When tested last year, U.S. eighth-graders scored an average of 149 in visual arts on a scale of 300. (iStock)

When it comes to music and visual arts, American students could use help.

The National Center for Education Statistics reported Tuesday that in 2016, U.S. eighth-graders scored an average of 147 in music and 149 in visual arts on a scale of 300.

Some 8,800 eighth-graders from public and private schools across the country took part in the test, which was part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation’s Report Card.

Peggy Carr, the center’s acting commissioner, said the test shows that students have a lot to learn in art and music. No progress has been made since the same test was administered in 2008.

When asked to listen to George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” for example, only about half of the students were able to identify that the opening solo is played on a clarinet.

The arts are important not just to those interested in music or art as a career, said Ayanna Hudson of the National Endowment for the Arts.

“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,” Hudson said.