In 1995, students with four or more years of the arts were 59 points higher on SAT verbal and 44 points higher on SAT math tests. Teachers can try new approaches without coordination with a large, bureaucratic organization. Faculty members are more visible and thus more accountable to each other. Students are better known - their strengths and weaknesses are dealt with more effectively. Students feel safer since they know the staff.
Parents have more opportunity to participate.
It s hard. The average 4th grader now is 9, but in the past could have been 10,11 or 12. As part of the NAEP s program to assess State performance, Center 4th graders, along with those at 130 other Connecticut schools, will be tested in February on their reading ability. The tests protect the anonymity of the students and are not designed to produce individual, school, or school district data. The state scores 7th nationally for 8th grade reading scores, behind 7 rural midwestern and western states.