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Top Ten Lists 2000

Top Ten Lists 1999

Top Ten for Directors

Top Ten for Parents

Top Ten for Students

Top Ten for Administrators

Top Ten for Everyone

Top Ten Advocacy Quotes

Top Ten for 2000

1. In a 1995 study in Hamilton, Ohio, string students who participated in pullout lessons averaged higher scores than the non-pullout students in all areas of the Ohio Proficiency Test. Sixty-eight (68) percent of the string students achieved satisfactory ratings on all sections of the test, compared to fifty-eight (58) percent of the non-pullout students.

- Michael D. Wallick, “A Comparison Study of the Ohio Proficiency Test Results Between Fourth-Grade String Pullout Students and Those of Matched Ability,” Journal of Research in Music Education, 1998.

2. According to a 2000 survey, eighty-one (81) percent of people responding believe that

participating in school music corresponds with better grades and test scores. This is an

3. More music teachers are role models for minority students than teachers of any other

subject. Thirty-six (36) percent of surveyed minority students identified music teachers as their

role models, compared to twenty-eight (28) percent for English teachers, eleven (11) percent

- “Music teachers as role models for African-American students,” Journal of Research in Music Educa-

4. Only thirty-one (31) percent of teenagers and adults in a 2000 survey who do not play an

- Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music Conference, 2000.

5. Researchers at the University of California and the Niigata Brain Research Institute in Japan

have found an area of the brain that is activated only when reading musical scores.

- “Musical Brain – Special Brain Area Found for Reading Music Scores,” NeuroReport, 1998.

6. In the 1998 federal study Gaining the Arts Advantage, music teachers in many of the

strongest arts programs nationwide are encouraged by their schools to perform in their

- Gaining the Arts Advantage, The President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1998.

7. Ninety-two (92) percent of people who play an instrument say they were glad they learned

- Gallup Poll Shows Strong Support for Putting Music in Every School’s Curriculum, Giles Communications, 2000.

8. In academic situations, students in music programs are less likely to draw unfounded

9. The scores of elementary instrumental music students on standardized math tests increased

10. Nine out of ten adults and teenagers who play instruments agree that music making brings

1. In a 2000 survey, 73 percent of respondents agree that teens who play an instrument are

- Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music

2. Students who can perform complex rhythms can also make faster and more precise

corrections in many academic and physical situations, according to the Center for

- Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary role in human intellectual development, Center for Timing,

3. A ten-year study indicates that students who study music achieve higher test scores,

4. A 1997 study of elementary students in an arts-based program concluded that students’

5. First-grade students who had daily music instruction scored higher on creativity tests than a

- K.L. Wolff, The Effects of General Music Education on the Academeic Achievement, Perceptual-Motor Development, Creative Thinking, and School Attendance of First-Grade Children, 1992.

6. In a Scottish study, one group of elementary students received musical training, while

another other group received an equal amount of discussion skills training. After six (6)

months, the students in the music group achieved a significant increase in reading test scores,

7. According to a 1991 study, students in schools with arts-focused curriculums reported

significantly more positive perceptions about their academic abilities than students in a

8. Students who are rhythmically skilled also tend to better plan, sequence, and coordinate

9. In a 1999 Columbia University study, students in the arts are found to be more cooperative

with teachers and peers, more self-confident, and better able to express their ideas. These

10. College admissions officers continue to cite participation in music as an important factor in

making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time

- Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The Associated Press, October, 1999.

1. A 2000 Georgia Tech study indicates that a student who participates in at least one college

elective music course is 4.5 times more likely to stay in college than the general student popu-

- Dr. Denise C. Gardner, Effects of Music Courses on Retention, Georgia Tech, 2000.

2. On the 1999 SAT, music students continued to outperform their non-arts peers, scoring 61

points higher on the verbal portion and 42 points higher on the math portion of the exam.

- Steven M. Demorest and Steven J. Morrison, “Does Music Make You Smarter?,” Music Educators Jour-

3. Students who participate in All-State ensembles consistently score over 200 points higher

on the SAT than non-music students. This figure indicates that students can pursue excellence

4. Students with good rhythmic performance ability can more easily detect and differentiate

- “Rhythm seen as key to man’s evolutionary development,” TCAMS Professional Resource Center, 2000.

5. Students in arts programs are more likely to try new things, and they can better express their

- Champions of Change, the President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1999.

6. College students majoring in music achieve scores higher than students of all other majors

- Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The Associated Press, October, 1999.

7. Music students demonstrate less test anxiety and performance anxiety than students who do

- “College-Age Musicians Emotionally Healthier than Non-Musician Counterparts,” Houston Chronicle,

8. The average scores achieved by music students on the 1999 SAT increased for every year

- Steven M. Demorest and Steven J. Morrison, “Does Music Make You Smarter?,” Music Educators Jour-

9. A majority of the engineers and technical designers in Silicon Valley are also practicing

- The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools, Center for the

10. Nine out of ten people with instrumental music experience are glad that they have learned

1. A group of second grade students in inner-city Los Angeles received piano training twice a

week, and they used specialized computer software that related the piano lessons to math con-

cepts. On standardized math tests, fifty (50) percent of the second graders scored as well as

fifth grade students in affluent Orange County, California. The scores of the entire second

2. In a 2000 Gallup Poll, seventy-five (75) percent of respondents believe learning a musical

instrument helps students do better in other subjects, such as math and science.

- Gallup Poll Shows Strong Support for Putting Music in Every School’s Curriculum, Giles Communica-

3. Second and third grade students who were taught fractions through musical rhythms scored

one hundred (100) percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional

- “Rhythm Students Learn Fractions More Easily,” Neurological Research, March 15, 1999

4. Students involved in arts programs had significantly higher class attendance rates than a

5. Classroom teachers in Rhode Island noted improved behavior and attitudes among a test

6. More than nine out of ten people believe that schools should offer musical instruction as part

- Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music

7. Teachers in schools with strong arts programs report greater professional interest, motiva-

8. States should mandate music education for all students, according to seventy-eight (78) per-

9. Ninth grade students in a Chicago arts program achieved reading scores that were a full

grade level higher than students not in the program. All other variables, including race, gender,

10. When faced with a problem to solve, students in music and the arts produce more possible

solutions, and their solutions are more creative, according to a nationwide study.

- N. M. Weinberger, “Arts Education Enhances ‘Real Life’ Personal Skills,” MuSICA Research Notes,

1. “During the Gulf War, the few opportunities I had for relaxation I always listened to music, and it brought me great peace of mind. I have shared my love of music with people throughout this world, while listening to the drums and special instruments of the Far East, Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Far North, and all of this started with the music appreciation course that I was taught in a third-grade elementary class in Princeton, New Jersey. What a tragedy it would be if we lived in a world where music was not taught to children.”

2. “Music is exciting. It is thrilling to be sitting in a group of musicians playing (more or less) the

same piece of music. You are part of a great, powerful, vibrant entity. And nothing beats the

feeling you get when you've practiced a difficult section over and over and finally get it right.

(yes, even on the wood block.) Music is important. It says things you heart can't say any other

way, and in a language everyone speaks. Music crosses borders, turns smiles into frowns, and

vice versa. These observations are shared with a hope: that, when schools cut back on music

classes, they really think about what they're doing - and don't take music for granted.”

3. “In every successful business…there is one budget line that never gets cut. It’s called

‘Product Development’ – and it’s the key to any company’s future growth. Music education

is critical to the product development of this nation’s most important resource – our children.”

4. “The things I learned from my experience in music in school are discipline, perseverance,

dependability, composure, courage and pride in results. . . Not a bad preparation for the

5. “Music is an essential part of everything we do. Like puppetry, music has an abstract quality

which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul.”

6. “Should we not be putting all our emphasis on reading, writing and math? The ‘back-to-basics curricula,’ while it has merit, ignores the most urgent void in our present system – absence of self-discipline. The arts, inspiring – indeed requiring – self-discipline, may be more ‘basic’ to our nation survival than traditional credit courses. Presently, we are spending 29 times more on science than on the arts, and the result so far is worldwide intellectual embarrassment.”

7. “It's [music education] terribly important, extremely important -- because when you are a

child, you are in a receptive age ... In high schools, public schools -- that's where they must

have the best influence, the first influence, which will go through their whole life.”

8. “It is our job, as parents, educators, and friends, to see that our young people have the

opportunity to attain the thorough education that will prepare them for the future. Much of that

education takes place in the classroom. We must encourage our youngsters in such pursuits as

music education. In addition to learning the valuable lesson that it takes hard work to achieve

success, no matter what the arena, music education can provide students with a strong sense

of determination, improved communication skills, and a host of other qualities essential for

- Edward H. Rensi – President and Chief Operation Officer, U.S.A. McDonald's Corporation

9. “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.”

10. “Some people think music education is a privilege, but I think it’s essential to being

1. Ninety-five (95) percent of people responding to a 2000 Gallup Poll believe that

- Gallup Poll Shows Strong Support for Putting Music in Every School’s Curriculum, Giles

2. Practicing musicians demonstrate 25 percent more brain activity than non-musicians when

3. In a 1998 study, retirees who participated in group keyboard lessons reported

decreased anxiety, decreased depression, and decreased loneliness when compared to a

- Scientific Study Indicates That Making Music Makes the Elderly Healthier, American Music Confer-

4. People who participate in the arts live longer than others, according to a Swedish study.

5. At-risk children participating in an arts program that includes music show significant

increases in self-concept, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale.

- Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts, Auburn University,

6. Martin Gardiner of Brown University tracked the criminal records of Rhode Island residents

from birth through age 30, and he concluded the more a resident was involved in music, the

- “Music Linked to Reduced Criminality,” MuSICA Research Notes, Winter 2000.

7. The part of the brain responsible for planning, foresight, and coordination is substantially

8. Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and

life-long use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among any group in our society.

9. In a French study, the use of melodies was shown to stimulate speech recovery in stroke

10. Taking a music elective course is a better indicator that a student will stay in college than

- Dr. Denise C. Gardner, Effect of Music Courses On Retention, Georgia Tech, 2000.

1. The 1997 Gallup Survey on Americans’ attitudes toward music revealed that eighty-six

percent (86%) of adults agree that all schools should offer instrumental music as part of the

regular curriculum. The same percentage endorses community financial support for school

2. Students with coursework/experience in music performance scored 52 points higher on the

verbal portion of the SAT and 36 points higher on the math portion than students with no

3. A 1985 study by Edward Kvet showed that student absence from class to study a musical instrument does not result in lower academic achievement. He found no difference in academic achievement between sixth grade students who were excused from class for instrumental study and those who were not, matching variables of sex, race, IQ, cumulative achievement, school attended, and classroom teacher.

