National Dance Education Organization

8609 Second Ave., Suite #203-B

Silver Spring, MD 20910

www.ndeo.org

Stand Up for Dance in

America’s K-12 Schools

A Quick Guide for Legislators, Administrators, 

Teachers, Parents, and Students 

To read the full Evidence Report, 

go to www.ndeo.org/evidence

NDEO’s work on the Evidence Report was 

supported through funding provided by 

the National Endowment of the Arts. 

The National Dance Education Organization and 

the National Endowment for the Arts present...

Evidence: A Report on the Impact 

of Dance in the K-12 Setting

What is the Evidence Report?

The National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)

undertook a review of recent studies of how dance 

impacts K-12 learning, paying particular attention 

to several areas determined to be under-researched 

in the 2004 Report to the Nation (Bonbright, 2004). 

A group of researchers 

combed a variety of 

databases, including recent 

theses, dissertations, and 

articles within the Dance 

Education Literature and 

Research descriptive index 

(DELRdi), the Fast Response 

Survey System (FRSS), and a 

newly discovered collection 

of reports from the U.S Department of Education’s 

Arts-in-Education programs in professional 

development and model programs. 

Studies reveal that dance classes can have 

a positive impact on student achievement, 

teacher satisfaction, and school culture. This 

evidence is especially useful to legislators, 

administrators, teachers, parents, and students 

advocating for dance in their school districts. This 

brochure summarizes these studies and may be 

downloaded and disseminated via 

www.ndeo.org/evidence.

To read the full report

Evidence: A Report on the Impact 

of Dance in the K-12 Setting 

visit www.ndeo.org/evidence

Dance can have a 

positive impact 

on Student 

Achievement, 

Teacher 

Satisfaction, and 

School Culture!

Photos by Scott Swanson. Courtesy of Anne Arundel County Public Schools. 
Improves Academic Skills 

• Florida: Students outperformed other 

districts in reading and math scores 

and increased test scores overall after 

incorporating visual, dance, and dramatic 

arts into the curriculum. (p. 22)

• Massachusetts: Integrating dance and 

chemistry helped students answer 

questions on the state achievement exam. 

They closed their eyes and visualized their 

dance to retrieve information about 

chemical reactions. (p. 18)

• Maryland: Dance helped students acquire 

abstract geometrical concepts and enhance 

problem-solving skills. (p. 16) 

• California: Students who participated in 

dance demonstrated more persistence and 

had higher grades than those involved in 

non-dance activities. (p. 10)

• New York: Dance helped ESL students 

improve English skills and internalize 

understanding of the language. (p. 29)

Offers Neurological Benefits

• Dance is effective because it involves 

sensory input, holds students’ attention for 

longer periods of time, helps them make 

connections between new and past learning, 

and improves long-term recall. (p. 37)

Provides Additional Student Benefits

• Lowers drop-out rates (p. 48)

• Enhances emotional well-being ( p. 31)

• Supports learning of underserved 

populations including kinesthetic 

learners, special education students, 

and low-income learners (p. 23)

Improves Attendance Rates 

• New Jersey: Better than-average rates 

of student attendance, mobility and 

suspension, and teacher attendance 

were reported when arts were a part 

of the school experience (p. 30)

Upholds High Order Thinking Skills 

Consistent with National Standards

• Wisconsin: Dance was used as a form 

of assessment that measured learning 

beyond regurgitation of content. 

Students were able to use, apply, 

and abstract material to create new 

knowledge through dance. (p. 14)

Promotes Conflict Resolution 

• Dance can allow students to express 

themselves, feel validated and 

accepted, and develop empathy. (p. 40)

• Dance engages all the senses, wires 

the brain for successful learning, 

develops gross motor skills, and 

enhances emotional well-being. (p. 38)

Offers Opportunities for Inclusion 

• New York: Dance allowed immigrant 

and non-English speaking students 

to express themselves non-verbally 

and to incorporate aspects of self 

not supported in the new culture and 

language. (p. 31)

• New York: Dance offered new 

opportunities for cognitive growth 

and inclusion for special education 

students. (p. 20)

on Student Achievement on Teacher Satisfaction on School Culture IMPACT IMPACT of of DANCE EDUCATION DANCE EDUCATION

Supports Integrative Teaching Methods

• New York: Integrating dance into the 

classroom helped teachers gain insights 

into student capabilities through the arts 

and teach academic subjects in new ways. 

(p. 24)

• Minnesota: Integrating dance and math 

changed teachers’ perspectives on 

the classroom itself. Teachers thought 

differently about how education can take 

place in the classroom, they made room 

for integration, and they were interested in 

actualizing school wide change. (p. 19) 

Fosters Teacher Morale

• Minnesota: Teachers in the dance and 

math integration study showed renewed 

commitment to their teaching, coming to 

enjoy and relish the extra time collaborating, reflecting, and planning new lessons. 

(p. 19)

Provides Additional Teacher Benefits 

(p. 19-20)

• Increases teachers’ interest in co-teaching

• Increases levels of authentic instruction

• Increases connections to the world 

beyond the classroom

• Increases social support for learning, 

high expectations, challenging work, 

and mutual respect