Education

Increasing


Percent of Students Taking an Arts Course

What does this measure?

The number of students completing at least one arts course in grades K to 12.

Why is this important?

Participating in arts allows students to explore different perspectives, reflect on emotions and foster creativity and innovation. Studies have shown that arts educational experiences can lead to more positive social and academic development outcomes among students. Taking arts courses in school allows students an opportunity to gain the benefits from arts experiences in an accessible way.

How is our region doing?

In MetroWest, 83.5% of students took an arts course in 2023, higher than the state percentage of 81.7%. The region's percentage was similar to that in Middlesex County (83.6%), Norfolk (83.8%) and Worcester (82.9%). The percentage of students taking arts courses has increased 1.6 percentage points since 2018, slightly lower than the 2-percentage-point increase at the state level.

Notes about the data

None

Percent of Students Taking an Arts Course
20182019202120222023
Massachusetts79.7%80.4%77.5%81.1%81.7%
Region81.9%82.7%80.6%83.4%83.5%
Middlesex County82.7%83.1%81.8%83.3%83.6%
Norfolk County81.8%81.9%80.6%83.8%83.8%
Worcester County80.6%82.6%78.5%83.2%82.9%
Acton-Boxborough School District79.6%78.9%76.4%81.0%81.4%
Ashland School District87.7%88.2%88.4%82.4%90.8%
Bedford School District82.3%82.7%84.3%83.9%82.4%
Bellingham School District90.7%88.6%79.8%88.3%89.9%
Carlisle School District100.0%100.0%99.5%99.7%100.0%
Christa McAuliffe Charter Public (District)99.2%0.0%98.8%98.5%
Concord School District99.5%99.1%99.5%99.2%99.4%
Concord-Carlisle School District52.5%55.2%52.2%50.1%48.9%
Dedham School District87.2%86.6%85.7%86.0%85.1%
Dover School District100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Dover-Sherborn School District89.4%89.0%87.1%90.4%89.5%
Framingham School District86.8%86.1%86.9%86.9%86.2%
Franklin School District88.3%87.9%84.7%86.4%84.7%
Harvard School District82.7%82.6%84.6%86.7%87.4%
Holliston School District93.0%92.0%89.2%90.6%92.4%
Hopkinton School District85.7%86.3%87.5%86.7%86.7%
Hudson School District86.9%86.9%90.0%90.3%92.0%
Lexington School District95.7%94.9%93.9%93.6%93.8%
Lincoln School District98.2%99.4%100.0%99.0%99.9%
Lincoln-Sudbury School District62.5%65.4%69.1%66.6%62.8%
Littleton School District86.4%89.1%67.4%67.1%66.8%
Marlborough School District90.1%90.1%76.3%91.0%92.8%
Maynard School District54.0%83.6%79.0%90.8%91.5%
Medfield School District89.4%89.5%87.8%88.6%88.5%
Medway School District82.9%84.6%89.5%88.3%89.4%
Milford School District90.3%87.9%84.5%84.2%83.9%
Millis School District71.1%71.9%80.4%77.0%75.7%
Nashoba School District90.4%90.1%90.3%87.5%89.8%
Natick School District88.1%87.3%90.1%90.5%90.4%
Needham School District85.0%83.1%85.9%92.3%92.9%
Sherborn School District100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Southborough School District93.6%95.9%89.8%93.4%94.4%
Sudbury School District90.4%99.2%96.7%97.9%97.4%
Walpole School District85.4%86.9%85.0%90.0%91.3%
Waltham School District88.4%86.5%82.6%85.9%86.8%
Wayland School District84.5%83.8%82.4%83.5%83.9%
Wellesley School District88.9%87.4%85.9%87.0%85.4%
Westborough School District82.4%81.8%84.4%85.4%84.5%
Westford School District84.0%85.4%87.5%88.3%84.3%
Weston School District89.6%92.4%89.5%93.8%95.0%
Westwood School District90.4%90.3%85.6%90.4%90.6%

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education




Number of Students Taking an Arts Course
20182019202120222023
Massachusetts740,522742,270685,050722,669725,898
Region350,482353,097329,821346,515345,456
Middlesex County171,378172,422164,502170,054169,330
Norfolk County80,11780,37875,83379,49979,452
Worcester County98,987100,29789,48696,96296,674
Acton-Boxborough School District4,4054,3273,9464,1504,127
Ashland School District2,3392,4382,4052,3642,581
Bedford School District2,1542,1702,1782,1502,052
Bellingham School District1,9751,8891,5421,6901,718
Carlisle School District605592577606592
Christa McAuliffe Charter Public (District)3840395383
Concord School District2,0732,0611,9711,9321,900
Concord-Carlisle School District663708684662642
Dedham School District2,2862,2472,1102,1272,130
Dover School District475481472483496
Dover-Sherborn School District1,0711,0641,0301,0531,030
Framingham School District7,4717,5887,4997,9657,827
Franklin School District4,6064,5034,0314,0473,895
Harvard School District907884836882872
Holliston School District2,6192,5782,4112,4852,484
Hopkinton School District3,0243,1613,4003,4513,559
Hudson School District2,2812,2202,1692,1392,155
Lexington School District6,9416,8956,4656,3976,445
Lincoln School District1,0101,075937934908
Lincoln-Sudbury School District9541,0021,0481,007933
Littleton School District1,3851,4111,0311,0681,090
Marlborough School District4,1874,2473,5854,5054,528
Maynard School District7271,0708901,0371,045
Medfield School District2,3012,2872,1602,2062,193
Medway School District1,8581,8361,8461,8421,875
Milford School District3,7183,7213,5543,7243,705
Millis School District886845902878858
Nashoba School District2,8842,8472,7312,6422,648
Natick School District4,7624,7134,6734,7244,748
Needham School District4,7444,6914,6935,0505,057
Sherborn School District394383378396398
Southborough School District1,1511,1441,0201,0691,121
Sudbury School District2,3982,6092,4102,4282,444
Walpole School District3,2083,2313,0713,1983,261
Waltham School District4,8234,7774,4574,7694,905
Wayland School District2,3122,2722,2392,2692,265
Wellesley School District4,3604,2503,7383,6653,496
Westborough School District3,1533,1483,1673,2103,167
Westford School District4,1924,2494,1174,1323,936
Weston School District1,8551,9011,6781,8071,876
Westwood School District2,7982,7692,4942,6012,595

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education




INDICATORS REGIONAL TREND


Loading...