Research on link between music education and academic achievement
9th November 2015
Researchers from the University of Kansas have confirmed what decades of anecdotal evidence and the evidence on this site and elsewhere suggests: that increased music participation has important direct and indirect effects on student achievement and engagement. This isn’t a recent study but it has a robust sample, and we’ve just found it – so we’re sharing it here.
A baseline study commissioned by Nashville’s Music Makes Us initiative (published in October 2013), examined four years of district-wide data on the 2012 graduating class (6006 pupils), as well as student surveys (71 received) and focus groups (93 participants), to determine what influence music can have on students.
It showed that students in music programs outperformed their peers on every indicator: grade-point average, graduation rate, ACT scores, attendance and discipline referrals. Overall, the study demonstrated that the more a student participates in music, the more positive these benefits become.
Read more on the Music Education Works website