- Cutietta, Hamann, and Walker, Spin-Ofs: The Extra-Musical Advantages of a Musical Education, United Musical Instruments U.S.A., Inc., 1995.

4. Researchers at the University of California - Irvine report that second-grade students given

four months of piano keyboard training, as well as time playing with newly designed computer

software, scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than other children.

5. The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair

weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st Century.

- “The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education,” Business Week, October 1996.

6. A study of 811 high school students indicated that the percentage of minority students with a

music teacher role model was significantly higher than for teachers of any other discipline.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of these students identified music teachers as their role model,

compared to 28% English teachers, 11% elementary teachers, and 7% physical education/

- D.L. Hamann and L.M. Walker, “Music Teachers as Role Models for African-American Students,” Journal of Research in Music Education, 1993.

7. Longer arts study means higher SAT scores. Students participating in arts courses for two

years averaged 29 points higher on the verbal portion and 18 points higher on the math portion

of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Students with four or

more years in the arts scored 57 points higher and 19 points higher on the verbal and math

8. Admissions officers at 70 percent of the nation’s major universities have stated that high

school credit and achievement in the arts are significant considerations for admission to thier

9. In a study of approximately 7,500 students at a medium-size university between 1983 and

1988, music and music education majors had the highest reading scores of any students on campus, including those majoring in English, biology, chemistry, and mathematics.

- Peter H. Wood, “The Comparative Aademic Abilities of Students in Education and in Other Areas of a Multi-focus University,” ERIC Document Number ED327480.

10. Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medial school

applicants. He found that sixty- six percent (66%) of music majors who applied to medical

school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. Forty-four percent (44%) of bio-

1. Music — specifically song — is one of the best training grounds for babies learning to recognize the tones that add up to spoken language.

2. Researchers at the University of Muenster in Germany have discovered that music lessons in

childhood actually enlarge parts of the brain. An area used to analyze the pitch of a musical

note is enlarged 25% in musicians compared to people who have never played an instrument.

The earlier the musicians were when they started musical training, the bigger this area of the

3. A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reports that music training

(specifically piano instruction) is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing

- Dr. Frances Rauscher and Dr. Gordon Shaw, Neurological Research, University of California at Irvine, February, 1997.

4. Studying music strengthens students’ academic performance. 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.

- Martin Gardiner, Alan Fox, Faith Knowles, and Donna Jeffrey, “Learning Improved by Arts Training,” Nature, May 23, 1996.

5. There is a very high correlation between positive self-perception, high cognitive competence

scores, healthy self-esteem, total interest, school involvement, and the study of music.

- O.F. Lillemyr, “Achievement Motivation as a Factor in Self-Perception,” Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities.

6. On the basis of observations and experiments with newborns, neuroscientists now know that infants are born with neural mechanisms devoted exclusively to music. Studies show that early and ongoing musical training helps organize and develop children’s brains.

- Susan Black, “The Musical Mind,” The American School Board Journal, January, 1997.

7. Research shows when a child listens to classical music the right hemisphere of the brain is

activated, but when a child studies a musical instrument both left and right hemispheres of the

brain “light up.” Significantly, the areas that become activated are the same areas that are

8. Courses in music, as well as in art and drama, positively influenced the decisions of high

- N.H. Barry, J.A. Taylor, and K. Walls, “The Role of the Fine and Performing Arts in High School Dropout

9. The U.S. Department of Education recommends that middle/junior high school students

take courses in the arts, stating “Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a

valuable experience that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world

around them. It is well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to

- “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.

10. College admissions officers give special consideration to students who have mastered the

- Thomas C. Duffy, “Can Colleges Help School Fine Arts Programs?” Connecticut Music Educators Association News.

1. Surveys show that a majority of parents believes the arts are as important as reading,

writing, math, science, history, or geography. Most parents want their children to have more

2. Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools who were given an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the music program who had started out behind the control group achieved statistical equality in reading and pulled ahead in math.

3. Over nine in ten adults (93%) surveyed agree that music is part of a well-rounded education.

4. The Kettle Moraine school district in Wales, Wisconsin is requiring piano lessons for all K-5 pupils after seeing encouraging results from a district pilot program. District officials based their pilot program on research findings that show music training - specifically piano instruction - is far superior to computer instruction in enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills.

5. The arts are recognized as a core subject in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act approved by both houses of Congress in 1994.

6. A two-year Swiss study involving 1,200 children in 50 schools showed that students involved in the music program were better at languages, learned to read more easily, showed an improved social climate, demonstrated more enjoyment in school, and had a lower stress level than non-music students.

7. Research shows when the arts are included in a student’s curriculum, reading, writing, and

- J. Buchen Milley, A. Oderlund, and J. Mortarotti, “The Arts: An Essential Ingredient in Education,” The California Council of the Fine Arts Deans.

8. The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students

- Academic Preparation for College: What Students Should Know and Be Able to Do, The College Board.

9. When researchers analyzed the NELS:88 database of the U.S. Department of Education,

which tracked 25,000 students over a ten-year period, they discovered that students who

were involved in music scored higher on standardized tests and reading tests than students not

taking music courses. This finding was consistent for students of all socioeconomic

10. School districts with strong arts education programs report that superintendents and school

principals who collectively support and regularly articulate a vision for arts education are

critically important to the successful implementation and stability of district arts education

- Gaining the Arts Advantage, The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1999.

1. “Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective.”

2. “Perhaps we’ve all misunderstood the reason we learn music, and all the arts in the first place. It is not only so a student can learn the clarinet, or another student can take an acting lesson. It is that for hundreds of years it has been known that teaching the arts, along with history and math and biology, helps create the well-rounded mind that western civilization, and America, have been grounded on.”

3. “Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”

4. “Our society is committing cultural genocide. When the economy tightens and school bud-

gets shrink, programs in music and the other arts are most often the first to be cut back or even

totally eliminated from the curriculum. This deprives children of a unique opportunity to

develop their creativity, learn self-discipline and teamwork, and increase their sense of self-

worth. It strikes me as being supremely ironic that today, we still have to try to make the case

- Michael Greene, President of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences

5. “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.”

6. “While most of us will never sing like Aretha Franklin or Celine Dion, an education in the arts can help all of us reach our individual dreams. Research now shows that music education not only lifts our children’s hearts, but also dramatically increases their abstract reasoning, spatial skills, and their scores on math and verbal exams. At a time when too many arts education programs are the first to be cut and the last to be added, all of us must send a clear message. When it comes to igniting our children’s ability to learn and imagine, the arts must be just as central to our children’s education as the three R’s.”

7. “The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading, writing, and arithmetic...music, dance, painting, and theater are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment.”

8. “I have a premonition that one day we will soon wake up...to the realization that stripping

instrumental music from our elementary schools was a true blunder of twentieth century

9. “Whoever has skill in music is of good temperament and fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools.”

10. “Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them — a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.”

1. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania School District analyzed its 1997 dropout rate in terms of students’ musical experience. Students with no ensemble performance experience had a dropout rate of 7.4 percent. Students with one to two years of ensemble experience had a dropout rate of 1 percent, and those with three or more years of performance experience had a dropout rate of 0.0 percent.

- Eleanor Chute, “Music and Art Lessons Do More Than Complement Three R’s,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 13, 1998.

2. Two research projects have found that music training - specifically piano instruction - can

dramatically enhance children’s spatial-temporal reasoning skills, the skills crucial for greater

3. School leaders affirm that the single most critical factor in sustaining arts education in their schools is the active involvement of influential segments of the community. These community members help shape and implement the policies and programs of the district.

- Gaining the Arts Advantage, The President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1999.

4. Students with band and orchestra experience attend college at a rate twice the national average.

5. Music students out-perform non-music on achievement tests in reading and math. Skills such as reading, anticipating, memory, listening, forecasting, recall, and concentration are developed in musical performance, and these skills are valuable to students in math, reading, and science.

- B. Friedman, “An Evaluation of the Achievement in Reading and Arithmetic of Pupils in Elementary

6. One in three of today’s school-aged children will hold an arts-related job at some time in his

7. The College Board, in a publication about college admissions, states, “preparation in the

arts will be valuable to college entrants whatever their intended field of study.”

- Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need To Know and Be Able To Do, The College

8. Music therapists working with Alzheimer’s patients have found that rhythmic interaction or

listening to music resulted in decreased agitation, increased focus and concentration, enhanced

ability to respond verbally and behaviorally, elimination of demented speech, improved ability

- Carol Prickett and Randall Moore, “The Use of Music to Aid Memory of Alzheimer’s Patients,” Journal of Music Therapy, 1991.

9. Medical researchers have reported that subjects lowered bother their systolic and diastolic

blood pressure as much as five points (mm/Hg) and reduced heart rates by four to five beats

per minute following music listening sessions. People with high blood pressure can help keep

their blood pressure down by listening to tapes of relaxing low frequency music in the morning

- Tony Wigram, “The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Low Frequency Sound and Music,” Music Therapy Perspectives, 1995.

10. A 1997 Gallup Survey on Americans’ attitudes toward music revealed that 89% of

respondents believe music helps a child’s overall development, and 93% believe that music is

New Survey Of Americans Indicates Broad Support But Little Action On Behalf Of Arts

CARLSBAD, Calif.–According to a new nationwide survey conducted by the Gallup Organization, more than nine in ten Americans believe music education should be a part of every student’s day. In fact, more than three-quarters of the people questioned feel that states should mandate it. "American Attitudes Toward Music," conducted for NAMM — International Music Products Association, also found that active music making takes place in half the homes in America. Music participation and support for school music education are both significantly stronger than in an identical poll conducted in 1997. Another significant finding is the sharp increase in the number of people who believe music education helps students succeed in other academic areas. "The results of this national survey leave no doubt that Americans feel strongly about music," says NAMM President and CEO Larry Linkin. "It’s especially dramatic to see the growing clamor for music education in our schools."

Among more than 1,500 people surveyed, 95 percent stated that they feel music is part of a well-rounded education (up from 90 percent in 1997), 93 percent feel schools should offer musical instruction as part of the regular curriculum (up from 88 percent), and 78 percent (up from 70 percent) feel states should mandate music education for all students. Among respondents who said they currently play a musical instrument, 92 percent feel that music is a very important part of their lives, 92 percent said that music brings the family together and 92 percent said learning to play an instrument was something they were always glad they’d learned. Even among non-players, only 31 percent said they feel they’re too old to start learning. Recent scientific findings about the broad benefits of music education have had an effect on people’s attitudes. Eighty-one percent of respondents said they feel participating in school music corresponds with better grades and test scores, up sharply from 69 percent in 1997. Seventy-five percent said they believe learning a musical instrument helps students do better in other subjects such as math and science, and 73 percent said they believe teens who play an instrument are less likely to have discipline problems.

