics on the condition of education in the United States. The NHES surveys cover learning at all ages, from early childhood to school age through adulthood. The most recent data collection in 2012 consisted of two surveys: Parent and Family Involvement in Education and Early Childhood Program Participation.

Parent and Family Involvement in Education (PFI) captures data on parent engagement and school choice for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Parents are surveyed on a range of topics, including assistance with homework, family activities, and involvement in school affairs. Arts-related inquiries within PFI include frequency of arts and crafts activities, attendance at school events such as plays or science fairs, engagement in artistic endeavors, visits to cultural institutions like art galleries or museums, and potential interference of health conditions with participation in extracurricular activities.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study SM is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded leading researchers in the fields of adolescent development and neuroscience to conduct this ambitious project. The ABCD Research Consortium consists of a Coordinating Center, a Data Analysis, Informatics & Resource Center, and 21 research sites across the country, which have invited 11,880 children ages 9-10 to join the study. Researchers will track their biological and behavioral development through adolescence into young adulthood.

Arts measures in ABCD include how can arts experiences be best used to enhance development of each individual? How can arts experience be best used to promote health and address developmental disorders? And also, how can neuroscience research provide a foundation for rational approaches to how we integrate arts into development?

ABCD enables us to track a trajectory of broad measures of cortical area thickness of the brain over time and see whether individuals keep on with the mean, go higher, lower, and so forth. And what factors might affect those trajectories.The data shows the relationship between music engagement and brain and behavioral developmental trajectories in childhood and adolescence, using rich characterization of brain, behavior, demographics, and genetics available in ABCD.

Arts experiences in ABCD are captured largely as part of something called the activities questionnaire, which is a pretty detailed questionnaire given to parents, which includes detailed information about participation in a wide range of activities, which include many different sports, but also performance in the arts, music, dance, drama, visual and crafts. Activities such as active engagement, learning, lessons, playing in bands, creating art (school, outside school, private lessons, and self-study). The data offers insights into effects of arts-related activities on cognitive outcomes like fluid and crystallized intelligence, executive function, working memory-specific measures, risk scores for IQ, and educational attainment.

Watch the recording of NADAC's webinar featuring Dr. Gay Dowling, Director of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Project, and Dr. Iversen, a cognitive neuroscientist. Dr. Dowling provides an overview of the ABCD study, while Dr. Iversen discusses the arts-specific measures within the ABCD data and explains how these measures, combined with comprehensive brain and cognitive assessments, reveal the impact of the arts on brain development.

Additional ABCD resources:

• The Sound Health Network

• The ABSD Data Dictionary

• NIMH Data Archive

• ABCD GitHub

• ABCD Study Infographics

This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey administered as a supplement to the February 2013 basic CPS questionnaire. The supplement, on the topic of public participation in the arts in the United States, was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The CPS, administered monthly, collects labor force data about the civilian noninstitutional population aged 15 years old or older living in the United States. Moreover, the CPS provides current estimates of the economic status and activities of this population which includes estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. The basic CPS data are provided on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. In addition, CPS provides respondents' demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and industry.

In addition to the basic CPS questions, the February 2013 Annual Arts Basic Survey (AABS) questions were asked of the CPS respondent and spouse as well as another randomly selected household member aged 18 or older and his/her spouse. About one-quarter of the sampled households were asked the supplement questions. Interview numbers 3 and 7 were asked the supplement questions. If the selected person had a spouse or partner then questions were also asked of the spouse/partner. The supplement contained questions about the sampled member's participation in various artistic activities from February 2012 through February 2013. Questions were asked about the type of artistic activity attended including attending a live music, theater, or dance performance. Questions also included attending a live book reading or a poetry or storytelling event, an art exhibit, going to the movies or to see a film, or taking any lessons or classes in music or music appreciation. Interviews were conducted during the period of February 17-23, 2013. The total sample size of the 2013 AABS was 150,827 Americans, ages 18 and older.

This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey administered as a supplement to the February 2015 basic CPS questionnaire. The supplement, on the topic of public participation in the arts in the United States, was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The CPS, administered monthly, collects labor force data about the civilian noninstitutional population aged 15 years old or older living in the United States. Moreover, the CPS provides current estimates of the economic status and activities of this population which includes estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. The basic CPS data are provided on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. In addition, CPS provides respondents' demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and industry.

In addition to the basic CPS questions, the February 2015 Annual Arts Basic Survey (AABS) questions were asked of the CPS respondent and spouse as well as another randomly selected household member aged 18 or older and his/her spouse. About one-quarter of the sampled households were asked the supplement questions. Interview numbers 3 and 7 were asked the supplement questions. If the selected person had a spouse or partner then questions were also asked of the spouse/partner. The supplement contained questions about the sampled member's participation in various artistic activities from February 2014 through February 2015. Questions were asked about the type of artistic activity attended including attending a live music, theater, or dance performance. Questions also included attending a live book reading or a poetry or storytelling event, an art exhibit, going to the movies or to see a film, or taking any lessons or classes in music or music appreciation. Interviews were conducted during the period of several days in February 2015. The total sample size of the 2015 AABS was 151,788 Americans, ages 18 and older.

This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey administered as a supplement to the February 2016 basic CPS questionnaire. The supplement, on the topic of public participation in the arts in the United States, was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The CPS, administered monthly, collects labor force data about the civilian noninstitutional population aged 15 years old or older living in the United States. Moreover, the CPS provides current estimates of the economic status and activities of this population which includes estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. The basic CPS data are provided on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. In addition, CPS provides respondents' demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and industry.

In addition to the basic CPS questions, the February 2016 Annual Arts Basic Survey (AABS) questions were asked of the CPS respondent and spouse as well as another randomly selected household member aged 18 or older and his/her spouse. About one-quarter of the sampled households were asked the supplement questions. Interview numbers 3 and 7 were asked the supplement questions. If the selected person had a spouse or partner then questions were also asked of the spouse/partner. The supplement contained questions about the sampled member's participation in various artistic activities from February 2015 through February 2016. Questions were asked about the use of pottery, ceramics, jewelry, leatherwork, metalwork and woodwork. They were also asked about weaving, crocheting, needlepoint, knitting, sewing, and whether they played a musical instrument. Questions also included doing any acting, singing or dance. Interviews were conducted during the period of February 14-20, 2016. The total sample size of the 2016 AABS was 150,294 Americans, ages 18 and older.

