Our Impact

Pioneering evaluation, measuring our success.

Since inception, the Corps has invested in evaluation to strengthen the quality and aims of its programs. Arts Corps started with simple student check-ins in its first year and has since evolved over the years to create a comprehensive and rigorous research design that includes qualitative and quantitative evaluation tools as well as data collection from a broad base of students, program partners, parents and teaching artists.

Last year, Arts Corps added another level of complexity to its evaluation design, collecting pre- and post-class surveys from students each quarter to give more insight into the fulfillment of our primary aims: to provide access to quality arts education programs and foster creativity among youth participants.

Other ways we evaluate our progress in these areas include annual interviews with parents, program partners and teaching artists and structured outside observations of our students' learning in the classroom.

In evaluating our 2006-2007 program year, we discovered the following:

Arts Corps increases access to quality arts programming

Four out of five classes were delivered to underserved youth, with 35 percent of middle and high school students reporting that it is their first art class of any kind
63 percent of facility partners report that Arts Corps provides the only arts education opportunity for most or all students served.

Arts Corps fosters creative habits of mind among youth participants

Statistically significant evidence confirms that students engage in increased critical thinking, creative risk-taking and imagination, as well as perceive themselves as more creative after taking an Arts Corps class.

Program partners agree that Arts Corps fosters creativity among youth participants:

43 percent of program partners indicated that the level of engagement in creative activities exceeded their expectations, with some reporting links between what students learn in Arts Corps and what they do in other parts of their lives:
Arts Corps students gain confidence in the classes, and that shines through their work and their personal lives as well. These students learn to think through art, and therefore, can think in different ways in the classroom.
In terms of persistence, if you do not get something done the first time, it is easy to give up. But with Arts Corps, teachers give the students positive enforcement and allow them to try again or use a different tool/idea to create their object or outcome.

For more highlights, order or view a full copy of Arts Corps 2006-2007 evaluation report here.