The increasing focus on arts education during the past few years has brought much-needed attention to the benefits it affords to students of all ages. Past research has proved time and again that the arts support teaching and learning in numerous ways, and recommendations abound that schools should find ways to integrate the arts in classrooms. Now more recent research published this year paints a clearer picture of the state of arts education in U.S. public schools--one that shows both bright spots and places in need of improvement. Taken together, the two reports--"Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1999-2000 and 2009-10" and "The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies"--reveal robust research data that will help principals to make more informed decisions about arts education in their schools. The findings offer the components needed to make the case for introducing, expanding, and maintaining the arts in classrooms.