The tables report selected forms of arts participation for U.S. states and the District of Columbia. State-level figures are reported for those estimates with coefficients of variation under 30 percent, at 90 percent confidence. The period refers to the 12 months ending February 2020.

The data were derive from the 2020 Arts Basic Survey (ABS), a supplement to the Current Population Survey, and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The following state-level tables are included:

• Table 1A. Percent of U.S. adults who work with pottery, ceramics, or jewelry, or who create visual art such as paintings, sculpture, or graphic designs, by state
• Table 1B. Percent of U.S. adults do leatherwork, metalwork, or woodwork, or who weave, crochet, quilt, do needlepoint, knit, or sew, by state
• Table 1C. Percent of U.S. adults who play a musical instrument, by state
• Table 1D. Percent of U.S. adults who perform or practice any singing, by state
• Table 1E. Percent of U.S. adults who create any films or videos, or who take any photographs, as artistic activities, by state
• Table 1F. Percent of U.S. adults who attend live music, theater, or dance events, by state
• Table 1G. Percent of U.S. adults who go to art exhibits, by state
• Table 1H. Percent of U.S. adults who go out to the movies or go to see films, by state
• Table 1I. Percent of U.S. adults who visit buildings, neighborhoods, parks, or monuments for their historical, architectural, or design value, by state
• Table 1J. Percent of U.S. adults who read literature (novels or short stories, poetry, or plays), by state
• Table 1K. Percent of U.S. adults who use a device to watch, listen to, or download any music, theater, dance, or creative writing, or information about these art forms, by state

For information about the 2020 ABS, please visit the 2020 ABS study homepage.

The 2018 Arts Basic Survey (ABS) was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the Current Population Survey. This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey administered as a supplement to the February 2018 basic CPS questionnaire. The supplement, on the topic of public participation in the arts in the United States, was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The CPS, administered monthly, collects labor force data about the civilian noninstitutional population aged 15 years old or older living in the United States. Moreover, the CPS provides current estimates of the economic status and activities of this population which includes estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. The basic CPS data are provided on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. In addition, CPS provides respondents' demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and industry.

The ABS captures data on American's participation in the arts through personal performance and creation. Examples include the share of adults who: play a musical instrument; perform or practice singing, dance, or acting; take photographs for artistic purposes; and engage in textile arts such as knitting, crocheting, or embroidery. Questions were also asked about the use of pottery, ceramics, jewelry, leatherwork, metalwork and woodwork. The 2018 ABS sample size was 18,116.

The 2020 Arts Basic Survey (ABS) was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic CPS and a survey administered as a supplement to the February 2020 basic CPS questionnaire. The supplement, on the topic of public participation in the arts in the United States, was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The CPS, administered monthly, collects labor force data about the civilian noninstitutional population aged 15 years old or older living in the United States. Moreover, the CPS provides current estimates of the economic status and activities of this population which includes estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. The basic CPS data are provided on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. In addition, CPS provides respondents' demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and industry.

The ABS captures data on American's participation in the arts through attendance at arts events and personal performance and creation of art. The respondent 18 years of age or older and his/her spouse as well as a second randomly selected person and his/her spouse/partner as applicable were asked the supplement questions. The 2020 ABS sample size was 34,995. Questions asked included the following:

• Do any leisure activities such as working with pottery, ceramics or jewelry, leatherwork, woodwork, or any weaving, crocheting, needlepoint, knitting, or sewing.
• Play a musical instrument.
• Perform any acting, dancing, or singing. Take part in any visual artistic activity or creative writing.

ArtScan, a project of the Arts Education Partnership, is a searchable clearinghouse of the latest state policies supporting education in and through the arts from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Since 1999, the Arts Education Partnership has tracked state policies for arts education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. In 2013, AEP, with the cooperation of Education Commission of the States, merged its State Policy Database with the Education Commission of the States' database, ArtScan. To update the information for the 2014 edition of ArtScan, AEP staff conducted a comprehensive search of state education statutes and codes on each state's relevant websites. The new structure for the 2014 ArtScan allows users to explore the data in multiple ways, including a state-level profile for all policy areas, a comparison of selected states and policy areas, and several types of 50-state reports.

There are at least five ways to engage with the data housed in ArtScan.

• Capture a snapshot of all the data ArtScan has to offer about your state including state policies in 14 policy areas.
• Create custom side-by-side comparison reports using a search engine that allows you to choose individual states and policy areas/data points of interest to you.
• Compare the policies of all 50 states and the District of Columbia within specific policy areas (e.g. requirements for high school art education).
• Explore a summary of state policies for arts education identified in statute or code for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• Learn more about ArtScan and explore an analysis of the findings in A Snapshot of State Policies for Arts Education (March 2014).

ArtsEdSearch is an online clearinghouse that collects and summarizes high quality research studies on the impacts of arts education and analyzes their implications for educational policy and practice.

ArtsEdSearch is a project of the Arts Education Partnership (AEP), and builds on Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, a compendium of research that AEP published in 2002 exploring the impact of arts education on student success in school, life, and work. AEP has developed ArtsEdSearch as a resource for policymakers and education stakeholders and leaders to better understand and articulate the role that arts education can play in preparing students to succeed in the changing contexts of the 21st Century.

ArtsEdSearch currently includes summaries of over 200 research studies, syntheses of the major findings of these studies, and implications of the collected research for educational policy.

ArtsEdSearch focuses on research examining how education in the arts--in both discrete arts classes and integrated arts lessons--affects students' cognitive, personal, social and civic development, as well as how the integration of the arts into the school curriculum affects educators' instructional practice and engagement in the teaching profession.

ArtsEdSearch does not include research studies about how to teach the arts well or about how to assess student content knowledge and technical skill in the arts. These topics are of great importance to ensuring that students receive a high quality arts education and are the subject of other clearinghouses devoted to research on teaching and learning within particular arts disciplines.

The Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study captures information on the transition of bachelor's degree recipients into the labor force, with a focus on recent graduates, particularly young adults under age 25 and those aged 25-29. The study provides insights into various aspects of graduates' experiences, including their employment, education, and certification status. While the sample size for arts graduates is relatively small, the study offers valuable data for understanding educational and employment experiences, and career trajectories of individuals in arts-related fields.

