Evaluation provides evidence for Ryman Arts impact on students
In 2006, a comprehensive assessment of Ryman Arts programs demonstrated that the organization has had a positive impact on the young artists who participated. This is the first extensive evaluation of Ryman Arts and marks a new phase in our growth and maturity as an organization.
The assessment included surveys, focus groups, roundtable discussions with outside professionals, portfolio analysis, and review of demographic and enrollment data over the past five years. Outside evaluators included Kylie Peppler of UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences, and independent evaluators Diane Manuel, PhD., and Margaret Menninger, PhD. The purpose was threefold:
- to document the students who have participated in the program and enrollment trends over the past five years;
- to assess student artistic development and other ways the program has impacted youth;
- to assess strengths and areas for improvement in the program.
Tracking more than 700 students in the program since 2000, researchers found, for example, that Ryman Arts has been serving students from an expanding geographic area over time, and students came from almost 100 zip codes in the past year. Over 80% of students are from low-income communities.
The portfolio assessment rigorously reviewed 45 portfolios from a cross section of students, closely examining drawings made before admission to Ryman Arts and during their participation to track trends in their artistic development, and did in-depth analysis with Ryman Arts faculty on selected case studies. It found consistent and steady growth of student skill, and increasing understandings of shape, value, and dimension, which were the specific skill areas analyzed. The significantly positive overall trends are a good sign that the majority of students have increased their drawing skills over the course of their time in the Ryman Arts program.
Students wrote that in addition to artistic skills, they felt they gained “life skills” including time management, self-confidence, persistence, goal setting, self discipline and patience, based on the exit surveys analyzed by Dr. Menninger and intern Geraldine Lawrence. High school teachers who refer students to the program and college admissions officers also cited these skills as an important impact of Ryman Arts on artistic youth. High school teachers pointed out the need to make Ryman Arts available to more students.
The evaluation project was generously funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Additional support for this project was provided by the Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Download a pdf of
An Overview of the Ryman Arts Program and Assessment of Student Portfolio Work
by Kylie Peppler
or the On-Line Survey of Ryman Arts Alumni report
by Margaret Menninger, PhD.