The 1997 study took place just as the new wave of music research was beginning to build. Since then, scientists in a variety of disciplines have published findings that reinforce the value of music education — not only for its own sake, but as a key to intellectual development, physical wellness, and improved academic grades across the curriculum.

For example, researchers at Michigan State University, led by Dr. Frederick Tims, have found that making music improves the health of the elderly. At a Miami Veterans Administration hospital, Tims also found that group music therapy raised the levels of important neural hormones in Alzheimer’s disease patients. A study from the University of California at Irvine led by Dr. Gordon Shaw found that elementary school students at the 95th Street School in Los Angeles who took piano lessons boosted their math performance. In fact, the same researchers who conducted the 95th Street study have also found that the neural firing patterns at the most basic level of brain activity seem to resemble the patterns in music.

The survey found that 50 percent of households have one person age five or older who currently plays a musical instrument, up from 38 percent in 1997. Forty percent of households have two or more persons who play a musical instrument, up from 34 percent in 1997. In all, 53 percent of households own a musical instrument, up from 43 percent. Participation in various musical activities is up as well from three years ago: private lessons (from 18 to 21 percent of households that report at least one person participating), school instrumental programs (from 23 to 29 percent) and other types of instrumental music programs(from 7 to 11 percent) are all more popular than before.

The survey consisted of 1504 telephone interviews with participants aged 12 or older from February 5 through 28, 2000. By gender, respondents were 57 percent female and 43 percent male; 21 percent were students; 62 percent were over age 35, with 29 percent aged 18-34 and 9 percent aged 12-17. College graduates made up 64 percent of the people surveyed. Fifty-five percent of respondents reported a household income of less than $45,000. "Across this country, families, voters and school boards are facing tough choices," says Linkin.

"For some time, researchers have made the case that music has a place in every person’s life. Now, we know the people of America feel the same way. We’ll work hard to translate these sentiments into concrete change."

After decades of pummeling by Proposition 13, theater, music and drawing are slowly returning to the schoolroom. But educators face new hurdles, including a lack of qualified teachers.

Gregory Lawrence Jefferson was a fifth-grader at Daniel Webster Elementary in Pasadena when he heard the sound that changed his life. After the Pasadena Symphonyplayed at his school, the kids were invited to try the various instruments. "I was the one who picked up the flute," he says. "It was like a spark." He talked his parents into buying him one, started band and orchestra classes, and "things just took off from there." Jefferson, now 24 and a renowned classical flutist who has performed worldwide and with singers ranging from Luciano Pavarotti to Diana Ross, says he was lucky to get a taste of the arts when he did: Not long afterward, school programs were radically cut back.

The arts have long struggled to hold their place in schools. But now, after years of being battered by funding crunches and a back-to-basics movement, they are beginning to return to classrooms alongside reading, writing and arithmetic. While some are ready to declare a renaissance in arts education, others are more cautious. They see frustratingly uneven progress. But clearly change is taking place.

* The State Board of Education in January adopted standards that for the first time spell out what students need to know to develop and demonstrate literacy in dance, music, theater and the visual arts, just as in languages, math, science, history and social science. Though short of a mandate, it is a step toward integrating the arts into the public schools' core curriculum.

* Admissions requirements at the state's public universities are being amended to require more arts instruction in high school.

* In February, the state PTA launched "SMARTS: Bring Back the Arts," an awareness and advocacy campaign targeted at legislators, school boards, media and parents with a goal of seeing that every public school student gets quality arts education from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Last October the 1.8 million-member organization adopted arts education as its top priority.

* Statewide, 211 school districts have received a total of $6 million in California

Department of Education grants, seed money to help them start implementing effective

* A 10-year Arts Education Plan adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District in

1999 recognizes the "powerful role" of the arts in education and has as a primary goal

that every graduating senior will be proficient in one art form and have an overview of

* Last week, the L.A. school board gave final approval to an $18.6-million budget for

arts education, up $5 million from last year. "We fought for it," school board president

Caprice Young said. "It was controversial because the superintendent did not initially

Despite signs of a revival, there are significant issues confronting the integration of the

arts into curriculum. Some educators worry that the growing focus on learning that can be

measured solely by standardized tests presents a threat to subjects in which assessment is

more subjective. And, pressed to meet testing goals, schools may well continue to give

short shrift to the arts in favor of subjects that produce hard numbers. Other issues range

from a shortage of qualified teachers to ongoing financial pressures on schools.

"It's going to be a long haul before we have universal acceptance, but I think we're on the

road to arts education for every child," said Don Doyle, arts consultant at the state

Department of Education. "We have moved from the doldrums of the '80s and early '90s

Current developments are in stark contrast to the dark days for the arts in schools, a

decline that began after passage in 1978 of Proposition 13, the property tax freeze. The

freeze sapped funding to schools and, in the scramble for dollars, the arts were seen as

frills. Schools cut programs, sold band instruments and gave pink slips to art and music

For many schools, arts education turned into a 20-year hit-or-miss proposition, a legacy

not easily reversed. But arts organizations, parents groups and educators who have been

fighting to bring back the arts feel they have won a crucial victory: a change in attitude

about the importance of the arts in their own right and about their ability to foster

As school board president Young puts it: "If you have a kid who's stood up in front of a

crowd and sung, or painted a picture and shared it with classmates, that's a kid who's a

courageous learner, someone who's not afraid to dive in, ask probing questions and

A national survey conducted in February by Americans for the Arts, a New York [City]-

based arts advocacy organization, found that 91% of adults think the arts are vital to a

well-rounded education for children, 95% agree that the arts teach creativity and self-

expression and 89% think arts education is important enough to be included in the

curriculum. In October, the group will launch a national public service campaign to

Among factors seen as influencing thinking about the arts is the emergence of studies

finding links between music and, say, math reasoning. The studies and the relentless

efforts by arts advocates, who even when the arts lost a formal place in the classroom

found a way to get them in, have combined to catch the attention of policy makers.

In endorsing the new state standards, Delaine Eastin, state superintendent of public

instruction, said that students must be prepared to fill the increasing number of arts-

related jobs in California. The entertainment industry contributes more than $25 billion to

This school year, about one-fourth of [Los Angeles Unified School District’s] 400

elementary schools will have a prototype arts program--music, dance, theater, visual arts. In middle schools, there are arts specialists in place, but programs vary widely. Richard Burrows, who joined LAUSD last year in the new position of director of arts education, says having state standards is "a remarkable step forward ... We are at a watershed moment." He sees L.A. schools as beginning "an intensive journey" toward arts education for every child in the 730,000-student district. The $5-million increase in the district's arts budget, though still a small part of the overall budget, will enable schools to hire additional arts staff, acquire textbooks and other resource materials and to enhance and expand its development program for professionals. Other California school districts are experiencing what Ella Steinberg, director of visual and performing arts for San Diego Unified, calls a "bit by bit" comeback after "a big decline."

Jim Thomas, visual and performing arts coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education, says seven of the county's 27 school districts, together serving most of the county's 495,000 students, have a strong commitment to K-12 arts programs and have hired arts coordinators. In other districts, the quality of programming varies, with "concentrations of arts" here and there. Two schools with intense concentrations are the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, which opened on the Cal State Los Angeles campus in 1985 and has 500 students and a waiting list, and the Orange County High School for the Arts, founded in 1987 at Los Alamitos High School and which moved last year to a site in Santa Ana. Each is open to students who have demonstrated exceptional talent.

In many districts, in-school programs presented in partnership with arts institutions and

community groups have been an important component in keeping arts education alive.

When cutbacks came, L.A.'s Music Center, art museums and theaters brought the arts to

hundreds of thousands of children who otherwise would have had no exposure. In Orange

And, even in the leanest years, the arts had a powerful ally in the PTA. Said state PTA

president Jan Harp Domene, "We felt very strongly that if we brought arts back to our

schools, it would give kids a reason to get up in the morning. Some kids need to have that

The PTA cites statistics such as a study by the College Entrance Examination Board

showing that students with four years of arts education outperformed peers with no arts

education or arts work experience on the SAT--by 59 points on the verbal and 44 points

A UC Irvine study found that preschoolers who took eight months of keyboard lessons

significant increases in self-concept among at-risk children participating in an arts

The recent Harvard Project Zero of Boston College and Harvard Graduate School of

Education, found three areas with a reliable causal link between arts education and

classroom drama and verbal skills. The survey looked at almost 12,000 published and

unpublished studies and suggests that correlations between excellence in other subjects

Further, the study warns, arts education should not be justified "in terms of what the arts

can do for mathematics or reading." That, it says, is a "double-edged sword"--the arts

Last spring, the first countywide study of the state of arts education in Los Angeles

County schools, Arts in Focus, found a reality gap between how people assess the

Commissioned by Arts for L.A., a coalition of arts leaders advocating public support of

the arts, it was based on interviews with officials of 80 of the county's 82 school districts.

Laura Zucker, executive director of L.A. County Arts Commission, one of the study

funders, said: "One hundred percent of the people interviewed believe that arts education

is important. What that says is that we've won the battle. Everyone's with us now on the

importance issue. But there's a gulf between the belief and the implementation."

Other findings: A shortage of qualified arts teachers, with one arts specialist for every

1,200 students countywide; no real incentives to develop sequential systems; and lack of

Few of the county's school districts reported that they are implementing the Department

of Education's framework and standards. "There's nothing about them that's mandatory,

and they do not come with any resources for implementation," Zucker said. "There is not

The good news: The survey found that the county's five most populous school districts--

The Arts Commission has just brought on board a director of arts education programs

who will work with a counterpart at the County Department of Education to help schools

"It's definitely not hand-wringing time," Zucker said. "The pendulum is swinging back,

but it's not going to keep swinging on its own momentum." The pattern has been that

when educators who are passionate about the arts leave, the arts leave with them. Zucker

wants to see arts education institutionalized "so the next time the pendulum is getting

The new admissions criteria at the UC and California State University systems may add

stability. Now high school students can choose between one year of arts or foreign

By 2004, graduates will need at least one year in a single arts discipline to get into the

At one time, the arts were a dumping ground for students, said Larry Peeno, deputy

executive director of the National Art Education Assn., a visual arts teachers' group based

in Reston, Va. The attitude was, "Give us your poor and downtrodden and we will make

them artists. I think the arts community in the public schools has learned that that's not a

He said, "We were drawing on cave walls 9,000 years before we were writing on them.

