The Importance of Music

361 Words2 Pages
Researchers have studied the benefits of music education for decades, consistently finding strong correlations between music and academic achievement. For example, positive results have been noted in standardized tests. Regardless of socioeconomic background, according to a 10-year study that tracked more than 25,000 middle and high school students, music-making students get higher marks on standardized tests than those who have little or no music involvement. The College Entrance Examination Board found that students in music programs scored 63 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math sections of the SATs than students with no music participation. Additionally, students performed better on other standardized tests such as reading proficiency exams. Similarly, a study examining the relationship between participation in high or low-quality school music programs and standardized test scores showed that students in high-quality programs scored higher on both English and mathematics standardized tests than their counterparts who did not have high-quality instruction (Johnson, 2006). The researchers also found that students in exceptional music programs as well as low-quality instrumental programs still performed better in English and mathematics than those students receiving no music classes. These findings were all confirmed in the first major study to compare data from four longitudinal studies. In this landmark study, James Catterall, found that teenagers and young adults of low socioeconomic status (SES) who have a history of in-depth arts involvement show better academic outcomes than do low-SES youth with less arts involvement. These students have higher test scores in science, writing and math, as well as higher overall GPAs than students who lacked arts experiences. Better GPAs also were observed among high SES students. Lastly, a
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