Access to the available public-use data is provided through DataLab. Restricted-use data are also available under restricted-use license.

Key Variables Related to Arts Education and Employment:

1. B1ARTRCNT: Indicates whether the respondent taught arts or music at the most recent teaching job held within 12 months after completing their bachelor's degree.

2. B1CERTART: Indicates whether the respondent was certified to teach arts or music as of the Baccalaureate and Beyond interview.

3. B1EPRMSBRCNT: Indicates the primary subject taught at the most recent teaching job held within 12 months after completing the bachelor's degree, with a value indicating arts or music.

4. B1HIDGMAJ: Indicates the major or field of study within 12 months after completing the bachelor's degree, with specific categories related to arts, such as design and applied arts.

5. B1OCC231ST: Indicates the respondent's occupation for the first job within 12 months after completing the bachelor's degree, with categories including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media.

6. B1OCC23RCNT: Indicates the respondent's occupation for the most recent job within 12 months after completing the bachelor's degree, with categories related to arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations.

7. B2ARTTCHCRT: Indicates whether the respondent was certified to teach arts or music and whether they taught arts or music at their most recent teaching job within 4 years after completing the bachelor's degree.

8. B2HICMAJ: Indicates the major or field of study within 4 years after completing the bachelor's degree, with categories including visual and performing arts.

9. B2OCC23RCNT: Indicates the respondent's occupation at their most recent employer within 4 years after completing the bachelor's degree, with categories related to arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations.

Additionally, the study includes variables related to the Carnegie Classification of institutions attended by the graduates, as well as detailed information on their field of study or major, particularly in visual and performing arts.

The Creative Community Index, a research initiative produced by Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley, measured cultural participation and creativity in the Silicon Valley in 2002 and 2005. The first wave of the study, in 2002, consisted of two surveys: one survey measured the breadth and frequency of cultural participation by residents of Santa Clara County, and another survey gathered a range of data about the current health and vitality of nonprofit arts and culture organizations in the region. The second wave, in 2005, surveyed Silicon Valley residents, nonprofit cultural organizations, local area leaders, and local artists.

The Survey of Silicon Valley Residents [2002] surveyed 361 adult residents of Santa Clara County, California in January and February 2002, and the Survey of Silicon Valley Residents [2005] surveyed 1,007 adult residents of Santa Clara County, California in April 2005. Respondents for both years were asked about their behavior and beliefs regarding arts and culture in their community. The Survey of Cultural Organizations [2002] collected data from 135 organizations in 2001. The organizations were asked a series of questions about their artistic products and programs, organizational capacity, and funding sources in an effort to gather a range of data about the current health and vitality of nonprofit arts groups in the region. The Survey of Silicon Valley Leaders [2005] surveyed adult residents of Santa Clara County between March and April 2005. The survey asked former and current members of American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley about their organization's ability to attract and retain creative workers to Silicon Valley, as well as their participation, as an individual and with children, in arts and related activities.

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program includes three longitudinal studies that examine child development, school readiness, and early school experiences, including arts participation. The birth cohort of the ECLS-B is a sample of children born in 2001 and followed from birth through kindergarten entry. The kindergarten class of 1998-99 cohort is a sample of children followed from kindergarten through the eighth grade. The kindergarten class of 2010-11 cohort is following a sample of children from kindergarten through the fifth grade.

The ECLS program provides national data on children's status at birth and at various points thereafter; children's transitions to nonparental care, early education programs, and school; and children's experiences and growth through the eighth grade. The ECLS program also provides data to analyze the relationships among a wide range of family, school, community, and individual variables with children's development, early learning, and performance in school.

NADAC data users can find variables about children's participation in the arts in the ECLS studies. Respondents were asked questions about the child's participation in the arts, such as whether they saw a play, concert, or show; visited an art museum or historical site; or went to a library and bookstore. Respondents were questioned about children's arts education, including whether the child took art, music, dance, or drama classes or lessons; participated in performing arts programs; or used technology to learn arts-related skills. Questions were also asked about arts-related content in the teachers' curriculum, the teachers' participation in arts activities, and the parents' participation in arts activities.

Restricted-use and public-use files containing data from the kindergarten, first-grade, second-grade, third-grade, and fourth-grade rounds of data collection for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011) are available. Please note that while the ECLS-K:2011 was designed to allow for cross-cohort comparisons with the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), the direct child cognitive assessment scores available on these files are not directly comparable to scores from the ECLS-K. Child assessment scores designed specifically for comparisons between the ECLS-K and ECLS-K:2011 cohorts are currently in development, with an anticipated release date to be determined. Data users can use data from the current data file release to compare the two cohorts in other ways, for example, to look at differences in demographic characteristics or the home, school, and classroom experiences of the two groups.

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), United States Department of Education. FRSS is designed to collect issue-oriented data within a relatively short time frame. FRSS collects data from state education agencies, local education agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, public school teachers, and public libraries. To ensure minimal burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three pages of questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent. Sample sizes are relatively small (usually about 1,000 to 1,500 respondents per survey) so that data collection can be completed quickly. Data are weighted to produce national estimates of the sampled education sector. The sample size is large enough to permit limited breakouts by classification variables. However, as the number of categories within the classification variables increases, the sample size within categories decreases, which results in larger sampling errors for the breakouts by classification variables.

The Arts Education Surveys of Elementary School Teachers provide national estimates on arts education and arts instructors in public elementary schools during the 2009-10 school year. This data collection contains three surveys that provide information about music specialists, visual arts specialists, and self-contained classroom teachers. These three surveys are part of a set of seven surveys that collected data on arts education during the 2009-10 school year. In addition to these elementary teacher surveys, the set includes a survey of elementary school principals, a survey of secondary school principals, and two secondary teacher-level surveys. A stratified sample design was used to select teachers and arts specialists (music and visual arts) for the Arts Education Surveys of Elementary School Teachers. Data collection was conducted September 2009 through August 2010. Altogether, 1,148 eligible music specialists, 918 eligible visual arts specialists, and 734 eligible self-contained classroom teachers completed the surveys by web, mail, fax, or telephone.