We feel that children who come to school on the first day, regardless of their socio-economic background, bring with them innate skills that more closely resemble art,music and P.E. than they do reading, writing and arithmetic. But it's ground out of them by third grade. The curriculum drives creativity underground."

Still, Peeno said, 15 years ago, one or two states had a fine-arts requirement for

graduation; now 30 do. Asked if there is cause for optimism, Peeno laughed and said,

Gai Jones of El Dorado High in Placentia heads the California Educational Theater Assn.,

an organization of theater education advocates. "Our big push," she said, is to get theater

teachers credentialed. Of course, proper theaters in all schools would be nice too. Right

now, she said, it "varies from the multipurpose room to a 1,200-seat auditorium to a room

The payoff for her, as a teacher, is when everything comes together and "the magic

finally works." One magic moment was the school's spring production of "The Diviners,"

in which there is a drowning scene, an illusion that had to be created without water.

"The kids that designed the lighting and ran the light board and the kids that ran the

sound and the actors worked so closely together. Just to see the smile that crosses a

theater kid's face when he's accomplished something he didn't think he could do," is

Jones remembers too a "wonderful, positive kid" who was a student in the '70s and

played the mother abbess in "The Sound of Music." Deborah Voigt is now a Metropolitan

John Larrieu, executive director of the California Assn. for Music Education, a public

school teachers' organization, said there has been a resurgence of music education. "Our

biggest problem is that the teachers are not coming out of school. There was a good

period of time after Proposition 13 when people didn't major in music education."

The result? "A very serious shortage of music teachers. Our job site is listing 50 or 60

openings that haven't been filled for this year." On the positive side, he said, orchestral

programs are making a comeback, and "there's a lot of interest in electronic music, which

is a credit course in many schools, and a lot of multicultural focus in California. Mariachi

He is hopeful that the new UC and Cal State admissions standards will boost arts

education but knows that when schools have options, "they have a tendency to offer the

classes that cost the least money, like drawing. Music classes are notoriously more

The executive director of the National Assn. for Music Education, John Mahlmann, sees

the state of music education as better than a decade ago "but still threatened. We're

regaining lost ground. I'm not so sure we're better off than we were 20 years ago."

His organization is a consultant to "Sesame Street," which is planning programming to

expose young TV viewers to music. Overall, he describes the status of music in the

Donna Banning, president of the California Art Education Assn., an organization of

teachers and parents promoting arts in the schools, said arts teachers are a "graying

population" and wonders if there will be a cadre of qualified arts teachers in the future.

Many artists, who might in another era have earned an education credential, have for

"Since Proposition 13, we now have teachers in the elementary schools who have never

had art in their own lives. There is no longer a requirement for elementary teachers to

take a music or arts education class in our state universities. They don't have the skills.

Banning, who has taught for 31 years at El Modena High School in Orange, would like

too to see credentialing of theater and dance teachers. "Right now we have theater as part

of language arts. Teachers can get a credential and never have theater arts. And dance is

part of P.E. There are lots of 'walk-on' dance teachers" going from school to school.

She speaks of the thrill of seeing students "find that art is where they want to be" and

going on to become artists. But she also mentions a special-ed student who came to her

ceramics class as a shy ninth-grader and went on to be her teaching assistant, to mentor

Although the state has set standards for arts education, the Legislature has not wanted to

mandate assessment. "To be perfectly frank, we're really in the beginning stages of

determining what would be appropriate to assess," said Doyle of the state Department of

Education. To encourage districts to self-assess, the department, in cooperation with 30

National and state standards notwithstanding, Doyle acknowledged that "if it's not tested,

it's not taught. It's not on the radar screen for some people. Those test scores for math and

reading, there's big dollars attached" for districts. "There are no such rewards right now

professional organization of superintendents of education in the 50 states, believes the

Specifically, he points to President Bush's proposal, now before Congress, to require

states to test all children in grades three through eight in math and reading, and how such

Philip sees arts education today as a victim of "benign neglect. There's no conspiracy out

there to diminish arts education. It's just that people are frying other fish. I think we're in

In Los Angeles, said school board president Young, "one of the advantages we have is

Flutist Jefferson, who got his start at Webster Elementary, went on to L.A. High School

for the Arts and won honors in the Music Center's Spotlight competition, is among those

His talent has taken him before audiences large and small. He has played before former

President and Barbara Bush, in Japan and China and for kids in inner-city classrooms.

"The arts are our culture," he said. "It's so important for kids to be exposed at a young

age. If I had not been, who I am now and what I'd be doing would be very, very different,

The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President Bush in January, 2002.

There you have it. The arts are on equal footing with the subjects that have been

traditionally considered the “core” subjects. This definition is tucked away in the

glossary, and policy makers may not notice it there. It is our responsibility as arts

educators and advocates to make it known to the decision-makers at our state and local

levels that according to federal law the arts are a CORE subject, eligible for federal

The No Child Left Behind Act requires each state to determine its own standards and

assessments for school subjects. States are currently working to implement “challenging

academic standards” for content and achievement in math and reading. Science standards

must be in place by the 2005-06 school year, and states must have yearly assessments in

math and reading for grades 3-8 starting in 2005-06. Beginning in 2007-08, science

assessments must be in place for grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. States also have the

There is a flurry of planning going on right now at the state level. The decisions that are

currently being made will shape the educational system for the next several years. By

organizations have the opportunity to make the arts an important part of education in

schools throughout our states. President Bush and Congress, through the No Child Left

Behind Act, have given us this great opportunity by designating the arts as a core subject,

However, if we allow our state planners to set the standards and assessments for math,

reading, science, and possibly other subjects without our input, the arts could be left

behind for the next decade or so in our schools. Right now, while the states are planning

standards and assessments, and even after the planning and during the implementation of

these new guidelines, our input determines the status of arts education in our schools.

(www.artsusa.org/pdf/no_subject_left_behind.pdf). The excerpt suggests ideas we can

offer to state planners, and it also provides ways to contact the decision-makers in our

states. I also suggest that you contact the representatives of your state Music Education

Association (MEA). Make sure that they are familiar with the No Child Left Behind Act

and with the opportunities it gives to arts educators. You can find your state MEA

officers and links to most MEA websites at (www.menc.org/connect/stateinf.html).

From the standpoint of arts, the plans present many opportunities. At a minimum, arts

- Include the arts, as appropriate, in both the content standards and assessments in math,

reading, and science. Also encourage states to consider assessments in the arts.

To find the status of arts standards and assessments in your state, visit the Arts Education

arts.org/policysearch/searchengine). Also learn more about: the national math standards

(http://www.nap.edu/books/0309053269/html/index.html); and the national language arts

This type of assessment requires the ability to solve problems and think critically,

abilities that arts education fosters. Examples may be found in the 1997 National

Assessment of Education Progress in the Arts (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/arts).

- Recognize arts education as one of the many viable strategies for whole school reform.

schools.org/index.htm), initiated by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.

One resource for school-based programs that involve the community can be found at the

The Kennedy Center’s Alliance for Arts Education Network has an online tool titled “A

Community Audit for Arts Education: Better Schools, Better Skills, Better Communities”

state to state, in most states it will be driven by four main people: the governor, and the

heads of the state department of education, Title I, and the state board of education. Find

State Boards of Education – (http://www.ibiblio.org/cisco/schoolhouse/schools/boards/)

A federal guide to the “No Child Left Behind Act” is at (www.nochildleftbehind.gov).

One of the best resources about the “No Child Left Behind Act” for arts educators is the

guide “No Subject Left Behind” available at (www.artsusa.org/pdf/no_subject_left_behind.pdf)

Is there such a thing as kids who actually want to go to school on snow days? At Adams

Elementary School in Hamilton, Ohio, there are parents and teachers who will proudly

Children at Adams experience the arts as part of each of their core subjects – math,

science, language arts, and social studies. They also participate in a class in each of four

art disciplines – visual art, music, dance, and drama – every week, taught by a certified

arts instructor. Teachers work together on lesson plans so concepts learned in both arts

and non-arts classes are coordinated and reinforce each other. SPECTRA+ brings the

“When the children at Adams are learning about George and Martha Washington in

social studies, they’re also learning the minuet in dance,” says Kathy Leist, the principal

at Adams for eight years who now serves as director of continuous improvement for the

Hamilton school district. “In second grade, the children are learning U.S. geography in

social studies and singing the states of the union in music.” The result is kids who love

Rediscover The Arts – was developed by Hamilton’s Fitton Center for the Creative Arts.

The Hamilton school district provides basic funding for SPECTRA+. Fitton provides

training for school staff, some financial resources, and administrative support. Schools in

SPECTRA+ grew out of a cultural action plan instituted during Hamilton’s bicentennial.

The first goal was to build an arts center – the Fitton Center – then to build an arts-in-

education program for children. The partnership that ensued included the Ohio Arts

“One of the values of integrating art into the curriculum is it gives children multiple

opportunities to learn a concept,” says Jackie Quay, who administers SPECTRA+ for the

Fitton Center. In other words, if children aren’t learning a concept through one

experience, they’ll learn it through another. Children have a better chance to “get” a

Kids at Adams don’t learn to just tell time, for example, by hearing a description of an

abstract concept and watching the teacher move arrows on a cardboard display. They’re

taught a dance where they become a clock, with their movements changing to reflect the

“SPECTRA+ also gives us a chance to apply the concept of multiple intelligences,” says

Quay. “Kids are smart in different ways. Some kids read and write well, other kids do

better showing you what they know through their hands. The program gives a child more

options to express what they know, and it gives teachers other ways to know if a child

The program also gives kids a chance to watch and interact with artists of all types,

including visual artists, folk and traditional artists, authors, puppeteers, quilters,

musicians, and composers. Residencies of one to three weeks are tied to teaching units in

“If the kids are studying short stories in language arts,” says Leist, “we’d invite an

illustrator to show how pictures can work with words.” At another SPECTRA+ school in

Hamilton, a media artist demonstrated the creative and technical aspects of a video

production, a tie-in for a language arts segment. Kids learned how a story is created,

made clay animation figures, and learned special-effects features such as how to show the

“Art can be the hook, the vehicle, that gets a child into the world of learning,” says Mike

policymaker in his role as county commissioner. “It’s a nurturing context for learning to

“It can be especially beneficial to kids who have been brought up hearing a lot of

prohibitions, like ‘no’ and ‘you can’t,’” Fox adds. “Kids who start their lives with non-

nurturing communications are at a disadvantage. An arts-rich program addresses the

“When teaching kids, you’re usually addressing a lot of energy and emotions. Art allows

students to give expression to feelings and emotions in a way that’s safe because it’s part

of the academic regimen. And, those positive affirmations that come from experiences

“When a school becomes a SPECTRA+ school, the school climate changes,” says Quay.

