The GE Fund and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation conducted a study called "From Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning". Edited by Edward B. Fiske, and produced by the Arts Education Partnership and the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the research found numerous areas where study in the arts enhances and improves proficiency in academics. Learn more about the relationship between academics and music in the volume of research provided below. Involvement in the arts and academic success -- Positive academic developments for children engaged in the arts are seen at each step in the research, between 8th and 10th grade as well as between 10th and12th grade. The comparative gains for arts-involved youngsters generally become more pronounced over time. Moreover and more important, these patterns hold for children from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. Music and mathematics achievement -- 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 both generally and for low SES students as a subgroup. In addition, absolute difference in measured mathematics proficiency between students consistently involved versus not involved in instrumental music grow significantly over time. Theater arts and human development -- Sustained student involvement in theater arts (acting in plays and musicals, participating in drama clubs and taking acting lessons) associates with a variety of development for youth: gains in reading proficiency, gains in self concept and motivation, and higher levels of empathy and tolerance for others. The analyses of theater arts were undertaken for low SES youth only. The presumption was that more advantaged youngsters would be more likely to be involved in theater and drama because of attendance at more affluent schools and because of parental ability to afford theater opportunities in the community or private sectors. Facts & Figures The U.S. Department of Education recommends the arts to college-bound middle and junior high school students asserting, "Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as valuable experience that broadens students' understanding and appreciation of the world around them." In addition, it plays a part in developing "children's intellectual development." The U.S. DOE also suggests one year of Visual and Performing Arts for college-bound high school students. Source: Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997 The arts are one of the six subject areas in which the College Board recognizes as essential in order to thrive in college. Source: Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do, 1983 [still in use], The College Board, New York The arts produce jobs, generating an estimate $37 billion with a return of $3.4 billion in federal income taxes. Source: American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet, October 1996 Students taking courses in music performance and music appreciation scored higher in the SAT than students with no arts participation. Music performance students scored 53 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math. Music appreciation students scored 61 points higher on the verbal and 42 points higher on the math. Source: 1999 College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers, The College Entrance Examination Board, Princeton, New Jersey According to the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, music students received more academic honors and awards than non-music students. A higher percentage of music participants received As, As/Bs, and Bs than non-music participants. Source: NELS:88 First Follow-up, 1990, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington D.C. Lewis Thomas, physician and biologist, found that music majors comprise the highest percentage of accepted medical students at 66%. Source: As reported in "The Case for Music in the School," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994. Research made between music and intelligence concluded that music training is far greater than computer instruction in improving children's abstract reasoning skills. Source: Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, vol. 19, February 1997. The University of Montreal researched brain imaging techniques to study brain activity during musical tasks. Researches concluded that sight-reading musical scores and playing music "activate regions in all four of the cortex's lobes" and "parts of the cerebellum are also activated during those tasks." Source: J. Sergent, E. Zuck, S. Tenial, and B. MacDonnall (1992). Distributed neural network underlying musical sight reading and keyboard performance. Science, 257, 106-109. "The arts enrich communities and employees, and also stimulate the kind of intellectual curiosity our company needs to stay competitive." Source: Norma R. Augustine, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Martin Marietta Corporation. "A grounding in the arts will help our children to see; to bring a uniquely human perspective to science and technology. In short, it will help them as they grow smarter to also grow wiser. Source: Robert E. Allen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AT&T Corporation, in "America's Culture Begins with Education" This data is exerpted from Music Makes the Difference: Music, Brain Development, and Learning which is MENC publication #1668 and may be purchased at the MENC website at www.menc.org Arts Education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate; the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for exellence. Source: Joseph M. Calahan, Director of Corporate Communications, Xerox Corporation I believe arts education in music, theater, dance and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. They (children) have an enthusiasm for life, a spark of creativity, and vivid imaginations that need training...training that prepares them to become confident young men and women. As I visit schools around the country I see a renewed interest in arts education and a growing concern about the negative impact of cutting art and music out of curriculum. The creativity of the arts and the joy of music should be central to the education of every American child. Source: Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education) Music is Beating Computers at Enhancing Early Childhood Development. Music training, specifically piano instruction, is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning math and science. Learning music at an early age causes long-term enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning. Source: Frances Rauscher, Ph.D., Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1997 Music Enhances Linguistic Skills. Music -- specifically song -- is one of the best training grounds for babies learning to recognize the tones that add up to spoken language. Source: Sandra Trehubn, University of Toronto, 1997 Americans say schools should offer instrumental music instruction as part of the regular curriculum. 88% of respondents indicated this in a 1997 "American Attitudes Towards Music" Gallup poll. Source: Music Trades, September 1997 Student involvement in extracurricular or co-curricular activities makes students resilient to current substance use among their peers, according to a recent statewide survey of Texas Schools. Secondary students who participated in band, orchestra or choir reported the lowest lifetime use of all substances. Source: 1994 Texas School Survey of Substance Abuse Among Students: Grades 7-12 Studying Music Strengthens Students' Academic Performance. Rhode Island studies have indicated that sequential, skill-building instruction in art and music integrated with the rest of the curriculum can greatly improve children's performance in reading and math. Source: "Learning Improved by Arts Training" by Martin Gardiner, Alan Fox, Faith Knowles, and Donna Jeffrey, Nature, May 23, 1996 Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Casual Relationship. Music lessons, and even simply listening to music, can enhance spatial reasoning performance, a critical higher-brain function necessary to perform complex tasks including mathematics. Source: Frances Rauscher, Ph.D., Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1994