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 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 sar
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