A Factor Analytic Model of Eighth-Grade Art Learning: Secondary Analysis of NAEP Arts Data

Abstract

Investigators undertook a secondary analysis of 1997 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Arts data to clarify the structure of relationships associated with visual arts achievement among eighth-grade students. Items from three NAEP surveys answered by students and school personnel as part of the visual arts assessment were considered as sets of indicators for underlying constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a structural model presenting demographics (background characteristics), resources, and opportunities to learn categories. Factors within the three categories were found to be significantly related to dependent variables for arts achievement (responding and creating). The secondary analysis reported here embraces the rich complexity of the NAEP arts assessment, postulating that coordinated study of its vision, framework, procedures, and data has enormous potential to inform art educators and policy makers, particularly those interested in America's middle schools. Copyright 2001 by the National Art Education Association. All rights reserved.