“There’s a more positive atmosphere.” Attendance rates go up and serious misbehavior

decreases. The teachers work well together because they’re working toward a common

Staff development is central piece of SPECTRA+’S success. “When the SPECTRA+

program started at Adams, teachers liked the idea of integrating the arts, but they didn’t

know how to do it,” says Leist. “We offered in-services and brought in guests –

including Bruce Campbell, author of Multiple Intelligences – to speak. We showed

teachers how art could help them reach their instructional goals. The staff often used

their own time, after school and during the summer, to learn what they needed to make

The Fitton Center offers an array of hands-on, arts-related learning opportunities for

teachers, all with a curriculum component aligned with local, state, or national standards.

“We provide the curriculum, the tie-ins with standards, and the assessments,” says Quay.

Adams also gives its teachers time to work together to plan innovative lessons. “This

part is so important,” Leist adds. “The staff needs the opportunity to grow professionally,

The word pride comes up frequently in conversations about SPECTRA+ -- school pride,

professional pride, student pride, and parent pride. “The value extends to everyone

involved,” says Quay. “The principal, the school board, the superintendent, the parents,

the local arts center, they’re all working together in a successful partnership. Plus, it’s

To bring SPECTRA+ -- or a program like it – to your school, Quay and Leist offer these

- Start by getting a task force together. Elicit partners in the local arts agency, the local

arts council, the PTA, and the school board. The whole community needs to be focused

in the same direction, and everyone should refer back to their shared vision frequently.

- Find out who the key people are who have to be won over. Then, when you make a

presentation to them, your material should show first and foremost how this is going to

- Get your stakeholders involved. Invite them to performances or to an arts class.

- You may want to visit the Fitton Center and spend some time visiting a SPECTRA+

school. To win over prospective stakeholders, nothing works better than showing them

For information on SPECTRA+, visit the Fitton Center website at www.fittoncenter.org

Source: “An Arts Integration Program Enriches the Curriculum And Brings a School

(Elliot Eisner has been a professor of art and education at Stanford University since 1970.

During his career he has authored hundreds of papers, articles and books about arts

curriculum, assessment, cognition, and the foundations of education. In this article, Dr.

Although there are some schools, even school districts where the arts are regarded as

educationally significant, on the whole, in the United States, the arts have a marginal

position in schools. The press for what is regarded as academic forms of learning – the

policymakers, school administrators, and teachers toward achievement in subjects that

will be or are likely to be assessed. As a result, the arts are provided when it is possible

to do so, but they are not generally considered a part of the core academic program.

At the same time, as I indicated, there are schools and school districts that take the arts

seriously as a significant part of the child’s academic and intellectual development. In

such schools and school districts, it is largely because school administrators, parents, and

other members of the community have a conception of a decent education that includes

Work in the arts promote[s] many kinds of intellectual skills and forms of thinking. For

relationships. The writing of a poem, the painting of a picture, the performance of a

piece of music always requires students to notice what is subtle in an image, whether the

image be visual or auditory. In addition, attention to such relationships depends on their

“feel,” a kind of somatic knowledge that is extraordinarily important. So many of the

decisions that are made in life are decisions that cannot be made by appealing to formula,

recipes, or algorithms. They require attention to relationships judged by their felt quality.

The arts also afford youngsters an opportunity to work on problems that can have more

than one correct solution or address questions that can have more than one correct

answer. There is so much in our schools that emphasize[s] convergent forms of thinking

– the once correct answer, learning how to fill in the right bubble – that the arts provide a

The arts promote the use of imagination. The rules, so to speak, are relaxed in the arts,

and students have an opportunity to take off into spaces that only a rich imaginative life

can make possible. Although the development of the imagination is not a part of our

national educational agenda, it ought to be. And the arts, when well taught, promote it.

The arts, like the academic subjects, do have standards. Indeed, the arts are a part of the

standards movement. As long as standards are held flexibly, there need not be any

debilitating effects of standards on the teaching of the arts. And as far as assessment

There is a widespread belief that learning in the arts cannot be evaluated or assessed.

This conclusion is incorrect. Good teachers make assessments all the time and, in fact,

use their assessments for formative purposes; they modify their own teaching practices

and develop activities for youngsters to engage in on the basis of their assessment of what

students know and what they need to know. The idea that the arts are unassessable is

indicated, good teachers engage in assessment virtually every time they interact with

When the arts are cut from school programs, opportunities for youngsters to “be in the

world” in the ways in which arts make possible are reduced or eliminated. Every subject

that is taught in the school curriculum makes possible certain qualities of life and certain

forms of meaning. Poetry, for example, makes meanings possible that are impossible to

mathematics. Science provides forms of meaning that are not grasped in the visual arts.

The kind of meanings that we have in life are very much related to the various forms of

literacy that we attained during the course of our education. When the arts are absent, the

In addition, when the arts are absent from schools, students whose aptitudes or interests

lie in the arts are denied the opportunity to find their place in our educational sun. The

ultimate deprivation when it comes to absent arts programs is a reduction of the variety

and depth of meaning that youngsters can have and the inequities they confer, particularly

For U.S. schools, my ideal vision is the provision of programs that give youngsters

opportunities to be engaged in the creation of one or more art forms and programs that

pay particularly intensive attention to the education of vision, the refinement of hearing,

and the development of those sensibilities needed to experience both works of art AND

the world at large in aesthetic ways. I would love to see a variety of programs in our

schools that help students recognize the connections between art and culture, particularly

the ways in which the values and visions of a culture are expressed and influenced

education. When well done, students in the arts are deeply engaged, their sensibilities

refined, their imagination promoted, the development of technical skills fostered;

furthermore, they employ all of the former to articulate ideas that have some significance.

When the arts are well taught, teachers pay attention to individuality, groups of children

collaborate in reviewing and discussing each others’ work, the problems pursued in

classrooms are, in part, defined by the students themselves. Moreover, students are

encouraged to appraise the quality of their own work and to make plans for its future

When well taught, the arts model the best forms of educational experience. It is that

-Source: “Arts Education for the 21st Century.” Published in “Kappa Delta Pi Record,”

Things are looking up for the arts in American schools. Los Angeles has adopted a 10-year plan

to rebuild its arts programs, at an estimated annual cost of $190 million when fully implemented.

Chicago just announced that it is converting 47 neighborhood elementary schools to arts

magnets. Baltimore's mayor has made arts education one of three education priorities and is

backing a school board plan to target $93 million in added arts funding by 2005. New York City,

still recovering from the drastic cutbacks of the 1970s, is spending $75 million a year to hire new

Public officials in other parts of the country are taking similar steps to restore arts in their

schools, convinced that they play a vital role in meeting public demands for quality education.

School board members, superintendents, and administrators from 30 demographically diverse

school districts gathered in mid-October in Washington to report on their success in

implementing and enhancing arts programs throughout their schools. The districts—along with

60 others—were profiled in the report "Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons From School

Districts That Value Arts Education," released by the Arts Education Partnership and the

Researchers had spent 18 months in 1997 and 1998 examining the districts to probe the

conditions and rationales that enabled them to give high priority to arts learning for all students,

countering the all-too-frequent tendency to push the arts to the margins of the school day.

Representatives from the profiled districts attending the meeting were asked for an update. They

reported that policy and financial support for the arts continues to be strong and, in many cases,

Bill Press, the host of CNN's "Crossfire," cited the pressures of high-stakes testing, teacher

shortages, and other challenges when he asked board presidents and superintendents at the

meeting how they convince fellow board members, city hall, or legislative bodies to fund the

arts. They responded with arguments drawn from their personal understanding and appreciation

of the arts; from the impact they see the arts have on students and schools; and from the

These policy leaders also referred to the growing body of research studies that explore the role of

the arts in the intellectual, emotional, and social development of children and youths. The

research both challenges and affirms their personal knowledge and experience. They believe the

arts are worthy of study and good for kids, schools, and communities. Research is helping them

That is why we were startled and dismayed by a recent Commentary, "Does Studying the Arts

Enhance Academic Achievement?" in which the two authors portrayed public educators and arts

advocates as naive victims of bad research on arts education. (See, “Does Studying the Arts

Enhance Academic Achievement?” Commentary, Printed in “Education Week,” Nov. 1, 2000

available online at http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=09winner.h20) The authors

issued dire warnings of the "dangers" of justifying the arts "primarily" because they increase

We know of no educator or advocate who justifies the study of the arts solely or even primarily

because it may boost standardized-test scores. And educators, researchers, and advocates who

contacted us were disturbed by the essay because recent arts education research is much broader

and deeper than the authors discussed. They also believe the authors understate the significance

The authors in their Commentary were responding to criticism they have gotten in a number of

forums for their interpretation of a set of 15 "meta-analyses" that they and several of their

associates assembled and published in a recent issue of the Journal of Aesthetic Education.

"Metaanalysis" is a technique that attempts to gauge the overall effects of a group of studies,

each of which is unique but focused on the same experience and each of which expresses its

The authors and their associates, after considering more than 10,000 studies of theater, music,

dance, visual arts, and multiple art forms, selected some 200 that could be examined using their

particular meta-analytical technique. The largest groups of study were in theater and music.

The authors contend that only three of their meta-analyses—two in music and one in theater—

show a significant, positive relationship between arts study and reading or math skills. They

claim this substantiates their personal view that there is "danger" in promoting arts education on

the basis of its impact on other forms of student learning. They go a step further and dismiss one

of their own findings—that forms of music instruction do enhance spatial-reasoning skills—as

Researchers and educators who have read the Journal of Aesthetic Education essays are

astounded by these claims. Obviously, and most importantly, a rich array of arts education

research employing a wide variety of research methodologies was not included in the meta-

analyses because of the inherent constraints of the technique. But further, each of the meta-

analyses actually reported positive effects of the arts on literacy and numeracy, and the largest

effects—the ones the authors agree are significant—were in theater and music, where the authors

It is puzzling why the authors dismiss their own findings. For instance, many researchers point

out that "spatial reasoning" is a cognitive process that is involved in making connections among

ideas and events, comprehending spoken and written words, and doing mathematics and science.

It is not limited to placing or imagining objects in physical space. The application of these skills

in a variety of school subjects is obvious. A finding that music instruction enhances these skills

We agree with the Commentary authors that more research needs to focus on quality arts

education programs to expand our understanding of the cognitive and affective impact on

students of arts study and also its impact on the learning environment of the whole school. For

instance, last year we jointly released a widely acclaimed set of seven studies exploring the

multiple effects of arts learning, in the report "Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on

Learning." Researchers from Columbia University's Teachers College, Harvard University,

Harvard's Project Zero, Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the

University of Connecticut conducted these studies using a variety of well-recognized research

techniques. Their work was funded by the General Electric Fund and the MacArthur Foundation.

