For Parents
1. Music students out-perform non-music on achievement tests in reading
and math. Skills such as reading, anticipating, memory, listening, forecasting,
recall, and concentration are developed in musical performance, and
these skills are valuable to students in math, reading, and science.
- B. Friedman, “An Evaluation of the Achievement in Reading and
Arithmetic of Pupils in Elementary School Instrumental Music Classes,” Dissertation Abstracts International.
2. Students who can perform complex rhythms
can also make faster and more precise corrections
in many academic and physical situations,
according to the Center for Timing, Coordination,
and Motor Skills.
- Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary
role in human intellectual development, Center
for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills, 2000.
3. A ten-year study indicates that students
who study music achieve higher test scores,
regardless of socioeconomic background.
-
Dr. James Catterall, UCLA,
4. A 1997 study of elementary students in an
arts-based program concluded that students’ math test scores
rose as their time in arts education classes increased.
- “Arts Exposure and Class Performance,” Phi
Delta Kappan, October, 1998.
5. First-grade students who had daily music
instruction scored higher on creativity tests
than a control group without music instruction.
- K.L. Wolff, The Effects of General Music
Education on the Academeic Achievement, Perceptual-Motor
Development, Creative Thinking, and School Attendance of First-Grade
Children, 1992.
6. In a Scottish study, one group of elementary
students received musical training, while another
other group received an equal amount of discussion
skills training. After six (6) months, the
students in the music group achieved a significant
increase in reading test scores, while the
reading test scores of the discussion skills group did not change.
- Sheila Douglas and Peter Willatts, Journal
of Research in Reading, 1994
7. According to a 1991 study, students in schools
with arts-focused curriculums reported significantly
more positive perceptions about their academic
abilities than students in a comparison group.
- Pamela Aschbacher and Joan Herman, The Humanitas
Program Evaluation, 1991
8. Students who are rhythmically skilled also
tend to better plan, sequence, and coordinate
actions in their daily lives.
- “Cassily Column,” TCAMS Professional
Resource Center, 2000.
9. In a 1999 Columbia University study, students
in the arts are found to be more cooperative
with teachers and peers, more self-confident,
and better able to express their ideas. These
benefits exist across socioeconomic levels.
- The Arts Education Partnership, 1999.
10. College admissions officers continue to
cite participation in music as an important
factor in making admissions decisions. They
claim that music participation demonstrates
time management, creativity, expression,
and open-mindedness
- Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The
Associated Press, October, 1999.
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