This file contains data from two fast-response surveys, titled “Survey of Secondary School Music Specialists,” and “Survey of Secondary School Visual Arts Specialists.” These surveys provide national estimates on arts education and arts instructors in public secondary schools during the 2009–10 school year. 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. NCES released the results of this set of surveys in the First Look report “A Snapshot of Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 2009–10 (NCES 2011-078). A second report, released in April 2012, presents findings on a broader set of indicators.
Questionnaires and cover letters for the surveys were mailed to each sampled secondary school teacher in batches from January through April 2010. The letter introduced the study and requested that the questionnaire be completed by the sampled teacher. Respondents were offered the option of responding to the survey via the web or by mail. Telephone follow-up for survey nonresponse and data clarification was conducted from February through July 2010. The weighted response rates were 81.8 percent for the music specialist survey and 85.3 percent for the visual arts specialist survey.
This study of arts education in public schools is the third of its kind conducted by NCES. Previous studies were conducted during the 1994–95 and the 1999–2000 school years. This is the first time that surveys of secondary school teachers have been included in the study. In addition to including many of the research questions from the previous study, the current study addresses emerging issues, such as the availability of curriculum-based arts education activities outside of regular school hours. The secondary teacher surveys collected data on the 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.
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