"Champions of Change" researchers examined data in the federal National Education

Longitudinal Study of 25,000 secondary school students; did case studies of highly effective

theater and opera programs; conducted intensive observations of the interactions of teachers and

students; and used a number of tests and measurements to assess student learning, including the

reading and mathematics scores of students in high-poverty schools who were engaged in

integrated-arts programs. They report a wide range of positive impacts of arts learning on the

academic and personal success of the students, including significant benefits for disadvantaged

As the Teachers College researchers said in their report, studying the arts engages students in a

"constellation" of learning that interacts in multiple ways with learning in other school subjects

as well as in other dimensions of the students' emotional and social lives. Learning to act,

compose music, or design a building draws on and reinforces habits of mind and personal

dispositions at work in other school subjects and social settings. Indeed, these interrelationships

are the fundamental premise of formal education: What you learn today will be applied in

Further research to probe these interrelationships among arts and the other disciplines is certainly

needed, but there is little doubt that they exist. Michael Timpane, a former president of Teachers

College and an early director of the National Institute of Education (a forerunner of the U.S.

Department of Education's office of educational research and improvement), recently

commented that arts education research today is at an early stage of its development. He

compared it to his experiences with research on reading, where the accumulation of studies over

time gradually honed the understanding of educators and policymakers as to the best policies and

The timing is right to build on the strongest studies of this "early stage" to further explore the

nature and effects of learning in the arts. Community and school leaders across the country

already are taking steps to revitalize arts education, guided by their conviction that the arts are

essential dimensions of a comprehensive education. Educators are recognizing, as one has said,

that "the intellect draws from many wells, even if it at times runs in narrow channels." The arts

-Source: “The Arts’ Impact on Learning,” by Richard J. Deasy and Harriet Mayor Fulbright,

Whereas there is a growing body of scientific research demonstrating that children who

receive music instruction score better on spatial-temporal reasoning tests and proportional math

Whereas music education grounded in rigorous instruction is an important component of a well-rounded academic program;

Whereas opportunities in music and the arts have enabled children with disabilities to participate more

Whereas music and the arts can motivate at-risk students to stay in school and become active

Whereas according to the College Board, college-bound high school seniors in 1998 who received mu-

sic instruction scored 53 points higher on the verbal portion and 39 points higher on the math

portion of the tests than college-bound high school seniors with no musical instruction;

Whereas a 1999 report by the Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse states that

individuals who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; and

Whereas comprehensive, sequential music instruction enhances early brain development and

improves cognitive and communicative skills, self, discipline, and creativity: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that it is the sense of Congress that —

(1) music education enhances intellectual development and enriches the academic environment for children of all ages; and

(2) music educators greatly contribute to the artistic, intellectual, and social development of

American children, and play a key role in helping children to succeed in school.

repeated what he said to the National Commission on Music Education. “Our nation

suffers from a cultural problem more than a scientific one,” he said. “Whether we’re

Unfortunately, some modern educators are part of the problem. They have forgotten the

call of the founder of our American school system, Horace Mann, who believed that

music was essential to the education of the young for the development of aesthetic

In today’s schools, music as a subject is just as important as it was in Mann’s day. But

far too many school boards and administrators do not consider the study of music to be

one of the basics of education. Few students in the U.S. have access to institutional of

private music instruction that involves a balanced, sequential curriculum. And these

entertainment than for its contribution to the development of our cultural life.

America cannot afford to ignore the virtues that the discipline of music teaches young

people. The U.S. school system has been under attack for some time by business leaders,

politicians, and the news media. Whatever the merits – or lack thereof – of such

criticisms, everyone agrees that our schools should do more to cultivate better-disciplined

and harder-working citizens. Music is the one area of the curriculum that has already

shown itself capable of doing the job. Ask former students about the subject that best

taught them stick-to-itiveness, the value of hard work, and the importance of self-

discipline. From those lucky enough to have taken part, the answer will be music.

Consider the place of homework. Homework has never gone out of style in the music

curriculum. It is impossible to master a band instrument without considerable discipline

and many hours of practice. Informed school boards and administrators know this and so

Where music programs have been cut, economic crisis has often remained. In one school

district, administrators needed to cut $156,000 from the district budget. They argued that

they could do so by cutting the positions of five music teachers. However, they failed to

consider what would happen to the students who were then taking music classes. There

were 2,529 instrumental music students in the district at the time of the proposed cut. As

a result of cuts at the fifth and sixth grade levels and in the secondary music program,

overall music enrollment would have dropped to 736 students. Thus 1,793 students

would have to be placed elsewhere. The district would have to add 29 new classes and

hire more than six teachers for them. When music educators in the district pointed out to

the administration that, in order to “save” $156,000, the district would have to spend

In 1991 Lorin Hollander wrote that what many of the recent national reports on education

reflect is that we no longer nurture the creativity and humanity of our children. We may

be destroying creativity in our nurseries and in the primary grades of our school systems.

It is ironic that, as a growing body of psychological research confirms the critical

importance of music and art for children, these programs continually come under the

knife of budget-cutters. The problem is that much of the information supporting the

value of music and art is not filtering down to the local level, where a great many

The primary purpose of including music in the school curriculum is to disperse its

message throughout the culture. Through music, students learn the rich and wordless

dimensions of their own cultural heritage. They discover in the musical heritage of other

cultures a common ground that minimizes national boundaries and language differences.

Carl Orff, a noted music educator, regarded elementary music as movement and play –

showed hundreds of starving, naked Somalis and their children waiting for death. Yet

they sang and tried to move as if to dance. It was the only sustaining force in their nearly

spent lives. Educators in preschools and primary schools must enhance children’s

emotional development by giving them opportunities to experience and express their

feelings and the power to control that expression. Music instruction is one such

On a more practical level, one of the hottest teaching methodologies to hit American

schools in the past five years is cooperative learning. While John Dewey argued in favor

of this method in the early part of the century, it subsequently fell on hard times and

nearly disappeared in the competition dominated 1980s. Today, cooperative learning is

making a comeback. And it is no coincidence that its comeback parallels the rush by

Of all the disciplines in the curriculum of the American school, music has the most

experience with cooperative learning. While practicing a musical instrument may be a

very lonely experience, most musical performances take place in cooperative settings,

such as choirs, marching, concert and jazz bands, orchestras, and musicals or operas. The

success of each of these kinds of performance depends on the cooperation of a group of

Music in the school curriculum has also always been performance based. A movement is

afoot in a number of states toward performance based evaluation of students’ academic

learning. Going back to Horace Mann’s time, music in the schools has a 150-year head

start in performance based assessment. Countless music festivals and band contests have

quantitative and qualitative elements. Music educators should be leading seminars to

undergraduates study before applying to medical school. He found that most would-be

doctors majored in biochemistry. Among the biochemists who applied to medical school,

44 percent were admitted. A much smaller group of medical school applicants studied

music as undergraduates, but 66 percent of the music majors who applied were admitted.

This was by far the highest percentage for any undergraduate major. Thomas claimed

that the study showed that medical schools want to admit people who are steeped in the

liberal arts and capable of relieving stress through playing music, acting, dancing,

sculpting, and so on. Thomas recommended spending the undergraduate years studying

more literature, philosophy, and arts, so that a student who would be a physician will first

Howard Gardner won critical acclaim for his book Frames of Mind. In it he contends

that intelligence exists in at least seven separate spheres and that competence in one need

not be related to competence in others. Students who are having difficulty in a certain

subject might be encouraged by their teachers to capitalize on their strengths in other

The scientific journal Nature recently published the results of a study performed by

researchers at the Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of

California, Irvine. Thirty-six college students were each given three sets of standard

spatial reasoning tasks that appear on I.Q. tests. The students had one of three listening

experiences prior to completing the spatial reasoning tasks: 10 minutes of listening to

Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448; 10 minutes of listening to a

relaxation tape; or 10 minutes of silence. Performance improved for tasks immediately

following the experience of listening to Mozart. The performance of subjects in the

music condition was eight to nine points higher than their performance in the other two

The researchers suggest that the complexity of the music is the key to the higher I.Q.

scores. The intricacies and complexity of the music could enhance abstract reasoning by

reinforcing certain complex patterns of neural activity. Gordon Shaw, one of the

researchers, proposes that the music is priming the areas of the brain that may be

involved with other tasks. The positive effect of music on the intelligence of college

students is not permanent; it lasts only about 15 minutes. The researchers also suggested

that making music, rather than simply listening to it, might have a longer-lasting impact

on intelligence. In any case, the implications for the teaching of music from the early

No matter what it may do for the intellect, a student’s education is impaired if it does not

also touch the soul, and music can be the key to reaching a student’s innermost being.

The best teachers have always insisted that music and other arts maintain a central place

in the curriculum because all civilizations throughout history have been nourished by the

arts. The basic nature of people can be found in their songs, images, dances, and stories.

To be illiterate in the arts is to be blind, mute and deaf at a most fundamental level.

The historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., reminds us that, “if history tells us anything, it tells

us that the United States, like all other nations, will be measured in the eyes of posterity

achievement as a civilization.” The study of music and the arts makes us disciplined and

Although many studies seem to support that music enhances a variety of academic skills,

one may argue that any potential benefits are lost when students are removed from their

from class for instrumental study and those who were not. His study was conducted with

over two thousand sixth grade students in 26 schools in four school districts. Students

instrumental music by the following variables: sex, race, IQ, cumulative achievement,

Kvet’s results indicate that there is no significant difference in the reading, language, and

math achievement between students who are excused for instrumental music instruction

and those who are not. Further, this was found to be true among schools of different size,

We present excerpts from an article by James R. Ponter, appearing in the February, 1999

issue of the NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals) Bulletin.

Nations whose students consistently outperform the United States in tests assessing

science achievement are the countries where music is a primary focus of the curriculum.

Test results cited in the 1983 report A Nation at Risk showed the United States trailing

badly behind other countries in mathematics and science. A 1988 test of the International

Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IAEEA) ranked the United

States fourteenth among 17 countries on an instrument testing science achievement of

eighth and ninth graders (AAAS, 1989). Our students’ scores compared favorably with

those of Thailand and Singapore, while trailing far behind Poland, Italy, Korea, English-

speaking Canada, and every other participating country, with the exception of the

This report was among the catalysts for the many reform efforts of the ‘80s and ‘90s. In

New Jersey, these reforms included the Governor’s Statewide Systemic Initiative, Core

Course Proficiencies, the Core Curriculum Content Standards, and the Academy for the

Improvement of Teaching. These actions were accompanied by a flurry of legislative

initiatives aimed at tightening the requirements for obtaining and retaining teaching and

Trampled in the stampede toward technology in the classroom, one of the most neglected

achievement, particularly upon achievement in mathematics and science. In conjunction

with recent work in cognitive psychology regarding the relationship between music and

academic achievement, it is enlightening to examine the status of music in the curricula

of those countries whose students consistently outpace our students in mathematics and

science. The top-performing students on the 1988 IAEEA Test in science were the eighth

and ninth graders from Hungary, followed by those from the Netherlands and Japan.

