ADVOCACY

How do you help your child succeed in overall academic performance? By supporting your school’s music education program! English, Mathematics, Science and Foreign language skills are all positively impacted by your child’s participation in your school’s chorus, orchestra or band. While many schools are cutting or downsizing their existing music classes, research and experience bear out that music appreciation and music performance in school are central to developing the whole child. Studies confirm that participation in music makes an even greater impact upon the life skills and academic performance of financially challenged and other a-risk students. Music invites creativity, self-expression, healthy release of emotions and self-esteem. Music and the arts are a critical part of a thriving community. 

RMF offers you advocacy tools such as local and national statistics, information regarding the “No Child Left Behind” act and two DVDs that can be used in multiple fashions – as educational or advocacy pieces.

Seventeen of Reading High School’s valedictorians and salutatorians between 1994 and 2004 were musicians, many of whom doubled on some combination of voice, keyboard and a band or orchestral instrument.  

The top five graduating seniors from Governor Mifflin High School for 2005 were all involved in Governor Mifflin’s string program. 

Nearly 60% of the recipients of the prestigious 2005 Shirk award, offering scholarships to Albright College, were involved in music. 

Of the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra’s seniors who graduated in 2004, 57% were members of the National Honor Society and/or a national language honor society, and over 60% intend to major in fields other than music, which include mathematics, science, engineering, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, history and English. 

General

The term ‘core academic subjects’ means English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.”
– No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, Title IX, Part A, Sec. 9101 (11)

Almost 50% of administrators reported that teachers from arts-rich schools had better morale than teachers from arts-poor schools. –Catterall, James. Doing Well by Doing Art. Los Angeles:  Imagination Group, 2009. 

Elementary School

Second & third grade students who were taught fractions through musical rhythms scored 100% higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner.—“Rhythm Students Learn Fractions More Easily,” Neurological Research, March 15, 1999. 

A study of 237 second grade children used piano keyboard training and newly designed math software to demonstrate improvement in math skills. The group scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children that used only math software. – Graziano, Amy, Matthew Peterson and Grodon Shaw, “Enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training.” Neurological Research 21 (March 1999). 

Eye-hand coordination needed to learn writing can be developed by learning to play an instrument. Catterall et al., 1999 

High School

Students of lower socioeconomic status who took music lessons in grades 8–12 increased their math scores significantly as compared to non-music students. But just as important, reading, history, geography and even social skills soared by 40%. Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey and Knowles, Nature, May 23, 1996 

In 2006, SAT takers exposed to music performance or appreciation scored nearly 60 points higher on the verbal test and over 40 points higher on the math test than students without such exposure. Source: The College Board, Profile of College-Bound Seniors National Report for 2006 

Schools that have music programs have significantly higher graduation rates than do those without programs (90.2% as compared to 72.9%). In addition, those that rate their programs as “excellent” or “very good” have an even higher graduation rate (90.9%). Schools that have music programs have significantly higher attendance rates than do those without programs (93.3% as compared to 84.9%). Harris Interactive poll of high school principals conducted Spring 2006; funded by MENC and NAMM. For more info, contact info@menc.org

Nearly 100% of past winners in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology (for high school students) play one or more musical instruments. This led the Siemens Foundation to host a recital at Carnegie Hall in 2004, featuring some of these young people, after which a panel of experts debated the nature of the apparent science/music link. – The Midland Chemist (American Chemical Society) Vol. 42, No.1, Feb. 2005 

Music training helps under-achievers. Students lagging behind in scholastic performance caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22% when given music instruction over seven months. -Nature, May 23, 1996 

Ninth grade students in a Chicago arts program achieved reading scores that were a full grade level higher than students not in the program.  All other variables, including race, gender & socioeconomic status, were equal in this study.—CAPE Study, President’s Council on the Arts & Humanities, 2000. 

U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show "significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12." - U.S. Department of Education NELLS88 Database  

The vast majority—96 percent—of the school principals interviewed in a recent study agree that participation in music education encourages and motivates students to stay in school. Further, 89 percent of principals feel that a high-quality music education program contributes to their school achieving high graduation rates. -Harris Interactive Poll, 2006 

Students who participate in All-State ensembles consistently score over 200 points higher on the SAT than non-music students. This figure indicates that students can pursue excellence in music while also excelling academically.—Texas Music Educators Association, 1988-1996. 

Music students demonstrate less test anxiety & performance anxiety than students who do not study music.—“College-Age Musicians Emotionally Healthier than Non-Musician Counterparts,” Houston Chronicle, 1998. 

