A Mixed Methods Critical Review of the A+ Schools in North Carolina: An Argument for High Standards in Implementation

Abstract

This study provides an update on the effectiveness of the North Carolina (NC) A+ Schools Program, a program focused on integrating the arts disciplines into the core curriculum to bring about more effective and engaging instruction. This study builds from related research in the field that connects arts integration curriculum to greater academic success in the form of student creative inquiry, social well-being, and higher achievement scores. Schools that described a cohesive arts-integrated framework demonstrated higher proficiency scores. This study questions the low achievement of most A+ schools. Interviews in this study were conducted with an administrator for NC A+ schools, an arts director of an A+ school, and a principal of an A+ school. Topics included their priorities within their school(s), their definition of arts integration success, and how an arts integration framework was managed. Coded categories included: arts integrated frameworks, school climate, and evidence of success. School chronic absenteeism data and proficiency score data suggested a range of effectiveness of this program. The combined statistical data and interviews suggested that frameworks are key in successful implementation of arts integration reform.