STEAM Ahead: Merging Arts and Science Education | PBS NewsHour: During tough economic times, arts and music programs are often some of the first programs cut in schools. But at Wolf Trap's Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts , investing in arts education has been a priority for the past 31 years.
A study by the National Endowment for the Arts shows that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds who actively participated in the arts tended to score better in science and writing, and were more likely to aspire to college.
The study used survey data gathered over 20 years that followed socially and economically disadvantaged students, from kindergarten into their early twenties.