If we examine the top three ranked countries on the 1998 test, we see some fascinating

parallels between academic achievement and music education. In a 1988 study cited by

Frank Hodsoll, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, he noted that in grades

1-6, the Japanese require two class periods per week [of music]. Music includes singing,

instrumental performance, and appreciation of both western and Japanese music. At

middle level, students learn to sing in choruses and play instruments in ensembles (DOE

In Dutch secondary schools, music and art became mandatory subjects in 1968, and

In Hungary, the land of Bela Bartok and Franz List, with its number one ranking in

science achievement for eighth and ninth graders, music education has long been an

essential and developmental program implemented nationally by the composer Zoltan

Kodaly. Both voice and instrumental training twice a week are compulsory throughout

The centrality of music education to learning in the top-ranked countries seems to

contradict the United States’ focus on math, science, vocabulary, and technology. Yet,

we continue to emphasize the need for computers in every classroom, and more of the

According to Howard Gardner, musicians follow a progression of notes, a very sequential

left brain process; seeing patterns in the construction of phrases, seeing the whole for

expressive phrasing and interpretations, and dealing with rhythmic patterns, on the other

hand, are very right-brain skills. Additionally, mathematical abilities involved in timing,

counting, and the symbolic encoding of time and sound involve abstract and spatial

All this brain activity must be consummated in the form of precise fine motor skills.

Beyond all other musical activities, the playing of stringed instruments without keys or

frets involves the estimation of decreasing distances down the finger board for accurate

Bowing technique requires the cultivation of an intuitive sense for velocity and

acceleration that may later become codified in the symbolic language of calculus.

Because it draws on so many different attributes, music develops flexibility in thinking.

Musical training is an effective way, not only to enhance the conceptual-holistic-creative

thinking process, but also to assist in the melding and merging of the mind’s capabilities.

Although most musical capabilities seem to be represented initially in the right

hemisphere, as an individual becomes more skilled, capabilities that were housed in the

right hemisphere are found increasingly in the left. It appears that, with musical training,

a significant proportion of skills migrate across the corups callosum into the linguistically

The mental flexibility that is developed by the study of music is reflected in industrial

applications. One of the most innovative and entrepreneurial centers of U.S. commerce is

the Silicon Valley of California. Grant Venerable, in “The Paradox of the Silicon

Savior,” says: “One of the most striking facts in Silicon Valley industry is that the very

best engineers and technical designers are, nearly without exception, practicing

Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical

school applicants. He found that 66 percent of music majors who applied to medical

school were admitted. This was the highest of any group, while only 44 percent of the

The research emerging from the cognitive sciences gives us useful information to explain

the connections between music and learning. Technology allowing us to see the human

brain in the process of thinking shows us that when people listen to melodies with a

variety of pitch and timbre, the right hemisphere is activated, as it is when one plays by

ear or improvises. When music is read, the player must understand key signatures,

notation, and other details of scores and follow the linear sequence of notes activating the

left hemisphere in the same area that is involved in analytical and mathematical thinking

(Dickinson, 1993). This mental multi-tasking seems to enhance cognitive ability in

students, not just those students with an obvious aptitude and interest. Music programs

should go beyond the scope of our present treatment of elementary classroom music and

should be centered on the mastery of musical instruments including the voice and be

-Source: James R. Ponter. “Academic Achievement and the Need for a Comprehensive,

Developmental Music Curriculum.” NASSP Bulletin. Vol. 83 No. 604, February 1999.

American Association for the Advancement of Science. Science for All Americans: A

Dickinson, Dee. Music and the Mind. Seattle, Wash.: New Horizons for Learning, 1993.

Gardner, Howard. Art, Mind and Brain – A Cognitive Approach to Creativity. New

National Commission on Excellence in Education. A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for

Thomas, Lewis. “The Case for Music in Our Schools.” Phi Delta Kappan, February

U.S. Department of education. U.S. Study of Education in Japan. Washington, D.C.:

Venerable, Grant. “The Paradox of the Silicon Savior.” In The Case for Sequential

Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools. New York: The Center

Thanks to the research work of Dr. James S. Catterall, statistical information being

gathered by the Department of Education is bearing fruit about student participation in

arts related activities. His work mining the information in the database called NELS88

findings. The best part is the fact that he is just at the beginning of the process of

investigating the true impact of the database information for arts education. The database

contains information on 25,000 students in 1,000 diverse schools beginning in 8th grade

in Spring of 1988, with follow-up data collection in 1990, 1992, 1994 and ongoing. The

Percentages of 8th graders involved in arts related activities (takes one or more classes per week):

Percentages of 10th graders involved in arts related activities (one or more semester taken):

By 10th grade regular involvement seems to drop off. Also involvement outside of the school environment is rare.

Percentages of 12th graders involved in arts related activities (one or more semesters taken):

By 12th grade involvement has dropped from the 10th grade level, and has nearly halved from 8th grade level. In addition 12th graders are not as involved in the arts outside the school environment as they were two years earlier.

-The following article is based on a speech by Bill Ivey, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts.

The arts are central to how we see ourselves, what we believe about ourselves, and how

we present ourselves to each other. The arts are especially important in a complex

democracy like ours. Democracy offers the promise of equal participation to hundreds of

cultural traditions that shape our landscape – Native American, Asian, European, Black,

and Hispanic – and this promise translates into an endless process of negotiation and

accommodation. Art represents a place in which borrowing, blending, and sharing can

It’s time we realized just how much our future depends on how well we integrate the

magic and creativity of the arts into the lives of future generations, and that process must

begin by ensuring that the arts are essential learning for all children. But to know how far

we have to go, we have to understand how far we’ve come. Let’s take a brief look at

In the 1950s, faced with Sputnik and our competition with the Russian space program,

Americans recognized the importance of science and math and took decisive steps to

improve standards in our schools. In the 1960s, our nation placed special emphasis on

health through exercise and took steps to raise the level of physical fitness among our

school-age children. By the late 1970s, we began to realize that along with scientific

knowledge and physical fitness, we needed to feed the imaginations of students with the

arts. Reports and studies called for Americans to “come to our senses” and include the

arts as part of basic education. But in the early 1980s, we were still grappling with the

problem. An education report declared that the United States was “a nation at risk” and

By the late 1980s, Congress mandated that the National Endowment for the Arts report

on the status of arts education. Then, in its 1988 report “Toward Civilization,” the

Endowment stated that arts education in our schools was in triple jeopardy: (1) the arts

were not taken seriously as important subject matter; (2) arts education programs were

focused almost exclusively on production and performance and rarely included history,

critical judgement, or aesthetics; and (3) there was no common agreement as to what all

Where are we now? Actually we’ve made enormous strides. In 1992, the Endowment

joined forces with the Department of Education and our sister agency, the National

Endowment for the Humanities, to fund a two-year project for defining what all students

– from Kindergarten through twelfth grade – should know and be able to do in the arts.

The project, of course, resulted in the development of our national voluntary standards in

MENC managed the standards development process for the Consortium of National Arts

Education Associations. Following the 1994 signing into law of the Goals 2000: Educate

America Act, the first federal legislation to declare the arts a “core” subject, the

consortium was the first group to present its voluntary national standards to the secretary

An assessment framework for the arts was completed in 1994, and an arts assessment of

America’s eighth graders was completed in 1997 and reported in November 1998 in the

Nation’s Report Card on the Arts – the first such report in nearly 20 years. MENC has

We’re experiencing an abundance of policy development in favor of arts education. To

these accomplishments, we can add more and more research that supports what those of

us in the arts have known for years: education in the arts improves the intellectual,

Today, if we are going to move the arts agenda forward, we must work together –

policymakers at the state and local levels, business and private communities, parents and

private citizens, and cultural arts institutions and artists. And, most certainly, we must

have the commitment and full participation of our schools – the arts specialists, as well as

All these sectors must work together to put arts into the basic curriculum, not just in

magnet schools or in high schools as electives, but as a comprehensive, sequential

curriculum taught by qualified teachers, beginning with preschool instruction and

We all know that standards and partnerships alone don’t guarantee that all students will

have high-quality arts education programs in their schools. We must all be advocates for

the arts. Each of us must make sure that boards of education provide the necessary time,

As we take stock of our accomplishments of the past, we must make sure that we are

preparing our children for the challenges of the future. We must also make sure that we

have nurtured the creativity of our children, because it’s our creativity that has made this

nation the strongest economic, military, and technological power on earth. The arts are

central to maintaining our national strength. They are central to democracy because they

-Source: “The Arts Are Basic” by Bill Ivey, published in Teaching Music, vol. 6 no. 6, June 1999.

Successful arts education programs take a variety of shapes. But certain keys to success can be found in almost all of them.

2. Regular arts classes that are of comparable length to the other academic disciplines are

the ideal. Scheduling innovations make time for the arts to be taught on their own and for

arts specialists to plan with teachers of other disciplines to coordinate and enhance the

3. Effective teacher training and professional development in the arts are essential.

4. Artists are involved as teachers, coordinators, or as resources for arts specialists and

5. Arts in education are inclusive. All students benefit from the opportunity for the study

6. The community, business, and local arts organizations are actively involved in helping

7. Teaching and learning are regularly assessed and evaluated to determine best what

Bringing the arts into education reform can begin with school administrators, teachers, parents, artists, business,

elected officials, or other community leaders. In short, with virtually anyone concerned about quality education.

There are several basic questions to ask about arts education in your community.

3. What additional resources, either arts specific or not, are available in the schools and in

6. Are high quality professional development opportunities for arts and non-arts teachers,

The best way to find out about the status of arts education in your community is to talk to principals, teachers,

parents, students, or local arts organizations. Obtaining a copy of the National Standards for Education in the

Arts can be a useful first step in learning what experts in the field consider age-appropriate learning in the arts.

MENC President June Hinckley's written testimony on the importance and benefits of music

education were submitted for the record to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor,

and Pensions on June 29, 1999. The committee is considering the reauthorization of the

We thought you might enjoy reading her testimony. It contains good information for anyone

interested in supporting school music programs. Her testimony in its entirety is below.

