US students need more exposure to arts and music, test shows

While most students could point to one or two structural differences between two mother-and-child portraits, they usually struggled to explain the technical approach and meaning in an artist's self-portrait.

On the bright side, the achievement gap has narrowed between white and Hispanic students from a difference of 32 to 23 points in an average score in music and from 26 to 19 points in arts since the previous test.

"Every student should have access to arts education to develop the creativity and problem-solving skills that lead to higher success both in and out of school," said Ayanna Hudson, director of arts education at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said visual arts help develop a child's creative and critical thinking, and exposure to music can boost students' graduation rates or academic results.