The elementary teacher surveys collected data on the availability of curriculum-based arts education activities outside of regular school hours, teaching load of music and visual arts specialists in elementary schools, teacher participation in various professional development activities, the ways in which self-contained classroom teachers teach arts education as part of their instructional program, and teachers' use of formal methods of assessment of students' achievement in the arts. Furthermore, teachers were also asked to provide administrative information such as school level, school enrollment size, school community type, and percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), United States Department of Education. FRSS is designed to collect issue-oriented data within a relatively short time frame. FRSS collects data from state education agencies, local education agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, public school teachers, and public libraries. To ensure minimal burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three pages of questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent. Sample sizes are relatively small (usually about 1,000 to 1,500 respondents per survey) so that data collection can be completed quickly. Data are weighted to produce national estimates of the sampled education sector. The sample size is large enough to permit limited breakouts by classification variables. However, as the number of categories within the classification variables increases, the sample size within categories decreases, which results in larger sampling errors for the breakouts by classification variables.

The Arts Education Surveys of Secondary School Teachers provide national estimates on arts education and arts instructors in public secondary schools during the 2009-10 school year. This data collection contains two surveys that provide information about music specialists and visual arts specialists. These two surveys are part of a set of seven surveys that collected data on arts education during the 2009-10 school year. In addition to these secondary teacher surveys, the set includes a survey of elementary school principals, a survey of secondary school principals, and three elementary teacher-level surveys. A stratified sample design was used to select music specialists and visual arts specialists for the Arts Education Surveys of Secondary School Teachers. Data collection was conducted September 2009 through July 2010. Altogether, 1,065 eligible music specialists and 1,046 eligible visual arts specialists completed the surveys by web, mail, fax, or telephone.

The secondary teacher surveys collected data on the availability of curriculum-based arts education activities outside of regular school hours; teaching load of music and visual arts specialists in secondary schools; teacher participation in various professional development activities and the perceived impact of such participation on teaching; and teachers' use of formal methods of assessment of students' progress and achievement in the arts. Furthermore, teachers were also asked to provide administrative information such as school level, school enrollment size, school community type, and percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), United States Department of Education. FRSS is designed to collect issue-oriented data within a relatively short time frame. FRSS collects data from state education agencies, local education agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, public school teachers, and public libraries. To ensure minimal burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three pages of questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent. Sample sizes are relatively small (usually about 1,000 to 1,500 respondents per survey) so that data collection can be completed quickly. Data are weighted to produce national estimates of the sampled education sector. The sample size is large enough to permit limited breakouts by classification variables. However, as the number of categories within the classification variables increases, the sample size within categories decreases, which results in larger sampling errors for the breakouts by classification variables.

The Elementary School Arts Education Survey, Fall 2009 data provide national estimates on student access to arts education and resources available for such instruction in public elementary schools during fall 2009. This is one of a set of seven surveys that collected data on arts education during the 2009-10 school year. In addition to this survey, the set includes a survey of secondary school principals, three elementary teacher-level surveys, and two secondary teacher-level surveys. A stratified sample design was used to select principals for this survey. Data collection was conducted September 2009 through June 2010, and 988 eligible principals completed the survey by web, mail, fax, or telephone.

The elementary school survey collected data on the availability and characteristics of music, visual arts, dance, and drama/theatre instruction; the type of space used for arts instruction; the availability of curriculum guides for arts teachers to follow; the availability of curriculum-based arts education activities outside of regular school hours; and whether those teaching the subject are arts specialists. Principals also reported on school or district provision of teacher professional development in the arts; arts education programs, activities, and events; and school-community partnerships. Principals were also asked to provide administrative information such as school instructional level, school enrollment size, community type, and percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), United States Department of Education. FRSS is designed to collect issue-oriented data within a relatively short time frame. FRSS collects data from state education agencies, local education agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, public school teachers, and public libraries. To ensure minimal burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three pages of questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent. Sample sizes are relatively small (usually about 1,000 to 1,500 respondents per survey) so that data collection can be completed quickly. Data are weighted to produce national estimates of the sampled education sector. The sample size is large enough to permit limited breakouts by classification variables. However, as the number of categories within the classification variables increases, the sample size within categories decreases, which results in larger sampling errors for the breakouts by classification variables.

The Secondary School Arts Education Survey, Fall 2009 data provide national estimates on student access to arts education and the resources available for such instruction in public secondary schools during fall 2009. This is one of a set of seven surveys that collected data on arts education during the 2009-10 school year. In addition to this survey, the set includes a survey of elementary school principals, three elementary teacher-level surveys, and two secondary teacher-level surveys. A stratified sample design was used to select principals for this survey. Data collection was conducted September 2009 through June 2010, and 1,014 eligible principals completed the survey by web, mail, fax, or telephone.

The secondary school survey collected data on the availability of music, visual arts, dance, and drama/theatre instruction; enrollment in these courses, the type of space used for arts instruction, the availability of curriculum guides for arts teachers to follow, and the number of arts teachers who are specialists in the subject. Principals reported on graduation requirements for coursework in the arts; school or district provision of teacher professional development in the arts; and arts education programs, activities, and events. Principals also reported on community partnerships and support from outside sources for arts education. Furthermore, principals were also asked to provide administrative information such as school instructional level, school enrollment size, community type, and percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Cross-sectional data for the 2022 General Social Survey (GSS), along with an updated cumulative file for 1972-2022, is available at the project's data portal, along with the 2022 GSS Documentation and Public-use File Codebook. The GSS Data Explorer has also been updated. The 2022 GSS provides opinion data at a critical time in U.S. history as we move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to understand changes in post-pandemic society.

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the 2022 GSS Arts Module was fielded between July 11th and September 21st, 2022, as a web-only follow-on study to the GSS and included questions about changes in individual's recreational activities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arts Module's final sample size is 843 individuals (from 2,896 eligible GSS baseline respondents). To identify the individuals in the module, use the "NEASTATUS" variable. Additional information about weights for the module is also provided. Access the 2022 GSS Users Guide here.

The 2022 GSS Arts Module includes 24 measures of respondents' participation in the arts through attendance at live performances, exhibits, movies, and the like, as well as consuming culture through online galleries, reading, or watching a recorded event. Respondents are asked to report about their participation over the past 12 months and to compare this to what they did from March 2020 to March 2021.

