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A new study by the Center for Arts Education has found that schools that have increased access to arts education programs also have higher graduation rates. We’ll talk with Richard Kessler, CAE's Executive Director, and Doug Israel, Director of Research and Policy.

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The National Assessment of Educational Progress asked eighth graders across the country in 2008 a series of questions on music and visual art. The results of that test, revealed on Monday, may be disappointing to some.

Some of the questions asked were:

•Identify form of musical examples as theme and variations.

•Identify pitch contour of melody in a recording

•Identify an example of 20th-century western art

•Identify compositional emphasis in a Bearden collage

•Identify a compositional feature of a medieval artwork

Could you answer these questions? The previous test in 1997 revealed low scores, and the 2008 results are even lower. Is cultural literacy being lost? Joining us on the show is Richard Kessler, executive director of the Center for Arts Education. Also joining the conversation is Emily Downs, an art teacher for elementary school kids in New Jersey.

When funding for public schools is cut, arts education is usually the first to go. Richard Kessler of The Center for Arts Education and Councilmember Robert Jackson talk about the state of arts education in NYC’s public school system.

Richard Kessler, executive director of The Center for Arts Education, and Dr. Sharon Dunn, senior instructional manager for arts education in the Department of Education's Office of Arts and Special Projects, discuss NYC public school arts education and how it might be affected by the principals’ ...