This research and policy brief draws on the experiences in five states, each of which has been the subject of a comprehensive arts education survey in recent years. The states are Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington. Distilled from the "lessons learned," the brief provides 20 principles designed to inform and guide new and continuing arts education data collection and survey research at the state level. A primary audience is those who may be involved in advancing such efforts in their own states. In addition to an analysis of relevant written materials from the five states, the brief was informed by the deliberations of a select group of arts education research, policy, and communications experts. At the invitation of the Arts Education Partnership (AEP), the group came together in June 2006 for a one-day seminar in Chicago, supported in part through a grant from the Spencer Foundation. Drawing on their direct involvement in the research and survey work in one of the five states, the seminar participants provided valuable insights into the broader context in which the studies occurred as well as into the outcomes that followed. Profiles of State Level Surveys on the Status and Condition of the Arts in Education in Five States are appended.