How Music Really Helps Shape Kids’ Test Scores All Throughout School

Jan here (from the PWA team). There's an abundance of research showing how music really helps shape kids' test scores all throughout school.

Grade school:
• Students ... who took music lessons in grades 8–12 increased their math scores significantly ... and their reading, history, geography and even social skills soared by 40%. (Nature)
• Children who have received music instruction scored higher marks on tests of their spatial and arithmetic skills. (Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children’s spatial temporal reasoning)
• Music has been linked to significantly higher test scores in writing. (Catterall, et al.)

High school:
• High school music students have been shown to hold higher grade point averages than non-musicians in the same school. (National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988)
• Students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math than students with no arts participation. (College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers)

College:
• A study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry and math. (The Case for Music in the Schools)
• Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school. (The Case for Music in the Schools)

All ages:
• With music in schools, students connect to each other better—greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism, and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm. (Arts With the Brain in Mind)

Are you ready to give your kids the gift of music yet?