The 2022 GSS is the most recent in a series of modules covering similar topics. For example, the 1993 Culture Module included questions on musical preferences, leisure and recreational activities, and attitudes toward art and literature. The 1998 Cultural Module included questions on attendance in arts events, personal engagement in artistic activities, attitudes toward art and literature, and attitudes toward arts funding. The 2002 Cultural Module included questions on musical preferences, attendance at arts events, and personal engagement in artistic activities. In 2002, another module on the "Information Society" included questions on the use of the Internet to obtain information about the arts (e.g., how people use the Web to learn about music, the visual arts, and literature). The 2016 Arts and Culture Module added in new variables covering information regarding social media use, suicide, hope and optimism, arts and culture, racial/ethnic identity, flexibility of work, spouses work and occupation, home cohabitation, and health.

About GSS:

The General Social Survey (GSS) was launched by National Opinion Research Center (NORC) in 1972 as an annual national research project to monitor Americans' shifting attitudes on social issues. NORC conducted the GSS almost every year until 1994, when it became biennial. NORC has also widened the scope of the GSS over the decades. With every survey round, GSS questions changed to reflect emerging trends such as the COVID-19 pandemic, political polarization, and crime.

The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) is nationally representative, longitudinal study of 9th graders who were followed through their secondary and postsecondary years, with an emphasis on understanding students' trajectories from the beginning of high school into postsecondary education, the workforce, and beyond. What students decide to pursue when, why, and how are crucial questions for HSLS:09.

The HSLS:09 focuses on answering the following questions:

• How do parents, teachers, counselors, and students construct choice sets for students, and how are these related to students' characteristics, attitudes, and behavior?
• How do students select among secondary school courses, postsecondary institutions, and possible careers?
• How do parents and students plan financing for postsecondary experiences? What sources inform these plans?
• What factors influence students' decisions about taking STEM courses and following through with STEM college majors? Why are some students underrepresented in STEM courses and college majors?
• How students' plans vary over the course of high school and how decisions in 9th grade impact students' high school trajectories. When students are followed up in the spring of 11th grade and later, their planning and decision-making in 9th grade may be linked to subsequent behavior.

This data collection also provides data for some arts-related topics, including the following: student participation in outside of schools arts activities; credit hours of arts classes taken; GPA from arts classes; and parent-led arts experiences.

For the public-use file, a total of 23,503 students responded from over 900 high schools both public and private.

This study examined an important trend in higher education: efforts to return to--or in some cases to preserve--a more integrative model of higher education that proponents argue will better prepare students for work, life, and citizenship. A diverse array of colleges and universities now offer students integrative courses and programs, and many faculty are enthusiastic advocates for this educational approach. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine sought to answer the question: what is the impact of these curricular approaches on students? They formed a 22-member committee to examine the evidence behind the assertion that educational programs that mutually integrate learning experiences in the humanities and arts with science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) lead to improved educational and career outcomes for undergraduate and graduate students.

The ad hoc committee overseen by the Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW), in collaboration with multiple units, conducted an in-depth review and produced a consensus report. The study examined the following:

• Evidence regarding the value of integrating more STEMM curricula and labs into the academic programs of students majoring in the humanities and arts in order to understand the following: (1) how STEMM experiences provide important knowledge about the scientific understanding of the natural world and the characteristics of new technologies, knowledge that is essential for all citizens of a modern democracy; (2) how technology contributes essentially to sound decision making across all professional fields; and (3) how STEMM experiences develop the skills of scientific thinking (a type of critical thinking), innovation, and creativity that may complement and enrich the critical thinking and creativity skills developed by the arts and humanities.
• Evidence regarding the value of integrating curricula and experiences in the arts and humanities--including, history, literature, philosophy, culture, and religion--into college and university STEMM education programs, in order to understand whether and how these experiences: (1) prepare STEMM students and workers to be more effective communicators, critical thinkers, problem-solvers and leaders; (2) prepare STEMM graduates to be more creative and effective scientists, engineers, technologists, and health care providers, particularly with respect to understanding the broad social and cultural impacts of applying knowledge to address challenges and opportunities in the workplace and in their communities; and (3) develop skills of critical thinking, innovation, and creativity that may complement and enrich the skills developed by STEMM fields.
• New models and good practices for mutual integration of the arts and humanities and STEMM fields at 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges, and graduate programs, drawing heavily on an analysis of programs that have been implemented at institutions of higher education.

The committee also wrote a report summarizing the results of the examination and provided recommendations for all stakeholders to support appropriate endeavors to strengthen higher education initiatives in this area.

Data users may explore the compendium (in PDF) related to the study.

The Local Arts Index was developed in response to an interest in "scaling-down" the National Arts Index (NAI) to the community level and to the growing demand for comparative information on arts at the community level. The LAI was developed in partnership with arts leadership organizations in over 100 communities and is comprised of a variety of indicators to understand who we are as a community and how that manifests itself through cultural activities and participation. Indicators are a systematic data collection initiative that is conducted regularly over time. The LAI compresses many arts indicators into one number that is calculated the same way and at regular time intervals, making it easy to compare performance between time periods.

The LAI collected county level data such as nonprofit arts revenue and expenditures, creative businesses and nonprofit arts organizations per 100,000 residents, arts share of businesses, employees, establishments, and payroll, estimated expenditures on arts equipment, number of visual and performing arts degrees, and adult population attending arts and culture activities. Demographic information includes median measures of age, household income, and year housing was built, as well as population density, and population share that was over 65, non-English speakers, and non-white.

Data users can find the latest version of the entire Longitudinal Study of American Youth data collection, including years 1988-1994 and 2007-2014 on ICPSR's website. See ICPSR 30263. Also, data users may explore NADAC's Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), Seventh Grade Data, 1987-1988; 2015-2016.

The Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) is a project that was funded by the National Science Foundation in 1985 and was designed to examine the development of: (1) student attitudes toward and achievement in science, (2) student attitudes toward and achievement in mathematics, and (3) student interest in and plans for a career in science, mathematics, or engineering, during middle school, high school, and the first four years post-high school. The relative influence parents, home, teachers, school, peers, media, and selected informal learning experiences had on these developmental patterns were considered as well.

The older LSAY cohort, Cohort One, consisted of a national sample of 2,829 tenth-grade students in public high schools throughout the United States. These students were followed for an initial period of seven years, ending four years after high school in 1994. Cohort Two, consisted of a national sample of 3,116 seventh-grade students in public schools that served as feeder schools to the same high schools in which the older cohort was enrolled. These students were followed for an initial period of seven years, concluding with a telephone interview approximately one year after the end of high school in 1994.

