Quality of Arts Education: A Statement of Principles,” a

document from the nation’s ten most important educational

organizations, including the American Association of School

Administrators, the National Education Association, the

National Parent Teacher Association, and the National

School Boards Association.

The basic statement is unlikely to be challenged by anyone

involved in education. In the harsh reality of limited time

and funding for instruction, however, the inclusion of the

arts in every student’s education is sometimes relegated to a

distant wish rather than an exciting reality.

If public education is to help all our children reach their

individual potential and serve the collective good of our

society, music must be a part of the education of all

American children. The No Child Left Behind act defines

“core academic subjects” as English, reading or language arts,

mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government,

valued part of culture, is a birthright of every child. In addition,

learning music in school contributes to student achievement

in four important categories:

Perhaps the basic reason every child must have an education

in music is that music is a part of the fabric of our society.

The intrinsic value of music for each individual is widely

recognized in the many cultures that make up American life

—indeed, every human culture uses music to carry forward

its ideas and ideals. The importance of music in our economy

is massive. And the value of music in shaping individual

abilities and character are evident:

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.

build the workforce of tomorrow—a choice growing in

popularity and esteem. The arts can provide effective

learning opportunities to the general student population,

yielding increased academic performance, reduced

absenteeism, and better skill-building. An even more

compelling advantage is the striking success of artsbased

educational programs among disadvantaged

populations, especially at-risk and incarcerated youth.

For at-risk youth, that segment of society most likely

to suffer from limited lifetime productivity, the arts

contribute to lower recidivism rates; increased selfesteem;

the acquisition of job skills; and the development

of much needed creative thinking, problem

solving and communications skills. Involvement in the

arts is one avenue by which at-risk youth can acquire

the various competencies necessary to become

economically self-sufficient over the long term,

rather than becoming a financial strain on their

orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use

of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs).

subjects that college-bound middle and junior high

school students should take, stating "Many colleges

view participation in the arts and music as a valuable

experience that broadens students’ understanding and

appreciation of the world around them. It is also well

known and widely recognized that the arts contribute

significantly to children’s intellectual development."

In addition, one or two years of Visual and Performing

Arts is recommended for college-bound high school

system, I tell them we need to do the opposite of

what is happening, cutting budgets by cutting music

programs…. Nothing could be stupider than removing

the ability for the left and right brains to function. Ask

a CEO what they are looking for in an employee and

they say they need people who understand teamwork,

people who are disciplined, people who understand the

big picture. You know what they need? They need

The study of music helps students achieve

Success in society, of course, is predicated on success in

school. Any music teacher or parent of a music student can

call to mind anecdotes about effectiveness of music study in

helping children become better students. Skills learned

through the discipline of music, these stories commonly

point out, transfer to study skills, communication skills, and

cognitive skills useful in every part of the curriculum. Other

stories emphasize the way the discipline of music study—

particularly through participation in ensembles—helps students

learn to work effectively in the school environment.

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

higher on standardized tests compared to students in

schools with deficient music education programs,

regardless of the socioeconomic level of the school or

school district. Students in top-quality music programs

scored 22% better in English and 20% better

in math than students in deficient music programs.

Students at schools with excellent music programs had

higher English and math test scores across the country

than students in schools with low-quality music

programs. Students in all regions with lower-quality

instrumental programs scored higher in English and

math than students who had no music at all.

peers on the SAT, according to reports by the

College Entrance Examination Board. In 2006, SAT

takers with coursework/experience in music performance

scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of

the test and 43 points higher on the math portion

than students with no coursework or experience in the

arts. Scores for those with coursework in music appreciation

were 62 points higher on the verbal and 41

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

The study of music helps students achieve

Success in school and in society depends on an array of

abilities. Some measures of a child’s intelligence are indeed

increased with music instruction. Data supports a long-established

base of anecdotal knowledge to the effect that music

education makes kids smarter. What is new and especially

compelling, however, is a combination of behavioral studies

and groundbreaking neurological research that shows how

music study can actively contribute to brain development.

ß Results of an IQ test given to groups of children who were

provided with lessons in keyboard, voice, drama, or no lessons

at all showed that the IQ of students in the keyboard or voice

classes increased from their pre-lesson IQ score more than the

IQ of those students taking drama or no lessons. Generally

these increases occurred across IQ subtests, index scores, and

academic achievement. Summary of results by Dr. E. Glenn

Schellenberg, Psychological Science, August 2004

verbal memory than those without such training, and

the longer the training, the better the verbal memory.

Students who continued training and beginners who

had just started learning to play both showed improvement

a musical instrument improves the way the human

brain processes parts of spoken language. Using functional

magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), researchers

also discovered that musical training helps the brain

work more efficiently in distinguishing split-second

differences between rapidly changing sounds that are

brain development and improved memory over the

course of a year, compared to children who do not

receive musical training. Musically trained children

performed better in a memory test that is correlated

with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal

memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics and IQ.

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”

Each of us wants our children— and the children of all those

around us—to achieve success in school, success in employment,

and success in the social structures through which we

move. But we also want our children to experience “success”

on a broader scale. Participation in music, often as not based

on a grounding in music education during the formative

school years, brings countless benefits to each

individual throughout life. The benefits may be psychological

or spiritual, and they may be physical as well.

themselves, but it is also a bridge for connecting with

others. Through music, we can introduce children to

the richness and diversity of the human family and to

and the ‘incredible marvel’ of being a human. Ives

says it expands his mind and challenges him to be a

true individual. Bernstein says it is enriching and

ennobling. To me, that sounds like a good cause for

making music and the arts an integral part of every

child’s education. Studying music and the arts elevates

children’s education, expands students’ horizons, and

distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center

of a nation's purpose - and is a test to the quality of

The study of music helps students achieve

The study of music helps students achieve

Photos by Becky Spray, Mark Regan, and Jim Kirby