Higher Education

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 & open-mindedness. -Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The Associated Press, October 1999. 

A 2000 Georgia Tech study indicates that a student who participates in at least one college elective music course is 4.5 times more likely to stay in college than the general student population. -Dr. Denise C .Gardner, Effects of Music Courses on Retention, Georgia Tech, 2000. 

College students majoring in music achieve scores higher than students of all other majors on college reading exams.—Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The Associated Press, October 1999. 

"Our admissions staff [at Gustavus Adolphus College] indicated that incoming students receiving music scholarships score at least one point higher on the ACT exam than non-musicians. These students are also more likely to have been in the top 10 percent of their graduating class in high school." “Kids need to learn an instrument while they're young.” Steve Wright, Minnesota Public Radio News, April 20, 2010. 

At age 20, 71% of low economic status students highly involved in the arts during high school attended college after high school, as compared to 48% of students who were minimally involved in the arts. –Catterall, James. Doing Well by Doing Art. Los Angeles:  Imagination Group, 2009. 

Low –income high arts students are three times as more likely to have earned BA degrees, more than twice as likely to earn an associate degree and three times as likely to earn post-graduate degrees than low-income low arts students. –Catterall, James. Doing Well by Doing Art. Los Angeles:  Imagination Group, 2009. 

Young children trained in music for one year performed better than children without such training in a memory test [that is] correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, [Visio] spatial processing, mathematics and IQ. Dr. Laurel Trainor, Prof. of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour at McMaster University, Director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind; Canada; published 9/20/06; http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920093024.htm 

Playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem’s sensitivity to speech sounds. This relates to encoding skills involved with music and language. Experience with music at a young age can “fine-tune” the brain’s auditory system. – from a study supported by Northwestern University, grants from the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation. Nina Kraus, director of NWU’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory and senior author of the study, which appeared in April 2007 Nature Neuroscience. Other contributing researchers/authors: Patrick Wong, primary author “Musical Experience Shapes Human Brainstem Encoding of Linguistic Pitch Patterns” Other researchers Erika Skoe, Nicole Russo, Tasha Dees; info from www.sciencedaily.com 

Music enhances the process of learning. The systems they nourish, which include our integrated sensory, attention, cognitive, emotional and motor capacities, are shown to be the driving forces behind all other learning. -Konrad, R.P., “Empathy, Arts and Social Studies,” 2000 

Young children who received a year of musical training showed brain changes and superior memory compared with children who did not receive the instruction. - Fujioka, T., Ross, B., Kakigi, R., Pantev, C. and Trainor, L., Brain, A Journal of Neurology, Oxford University Press, September 2006 

The part of the brain responsible for planning, foresight & coordination is substantially larger for instrumental musicians than for the general public.—“Music on the Mind,” Newsweek, July 24, 2000. 

Research shows when a child listens to classical music the right hemisphere of the brain is activated, but when a child studies a musical instrument both left and right hemispheres of the brain “light up.” Significantly, the areas that become activated are the same areas that are involved in analytical and mathematical thinking.—Dee Dickinson, “Music and the Mind,” New Horizons for Learning, 1993. 

After comparing children who had music lessons with those who didn't, scientists from McMaster University, Canada, found that those who took music lessons had different patterns of brain development. The children with music lessons had better memories as well as higher literacy and math levels. All the kids in the study were aged 4-6 years. - Music and the Mind Study by McMaster University and the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, 2006 

Youth

Students who participate in the arts at least nine hours each week for at least a year are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, three times more likely to be elected to class office, four times more likely to win a school attendance award, four times more likely to participate in a science and math fair, and four times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem. –National  Governors Association Center for Best Practices. The Impact of Arts Education on Workforce Preparation. Issue Brief, May 1, 2002. 

Martin Gardiner of Brown University tracked the criminal records of Rhode Island residents from birth through age 30, & he concluded the more a resident was involved in music, the lower the person’s arrest record. “Music linked to Reduced Criminality,” MuSICA Research Notes, Winter 2000 

”Juvenile Delinquent” males ages 8-19 who were given instruction in and performance opportunities on the guitar improved both their self-confidence in terms of their musical ability and general self-worth versus other "juvenile delinquent" males of the same age group given instruction but no performance opportunities. Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Developments, 2002, p.119 study: The Effects of Musical Performance, Rational Emotive Therapy and Vicarious Experience on the Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem of Juvenile Delinquents and Disadvantaged Children by John Roy Kennedy 

A Columbia University study revealed that students in the arts are found to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident and better able to express their ideas. -Burton, J., Horowitz, R., Abeles, H. Champions of Change, AEP. 1999 

There is a very high correlation between positive self-perception, high cognitive competence scores, healthy self-esteem, total interest, school involvement & the study of music.—O.F. Lillemyr, “Achievement Motivation as a Factor in Self-Perception,” Norwegian Research Council for Science & the Humanities. 