Beginning in the fall of 1987, the LSAY collected a wide array of information including: (1) a science achievement test and a mathematics achievement test each fall, (2) an attitudinal and experience questionnaire at the beginning and end of each school year, (3) reports about education and experience from all science and math teachers in each school, (4) reports on classroom practice by each science and math teacher serving a LSAY student, (5) an annual 25-minute telephone interview with one parent of each student, and (6) extensive school-level information from the principal of each study school.

In 2006, the NSF funded a proposal to re-contact the original LSAY students (then in their mid-30's) to resume data collection to determine their educational and occupational outcomes. Through an extensive tracking activity which involved: (1) online tracking, (2) newsletter mailing, (3) calls to parents and other relatives, (4) use of alternative online search methods, and (5) questionnaire mailing, more than 95 percent of the original sample of 5,945 LSAY students were located or accounted for. In addition to re-contacting the students, the proposal defined a new eligible sample of approximately 5,000 students and these young adults were asked to complete a survey in 2007. A second survey was conducted in the fall of 2008 that sought to gather updated information about occupational and education outcomes and to measure the civic scientific literacy of these young adults, in which to date more than 3,200 participants have responded. A third survey was conducted in the fall of 2009 that sought to gather updated information about occupational and education outcomes and to measure the participants' use of selected informal science education resources, in which to date more than 3,200 participants have responded. A fourth survey was conducted in the fall of 2010 that sought to gather updated information about occupational and education outcomes, as well as provided questions about the participants' interactions with their children, in which to date more than 3,200 participants have responded. Finally, a fifth survey was conducted in the fall of 2011 that sought to gather updated information about education outcomes and included an expanded occupation battery for all participants, as well as an expanded spousal information battery for all participants. The 2011 questionnaire also included items about the 2011 Fukushima incident in Japan along with attitudinal items about nuclear power and global climate change. To date approximately 3,200 participants responded to the 2011 survey.

The Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) is a project that was originally funded by the National Science Foundation in 1985 and was designed to examine the development of: (1) student attitudes toward and achievement in science, (2) student attitudes toward and achievement in mathematics, and (3) student interest in and plans for a career in science, mathematics, or engineering, during middle school, high school, and the first four years post-high school. The relative influence parents, home, teachers, school, peers, media, and selected informal learning experiences had on these developmental patterns was considered as well.

The LSAY was designed to select and follow two cohorts of students in 1987. Cohort One was a national sample of approximately 3,000 tenth grade students in public high schools throughout the United States. Cohort Two, consisted of a national sample of 3,116 seventh grade students in public schools that served as feeder schools to the same high schools in which the older cohort was enrolled. Data collection continues for Cohorts One and Two, 31 years after the study began.

In the fall of 2015, data collection began on a third cohort: Cohort Three. Cohort Three consisted of 3,721 students in the seventh grade in public schools throughout the United States. The data in this release provides seventh grade comparison data across a 28-year timespan: Cohort Two (1987-1988) and Cohort Three (2015-2016).

This study includes arts-related variables about student and parent participation in music, art, literary, dance, and theatrical pursuits. For a more details please see Description of Variables.

The National Arts Administration and Policy Publications Database is a bibliographic tool that enables users to access current and historical information on a multitude of topics related to arts administration and policy. Records in the database are classified into four types:

• Americans for the Arts archive
• research abstracts
• sample documents
• one-pagers (infographics).

The database contains over 7,000 bibliographic records--providing arts administrators, policy researchers, and advocates with information to help them locate information on arts policy and practice and arts administration resources and best practices. More recent entries to the database may also include the actual publication for download. To obtain the publications, please contact the publisher listed in the abstract. When possible Americans for the Arts had included the publication for download, but in most cases, the database is bibliographic by design.

The National Arts Index (NAI) was developed in the mid-2000s by Americans for the Arts as a way of tracking the health and vitality of arts and culture in the United States over time. Annual NAI reports were published in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016.

NAI's main features included:

• A policy index providing a summary annual score which aggregated 81 individual indicators of arts finance, capacity, participation, and competitiveness
• A compendium of data with detail on each indicator including its origin and an interpretation of its significance accompanied by a chart representing change in the indicator over time.

Americans for the Arts seeks to build recognition and support for the extraordinary and dynamic value of the arts and to lead, serve, and advance the diverse networks and organizations and individuals who cultivate the arts in America.

One of National Assembly of State Arts Agencies' (NASAA) primary roles is to be an information hub for and about state arts agencies. NASAA monitors state arts agency trends and documents the scope and impact of state arts agency activities. NASAA also harvests information from other research providers that is relevant to the arts and to government arts support. NASAA's research reports and on-call information services keep state arts agencies and others abreast of the latest developments in state arts agency funding, policies and programs. Highlights of the Research portion of the NASAA website include:

Key Topics Pages

• Creative Economic Development: Includes materials showcasing the role of the arts in state economies with particular focus on cultural districts and cultural tourism.
• Arts Education: Provides information about arts education such as arts education research tools, statewide arts education assessments, and arts education funding.
• Arts Participation: Lists links for resources on research about public arts participation.
• Public Art: Provides resources for learning more about percent for art policies, which set aside a small portion of capital construction or renovation budgets for the purchase and installation of public art; this page also provides links to information on active statewide percent for art programs.

Other Highlighted Topics

Funding: NASAA is the authoritative source for information on state arts agency budgets.

Grant Making: NASAA provides overviews of state arts agency grant making as well as more detailed information on grant making to specific project types.

Structure: NASAA provides information about the structure of state arts agencies.

Best Practices: NASAA facilitates the transfer of ideas, helping state arts agencies to pioneer, share, and apply knowledge about serving the public effectively.

Planning and Accountability: NASAA helps state arts agencies with a variety of planning, evaluation, and accountability activities.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in elementary and secondary schools in the United States know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, United States history, and beginning in 2014, in Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL). Since NAEP assessments are administered uniformly using the same sets of test booklets across the United States, NAEP results serve as a common metric for all states and selected urban districts. The assessment stays essentially the same from year to year, with only carefully documented changes. This permits NAEP to provide a clear picture of student academic progress over time and for teachers, principals, parents, policymakers, and researchers to use NAEP results to assess progress and develop ways to improve education in the United States. For more information, please read An Introduction to NAEP.

