Music Advocacy
MUSIC CLASSES ARE A VITAL PART of student academic achievement. The importance
of music and fine arts has been debated in school board rooms across the country
for several years. As budgets are trimmed and school music programs are cut,
this becomes an important question to answer. These music and arts programs
are an important component of student learning and success.
Music programs are not extras!
Instrumental and vocal music classes are often referred to as "extracurricular"
classes. Music is anything but "extracurricular". Music classes offer
many benefits which make them very indispensable. Performance programs enhance
a student's sense of self esteem as well as their social skills. Students become
a part of a positive group and organization. Not only do students profit socially
from music programs, but they also gain academically.
"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)
Several studies have confirmed that music directly enhances learning through
increased spatial development. Math and reading are improved by learning rhythms
and decoding notes and symbols. So there appears to be cross disciplinary learning
in music.
Music makes the grade!
For years elementary teachers have decried the music pullout program (students
are taken out of class to receive music instruction once or twice a week) because
of "lost instruction" time. However, according to many studies these
fears are unfounded.
An investigation in 1983 under the authority of David Circle, music supervisor
for the Shawnee Mission Schools District, was undertaken to determine the effects
on mathematic problem solving and reading comprehension test scores for students
who were removed from their elementary classrooms for instrumental instruction
for two 30 minute sessions each week. Analysis revealed that the instrumental
students scored higher in both mathematics problem solving and reading comprehension.
The study was repeated in 1989, and the same results were obtained.
Researchers in Hamilton, Ohio, documented that students participating in an
instrumental pullout program scored higher on the reading, mathematics and citizenship
portions of the Ohio Proficiency Test (OPT), than their non-music peers. This
study paired instrumental and non-music students based on their verbal Cognitive
Abilities Test (COGAT). Four groups of instrumental students were released two
times a week for instruction. Two of those four groups scored significantly
higher on the reading and mathematics portion of the OPT than their non-music
peers. Additionally, 68% of instrumental students scored at grade level or higher
on all four sections of the test compared to 58% of the non-music students.
For more information (Michael D. Wallick, Ohio City Schools)
Music Makes You Smarter!
Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation
scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher
on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation
scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did
students with no arts participation. College-Bound Seniors National Report:
Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination
Board, 2001.
Additionally, data revealed that for every year a student participated in music
instruction, their SAT scores improved. Students with four or more years of
music study received an average score of about 544 as opposed to a score just
above 482 for those with half a at least one semester of music instruction,
thus showing a strong correlation between music and overall academic success.
(For more information see MENC Web Page)
In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary
school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers
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." This observation holds
regardless of students' socio-economic status, and differences in those who
are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant
over time. Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. "Involvement
in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement
in Music and Theater Arts." Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at
UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999..
Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music
participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students,
and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was
higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades. NELS:88
First Follow-up, 1990, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington
DC
Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle
schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking
skills. National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, 1990
Whether the results are a reflection of a direct cognitive connection or other
factors, such as higher self-esteem, and involvement in school, the outcome
is no less important. Music does influence and impact student learning and success.
Music for everyone
Humans have the need to belong, to be part a group of individuals who share
interests, and who come together for a common purpose. Such needs are as important
to children and teens as they are to people in mid-life and to senior adults.
A three-year research undertaking called the Music Making And Wellness Research
Project, has underscored the relationship between group music making and wellness.
The facts show that music is an important avenue to individual success. Music
should be made available to all students in all schools. Music programs hold
an influential place in school and academic structure. When consideration is
being given to program and budget cuts administrators, parents, counselors and
teachers need to know that music education is not just an "extra"
elective to fill students' schedules, but a vital part of a complete”
academic" education.
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