The Benefits of Arts Education

SAMOHI CHOIR
The Creation:  Awake the Harp by Franz Joseph Haydn
Conductor: Jeffe Huls / Winter Concert 12/18/08

Musical Training Improves Reading
Experimental and control groups were matched in age, IQ, and socioeconomic status. The experimental group received 40 minutes of musical instruction per school day for seven months, while the control group received none. After training, the music group exhibited significantly higher reading scores (88th percentile) then the control group (72nd percentile).
Journal of Learning Disabilities, "Nonmusical Effects of the Kodaly Music Curriculum in Primary Grade Children", Hurwitz, Wolff, Bortnick, and Kokas

Core Competencies
A landmark study from the U.S. Department of Labor on the preparation of America's youth for the workforce concluded that arts education helps students make important advances in the core competencies needed for employment. These competencies include creative thinking, problem solving, exercise of individual responsibility, sociability, and self-esteem.
"Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills Report," U.S.
Department of Labor, 1989

High Correlation Between Phonics Ability and Musical Pitch Discrimination
First graders were given two tests. The first test was to determine the children's ability to "sound out" nonsense syllables (phonetic reading). The second test was to assess the children's ability to determine pitch awareness. Did the musical notes or chords in sequence sound the same or different? The researchers found a high degree of correlation between how well children could read and how well they could discriminate pitch.
Educational Psychology, "The relationship between music and reading in beginning readers"
Lamb and Gregory

Enhanced Self-Concept
Self-concept is positively enhanced through the arts, according to a review of 57 studies, as are language acquisition, cognitive development, critical-thinking ability, and social skills. The authors examined studies of measurable results in the emotional and social development of children. The relationship between music participation and self-concept was strongly in evidence.
"The Effects of Arts and Music Education on Students' Self-Concept,"
Trusty and Oliva, 1994

Understanding Others
Attitudes and perceptions toward Native Americans were changed through arts instruction. In Arizona, music and cultural experiences were effective in diminishing fourth grade students' stereotypical views toward minority cultures.
"North American Indian Music Instruction: Influences upon Attitudes, Cultural Perceptions, and Achievement," Kay Edwards, 1994

Raises IQ Scores
Listening to a Mozart Piano Sonata for 10 minutes before taking an IQ test increased college students' spatial scores by 9 points.
Nature 1993, Drs. Rauscher and Shaw, UC Irvine

Increases SAT Scores
There is a direct correlation between improved SAT scores and the length of time spent studying the arts. Those who studied the arts four or more years scored 57 points high on verbal and 39 points higher on math portions of the SAT than students with no coursework in the arts, for a combined total of 96 points higher.
Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, 1998, The College Board

Prepares Children for the Future
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a report in 1991 urging schools to teach for the future workplace. The skills they recommend (working in teams, communication, self-esteem, creative thinking, imagination, and invention) are exactly those learned in school music and arts education programs.
1991 SCANS Report, U.S. Department of Commerce

Provides Important Experiences
Musical activities provide children with important experiences that can help them develop physical coordination, timing, memory, visual, aural, and language skills. When they work to increase their command of music and exercise musical skills in the company of others, they gain important experience with self-paced learning, mental concentration, and a heightened personal and social awareness.
Frank Wilson, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology, UC San Francisco School of Medicine

Improves Reading and Math Performance
A research team studying first graders from two Rhode Island elementary schools found that students who participated in an "enriched, sequential, skill building music program" dramatically increased their reading and math performance.
Nature May 23, 1996; Gardiner, Fox, Jeffery, and Knowles

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