There are two types of assessments: main NAEP and long-term trend NAEP. Main NAEP is administered to fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-graders across the United States in a variety of subjects. The Main NAEP is conducted between the last week of January and the first week in March every year. National results are available for all assessments and subjects. Results for states and select urban districts are available in some subjects for grades 4 and 8. The Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) is a special project developed to determine the feasibility of reporting district-level NAEP results for large urban districts. In 2009 a trial state assessment was administered at grade 12. Long-term trend NAEP is administered nationally every four years. During the same academic year, 13-year-olds are assessed in the fall, 9-year-olds in the winter, and 17-year-olds in the spring. Long-term trend assessments measure student performance in mathematics and reading, and allow the performance of students from recent time periods to be compared with students since the early 1970s.

For example, the 1997 and 2008 NAEP arts assessments were part of the Main NAEP Assessments. The NAEP 1997 Arts Assessment was conducted nationally at grade 8. For music and visual arts, representative samples of public and nonpublic school students were assessed. A special "targeted" sample of students took the theatre assessment. Schools offering at least 44 classroom hours of a theatre course per semester, and offering courses including more than the history or literature of theatre, were identified. Students attending those schools who had accumulated 30 hours of theatre classes by the end of the 1996-97 school year were selected to take the theatre assessment. The NAEP 2008 Arts Assessment was administered to a nationally representative sample of 7,900 eighth-grade public and private school students. Approximately one-half of these students were assessed in music, and the other half were assessed in visual arts. The music portion of the assessment measured students' ability to respond to music in various ways. 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. The visual arts portion of the assessment included questions that measured students' ability to respond to art as well as questions that measured their ability to create art. Responding questions asked students to analyze and describe works of art and design. For example, students were asked to describe specific differences in how certain parts of an artist's self-portrait were drawn. Creating questions required students to create works of art and design of their own. For example, students were asked to create a self-portrait that was scored for identifying detail, compositional elements, and use of materials.

Most recently, in 2016, a total of 8,800 eighth-graders in the nation's public and private schools responded to and critiqued existing works of music and visual art and created their own original artwork. NCES collected and analyzed the data and released the 2016 report highlighting key findings. Average music and visual arts responding scores are reported separately on a scale of 0 to 300 points. Average creating scores for visual arts are reported on a scale of 0 to 100 percent. Results are also reported by student groups, school type, and region, as well as in comparison to the 2008 assessment.

In addition, NAEP has a number of special studies that are conducted periodically. These include research and development efforts such as the High School Transcript Study and the National Indian Education Study. More information on these special studies is available on the NAEP Web site.

The National Children's Study (NCS), authorized by the Children's Health Act of 2000, was a large-scale study to investigate environmental influences on child health and development. The NCS Vanguard (Pilot) Study, launched in 2009, tested methods for the larger Main Study and enrolled approximately 5,000 children across 40 locations by July 2013. The Main Study followed 100,000 children from before birth to age 21. On December 12, 2014, the NIH Director closed the study per advice from the expert review group.

The NCS Archive, created after the study's closure, offers researchers access to over 250,000 data and samples, including nearly 19,000 biological and 5,500 environmental samples from the Vanguard Study. The archive contains study visit data from preconception to 42 months post-birth, neuro-psychosocial and cognitive assessments, physical examinations, study protocols, operation manuals, data collection instruments, and more.

The NCS Archive includes various arts-related variables that were part of the study questionnaires and interviews conducted with participants and covered a range of activities and exposures. Specifically, the study captured data on children's participation in artistic activities, including music, dance, drama, and visual arts. Information was collected on the frequency and type of arts engagement, such as attending classes, participating in performances, or creating art. Examples include:

• DANCE_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone dances with the child.

• THEATER_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone engages in theater, play-acting, or make-believe with the child.

• MUSIC_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone plays musical instruments, sings, or listens to music with the child.

• DRAWPAINT_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone spends drawing or painting with the child.

• ART_EVENT_DAYS: The average number of days per week someone takes the child to arts-related events outside the home.

• DAYS_READ: The number of days in the past week that family members read stories to the child.

• TOTAL_NUMBER_BOOKS: The total number of children's books in the home, including library books.

• FREQ_BOOKS: The average number of days per week someone reads or looks at books with the child.

• READ_STORIES: The number of days per week stories are read to the child.

• TELL_STORIES: The number of days per week stories are told to the child.

The NCS Archive is available in NICHD's Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) for researchers to request access and conduct their own studies. For more information, researchers can consult the National Children's Study Archive: Study Description and Guide or contact NICHD's Data and Specimen Hub at [email protected].

The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is the longest running longitudinal household survey in the world. The study began in 1968 with a nationally representative sample of over 18,000 individuals living in 5,000 families in the United States. Information on these individuals and their descendants has been collected continuously, including data covering employment, income, wealth, expenditures, health, marriage, childbearing, child development, philanthropy, education, and numerous other topics. The PSID is directed by faculty at the University of Michigan, and the data are available on this website without cost to researchers and analysts.

Data users interested in exploring PSID data on arts and culture can begin their search for related variables on the Variable Search page. Variables related to arts and culture can be found in several PSID supplements, including Main Family Data File, Time Diary Activity File, Transition into Adulthood File, Primary Caregiver Child File, and Other Caregiver Child File. Respondents were asked about their donations to arts or cultural organizations, participation in arts and leisure activities, and types of art activities.

The School Pulse Panel (SPP), sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), within the United States Department of Education, collects insightful data on U.S. public schools. Originally focusing on the 2021-22 school year to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and staff, the survey has since broadened its scope to address various evolving educational topics. Conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the SPP continues into the 2024-25 school year, surveying school principals monthly on key issues such as staffing, attendance, after-school programs, learning recovery, digital literacy, mental health, and more.

The September 2021 SPP survey asked about schools' offering performing arts activities (for example, band, choir, orchestra, or drama) and how these activities were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For detailed information on the survey content and methodology, visit the NCES website.

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) is a system of related questionnaires that provide descriptive data on the context of elementary and secondary education and provide policymakers a variety of statistics on the condition of education in the United States. The SASS system covers a wide range of topics from teacher demand, teacher and principal characteristics, general conditions in schools, principals' and teachers' perceptions of school climate and problems in their schools, teacher compensation, district hiring and retention practices, to basic characteristics of the student population.