With music instruction in schools, teachers found that students were less aggressive. - Konrad, R.R., Empathy, Arts and Social Studies, 2000 

Musicians are more accurate in detecting emotion — such as joy, sadness and anger — in speech samples. The effect has been found even in children as young as 7 years old, with as little as one year of music training. - M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2003 

"Music was frequently described as a force for building one's character, and many students expressed their belief that music was capable of directing them in shaping their broader sense of self, who they were becoming, and how they might succeed in the world. The respondents highlighted confidence, responsibility, compassion, pride, patience, and respect as aspects of their character they feel they owe, at least in part, to music." Patricial Shehan Campbell, Claire Connell, and Amy Beegle (2007), "Adolescents' Expressed Meanings of Music in and out of School," Journal of Research in Music Education, 55(3), p. 229. 

High arts students are more than 15% more likely to register to vote and more than 30% more likely to have voted in the last presidential election. –Catterall, James. Doing Well by Doing Art. Los Angeles:  Imagination Group, 2009. 

At age 26, high arts students are more likely to read newspapers, books, visit the public library, attend concerts and plays and participate in organized religion than high sports students. –Catterall, James. Doing Well by Doing Art. Los Angeles:  Imagination Group, 2009. 

Arts and the Economy

Americans for the Arts reported in 2009 that nationally there are 612,095 businesses in the U.S. involved in the creation or distribution of the arts that employ 2.98 million people -- 4.3 percent of all businesses and 2.2 percent of all employees. “Supporting arts education is essential,” Donna Collins, Zanesville Times Recorder, June 6, 2010 

“The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century.” “The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education.” Business Week, October 1996. 

America's nonprofit arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year, including $24.4 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues.  Americans for the Arts  

Data show that high earnings are not just associated with people who have high technical skills. In fact, mastery of the arts and humanities is just as closely correlated with high earnings, and, according to our analysis, that will continue to be true. History, music, drawing, and painting, and economics will give our students an edge just as surely as math and science will. –Tough Choices or Tough Times: The report of the new commission on the skills of the American workforce, 2007, page 29; www.skillscommission.org

“A concurrent resolution of the same U.S. House of Representatives that enacted “No Child Left Behind” into law found that the skills gained through sequential music instruction, including discipline and the ability to analyze, solve problems, communicate and work cooperatively, are vital for success in the 21^st century workplace. -U.S. House of Representatives, Concurrent Res. 355, March 6, 2006 

The very best engineers and technical designers in the silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. – Grant Venerable, “The Paradox of the Silicon Savior,” as reported in “The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools,” The Center for the Arts in Basic Curriculum, New York 1989. 

Health

Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current & lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco & illicit drugs among any group in our society.—H. Con. Res 266, United States Senate, June 13 2000 

Blood samples from participants of an hour-long drumming session revealed a reversal of the hormonal stress response and an increase in natural killer cell activity. Bittman, Berk, Felten, Westengard, Simonton, Pappas, Ninehouser, 2001, Alternative Therapies, vol. 7, #1 

Playing music increases human growth hormone (HgH production among active older Americans.  A study following 130 people over two 10-week periods measured participants' levels of HgH.  The findings revealed that the test group who took group keyboard lessons showed significantly higher levels of HgH than the control group people who did not make music. -University of Miami 

Volunteerism

Adult choral singers in the United States volunteer in their communities at twice the rate of adults in general, are five times more likely to make political contributions and are three times more likely to contribute to other arts organizations than American households in general. – Chorus America. America's Performing Art - A Study of Choruses, Choral Singers, and Their Impact. 2003 

At age 20, 61% of students highly involved in the arts in high school are currently volunteering in some capacity, as compared to 28% of all students polled. –Catterall, James. Doing Well by Doing Art. Los Angeles:  Imagination Group, 2009. 

High arts students are more than twice as likely then low arts students to volunteer for a youth organization or a civic/community organization.  –Catterall, James. Doing Well by Doing Art. Los Angeles:  Imagination Group, 2009.

To learn more about the benefits of music education, visit www.menc.org