Questionnaires, methodology information and summary tables can be downloaded directly from the SASS website. Of cultural interest are the data on library and media centers which offer insights into subjects such as library staffing, library collections, and library expenditures. These data can be accessed through the National Center for Education Statistics DataLab.

Policymakers involved in arts and culture would find tables from the SASS/TFS Table Library important to their work, including the following:

• Number and percentage of public school teachers whose main assignment is in arts and music, by main teaching assignment and community type: 2011-12
• Number of public schools that reported having library media centers, by state: 2011-12
• Average number of holdings, additions, and expenditures in library media centers during 2010-11 for various kinds of materials, by state: 2011-12
• Average hours public and private third grade students spent on art and music during a typical full week of school, by selected school characteristics: 2007-08

For over a decade, the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) has gathered, analyzed, and reported on survey data from arts and design graduates of degree-granting, postsecondary institutions to understand the professional experiences, educational satisfaction, and personal fulfillment of these alumni.

These data have informed scholarly insights about many topics including needs for expanded curricula; the value of paid internships and other co-curricular pursuits; inequalities in arts training and careers; and entrepreneurial traits of artists. In addition, data gathered through SNAAP assists government entities, funding organizations, and arts leaders in making investment decisions in education, training, and resource allocation.

The SNAAP website offers publicly available reports and presentations on the SNAAP survey and insights its data offer. The first national SNAAP survey administration occurred in fall 2011 and was repeated in 2012 and 2013, creating a database of nearly 100,000 respondents. SNAAP's second three-year cycle took place in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The latest SNAAP survey was administered in 2022 and incorporated notable updates to its sampling and questionnaire. Over 61,000 alumni responded to SNAAP's 2022 survey administration, resulting in nearly 300,000 alumni responding since SNAAP's inception. Technical documentation for the 2022 survey administration is slated for public release in late 2023.

Citations for data from earlier survey administrations:

Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (2017). SNAAP 2015, 2016, and 2017 Combined Data. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.

Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (2013). SNAAP 2011, 2012, and 2013 Combined Data. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.

The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) survey collects data on the perspectives and experiences of alumni from arts, design, and adjacent fields. The 2022 SNAAP survey data offer evidence-based insights to help inform the important work being undertaken by postsecondary institutions offering studies and training in arts and design amid shifts and changes affecting higher education.

SNAAP's national, online survey was launched in 2008 to meet the growing need for reliable alumni outcomes data, as articulated by arts training institutions across the country. The survey draws generalizable insights about "artists" with postsecondary degrees (as defined by Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes) in arts, design, and media fields. Alumni of independent arts and design colleges, conservatories, and arts schools and departments within comprehensive colleges and universities are surveyed.

SNAAP's survey was successfully relaunched in 2022 with numerous changes to its design, methodology, and administration. This included a probabilistic sampling frame to ensure a more representative sample; a more inclusive recruitment process to secure a more diverse group of institutions' participation in SNAAP; and a revised survey questionnaire to expand on important substantive areas and improve the respondent's experience completing the questionnaire. The revised questionnaire gave new attention to alumni's "sense of belonging" at their educational institution; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives and careers; and paying for postsecondary arts education.

With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the goal of the Supporting Practice in the Arts, Research, and Curricula (SPARC) research project is to highlight the role of the arts in research universities and to support new modes of practice across the arts, research, curricula.

Using open-ended interviewee responses as the primary data source, combined with other sources of evidence and secondary research, the project explores the models, obstacles, implementation strategies, costs, and impact of arts-integrative practices on research, teaching, and promotion.

From 2012-2015, the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) conducted a baseline data collection effort and study of 46 universities and including over 900 interviews. The goal was to discover the models, obstacles, implementation strategies, costs, and impact of arts integrative practices on research, teaching, and learning in higher education.

Following from the Phase I data collection, Phase II of SPARC Project (2015-2018) seeks to synthesize and disseminate the research findings.

This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey administered as a supplement to the July 2012 basic CPS questionnaire. The supplement, on the topic of public participation in the arts in the United States, was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The CPS, administered monthly, collects labor force data about the civilian noninstitutional population aged 15 years old or older living in the United States. Moreover, the CPS provides current estimates of the economic status and activities of this population which includes estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. The basic CPS data are provided on labor force activity for the week prior to the survey. In addition, CPS provides respondents' demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and industry.

In addition to the basic CPS questions, interviewers asked supplementary questions on public participation in the arts of two randomly selected household members aged 18 or older from about one-half of the sampled CPS households. Interviews were conducted during the period of July 15-21, 2012. The supplement contained questions about the sampled member's participation in various artistic activities from July 1, 2011 through July 1, 2012. If the selected person had a spouse or partner, then the respondent answered questions on behalf of their spouse/partner. Therefore, the spouse/partner responses are proxies. If a respondent was answering for themselves and on behalf of their spouse or partner, the respondent and spouse/partner questions followed the same path through the instrument. Spouse/partner questions were asked on core participation (Core 1 or Core 2), leisure activities (Module D), and the first four questions of Module A. The total sample size of the 2012 SPPA was 35,735 American adults, ages 18 and over.

The 2012 SPPA included two core components: a questionnaire used in previous years to ask about arts attendance; and a new, experimental module on arts attendance. In addition, the survey included five modules designed to capture other types of arts participation as well as participation in other leisure activities. Respondents were randomly assigned to either of the survey's core questionnaires, and then were randomly assigned to two of the remaining five SPPA modules. Questions were asked about the type of artistic activity, the frequency of participation, training and exposure, musical and artistic preferences, school-age socialization, and computer and device usage related to artistic information. The topics were separated into the five modules (each module was administered to only a portion of the sampled cases):

• Module A: Other Attendance and Music Preferences (reading, film, or sporting event attendance; other live performances; and music listening preferences)
• Module B: Accessing Art through Media (using media for participation in artistic events and frequency of participation in past year)
• Module C: Creating Arts through Media (participation in certain types of other leisure or artistic activities, public artistic performances, and using media to share activities in past year)
• Module D: Creating, Performing, and Other Activities (sport activities, other art activities, and musical performance activities in past year)
• Module E: Arts Learning (art related lessons or classes, respondent age during lessons/classes, location of lessons/classes, respondents' parents' education, and the participation of the respondents' school age children)