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am pleased to have this opportunity to present

this statement for the record on the importance of music education for all children. My remarks

focus on the latest research documenting the link between music instruction and child brain

development and the vital role that music education can play in dramatically improving academic

achievement and building self-esteem, discipline, and other skills necessary for success.

There is an exciting and growing body of research that indicates that music instruction at an early

age actually wires the brain for learning. According to psychologist Frances Rauscher at the

University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, "Children are born with all the nerve cells, or neurons, they

will ever have. However, connections between neurons, called synapses, are sparse and unstable.

Synaptic connections largely determine adult intelligence. During the first six years of life, the

number of synapses increases dramatically, and synapses already in place are stabilized. This

process occurs as a result of experience or learning. Those synapses that are not used are

eliminated - a 'use it or lose it' situation. Music training appears to develop the synaptic

Dr. Rauscher set out to build upon existing neurobiological studies of the human brain and further

explore the role of music in its development. In a study published in Neurological Research, Dr.

Rauscher and physicist Gordon Shaw of the University of California at Irvine worked with

middle-income and at-risk preschoolers. One group of children received piano keyboard lessons.

Another group received computer training, and a third group received no special instruction. The

children who received piano keyboard lessons scored significantly higher on spatial reasoning

tests than the other children who were matched in IQ and socio-economic status - 34% higher to

be exact. Spatial-temporal reasoning involves higher brain functions that are needed to solve

complex math and science problems. Thus, the findings pointed to a direct link between music

Dr. Rauscher expanded her work to determine if this remarkable improvement could be found

with children in a public school setting. The answer was a resounding "yes." She replicated her

earlier study but used kindergarten students rather than preschoolers and group piano instruction

rather than private lessons. She found that students receiving keyboard instruction outscored those

who received no formal music training by an astonishing 48% on spatial reasoning tests.

According to Dr. Rauscher, "enhancements are still present following one year after the lessons

have terminated, although children who received the lessons for two years score even higher."

Because of this pilot study, Wisconsin's School District of Kettle Moraine now requires all

kindergarten students in the district to receive piano keyboard instruction as part of the regular

school curriculum. Plans are underway to expand the program to students in every elementary

It is important to note that the cognitive and academic improvements highlighted by the research

come about only with sequential instruction in music provided by qualified teachers, not through

mere exposure to music. Arts exposure and enrichment programs, such as trips to a museum and

performances of the local symphony, are vital because of the pleasure they provide and the critical

role they play in enhancing education. They often furnish the spark that inspires a child to pursue

formal music study. However, they cannot substitute for formal instruction as part of the regular

school day. Dr. Rauscher emphasized this when she noted that "there is no scientific data

indicating that, when provided in isolation from music instruction, enrichment and exposure

programs induce long-term cognitive benefits. It is important not to confuse these forms of

Beyond the work of Dr. Rauscher and her colleagues, there also is considerable research that

supports the important role of music and the other arts in keeping students in school, particularly

at the high school level. For many disadvantaged students, participation in music programs helps

to break the cycle of failure they have so often encountered in life. While study after study

demonstrates that participation by disadvantaged children in a well-developed, sequential music

program can be extremely beneficial academically, socially, and emotionally, these are the very

students who are most often denied access to music instruction. Middle- and upper-income parents

who have the resources are able to provide private music instruction for their children. But not all

children have that luxury, and many are denied access to the benefits of music education if their

The research clearly shows that music instruction, taught by qualified teachers, produces

measurable enhancements in the development of children's brains, resulting in significant

education benefits. Unfortunately, because of the misperception that music and the other arts

are "frills," these programs are the first to be eliminated when school budgets are restricted.

The problem is most acute in poor urban and rural areas, but it is a problem shared by

virtually all school districts to one degree of another. As noted by Joan Schmidt, National

Board Member of the National School Boards Association, "Ironically, at a time when

education research indicates the need to move in one direction, political pressures dictate

another. Recent public concerns about basic skills in reading and mathematics have led some

school districts to narrow their curriculum, eliminating ostensibly peripheral subjects like

music, in an effort to improve scores on standardized tests." Ms. Schmidt goes on to state that

if the goal of education reform is to improve student achievement, policy makers should take

note of the latest music/brain research. Music education should be part of the core curriculum

What Congress Can Do: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization

As Congress considers legislation to reauthorize ESEA, MENC asks that you work with us to:

1. Reinforce the concept of music and arts education as part of the core curriculum. Music and the

other arts are core academic subjects and have been recognized as such by Congress and the

Administration in Goals 2000. Moreover, all of the major education associations likewise have

spoken to the value of arts education as part of the core curriculum (see attached Statement of

Principles). This status should be confirmed and reinforced in ESEA legislation. Incorporating the

2. Strengthen music and arts education programs authorized under Title X by establishing a

formal consultative role for arts educators in determining the nature, scope, and direction of these

programs. Currently, no such role exists in the statute. It makes no sense for education policy to be

3. Ensure greater access to school music programs for at-risk students. Special efforts are needed

to make certain that disadvantaged students have the same access to comprehensive, balanced, and

sequential instruction in music as students in more affluent districts. MENC would be pleased to

work with the Committee to identify school programs that are making successful use of music

with disadvantaged children to determine what they are doing, how it has led to their success, and

4. Prioritize funding so that arts education grants are available to schools. We understand the

budget constraints that Congress faces. All disciplines and programs must compete for scarce

dollars. However, simply re-ordering priorities in light of the scientific research on the link

between music education and higher achievement potential in math and science would be an

5. Make certain that federal funds that are directed to after-school arts activities are not used to

replace in-school music and arts classes. Investing in after-school programs is sound policy. There

appears to be an urgent need for these programs, and MENC fully supports this type of

investment. But if the arts become relegated to an after-school activity, they lose their rightful

status as a core academic subject. And, children who cannot take advantage of after-school

programs because of conflicts with sports or work commitments or for other reasons, will be

Beyond what Congress can accomplish through legislation, Congress can exercise a leadership

role in disseminating to parents, school administrators, and state education officials’ information

on the music/brain research and its implications for education reform. Congress can accomplish

this task through hearings, town hall meetings, floor statements, media outreach, and other

effective uses of the powerful congressional bully pulpit. As Congress places greater emphasis on

state and local flexibility, its role as communicator and disseminator of information becomes even

more crucial. Parents, school boards, and state policy makers want to do what is best for our

MENC stands ready to work with this Committee and with Congress as you consider ways to

strengthen educational opportunities and achievement for all children. We would like to serve as a

resource to you as you develop legislation and hopefully undertake to spread the message to your

Three of four U.S. adults think states should require a daily dose of music education in the

nation's classrooms, says a Gallup Poll released Wednesday amid a broad, star-powered

"It's essential that we continue this way of thinking as we try to reform education in this country,"

Connie Britton, an actress who appears in the ABC television series "Spin City," told an audience

of students, teachers, and lawmakers Wednesday. Her visit came a day after the show's star

Michael J. Fox asked Congress to boost research funds for Parkinson's disease, the progressive

Music education advocates nationwide released studies bolstering their support for music classes

and proof that such lessons help children learn -- and therefore deserves as much time in a

Music educators named school districts in Coppell, Texas, and Farmington, Mich., as the nation's

top providers of music education. And the groups - which included the National Association for

Music Education - commissioned a poll of more than 1,500 adults on the topic, a follow-up to

In the 1997 poll, 69 percent of respondents said school music activities produce better grades and

test scores; this year, 81 percent of adults believed music would help children achieve. Also, this

year 93 percent of adults said music instruction should be part of every child's education; 78

Several speakers Wednesday urged congressional lawmakers considering the education budget to

increase federal money for music and other arts programs. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., promised

arts advocates he would fight to increase such funding in the House version of the spending bill.

"I urge members of the Senate to listen to the music and the message of those gathered here,"

Education Secretary Richard Riley said, referring to the Senate Appropriations Committee that is

debating the $340 billion in education, labor and health spending being considered for fiscal

Keegan Younsman-Via, a 13-year-old seventh grader from Portland, Ore., said arts education

grants at his school helped support a production of a Thornton Wilder classic: "I got the lead role

On Wednesday, New American Schools, a non-profit group based in Arlington, Virginia

announced that arts learning would become a key part of its curriculum offering to schools. The

programs are funded by federal grants for schools to try innovative education methods.

The new partnership with the Grammy Foundation's Leonard Bernstein Center would give

schools nationwide lessons that combine music, drama, and other arts with traditional subjects

Riley said, "There is a saying: 'A child goes to school a question mark and comes out as a

period.’ Thanks to the work of people here today, we may have a new saying for many and

future generations: 'A child goes into school as a scale in C major and comes out as a

-Source: “Music: A Key To Learning,” The Shelby Daily Globe, Shelby Ohio June 15, 2000

John C. McLaren, Chairman and CEO of BBE Sound, Inc. delivered the following message to the National Commission on Music Education at the Forum in Los Angeles, September 10, 1990.

One of the most serious and ominous issues facing American society is the shocking

decline in academic standards in schools across the country. This has caused a “back to

basics” movement that, in the minds of some people, requires cutbacks in budgets and

But this is a red herring. This should not be an “either/or” issue. Nobody in his right

mind would claim academic standards have declined because children spend too much

time studying music! Yes! Academics must be greatly improved. And so should music

education – not just for a few, but for all children because music can play an awesomely

powerful role in the growth of our children into intelligent, responsible, peace-loving

Let us look at the philosophical base for our education system. Why do we provide free

education to all children? And, more to the heart of the matter, why do we compel all

children to attend school? There are many answers, but underlying all of them is one

basic truth. Our society compels children to go to school because the fundamental

purpose of a compulsory, free education is to civilize them: to mold children into

responsible, cooperative, law-abiding, peaceable, contributing citizens. When that truth

sinks in, the relevance of music education to this central purpose is obvious and striking.

The school band or orchestra is a powerful metaphor for civilization itself. It teaches the

child, with immediacy and intensity, all the basic lessons of life in a civilized community.

The school band teaches children to live and work together in a community with a spirit

of peace, friendship, trust, cooperation, and harmony. It also teaches them to be willing

to discipline and accommodate one’s individuality to the legitimate needs and concerns

of the community for the betterment of all its members. It further teaches them to play

one’s proper role in the life of the community, to respond honestly and enthusiastically to

the rightful urgings of the leadership, to learn the laws the community has established to

govern itself and to peacefully abide by those laws. The children are taught to do all of

this in the knowledge that the result will be far richer than the individual can achieve by

himself. In a band, just like a civilized community, the whole is far greater than the sum

It is ironic that we are still arguing about the importance of music education. The

foundations of our civilization were laid in the Greek democracies of two and a half

thousand years ago, and even then, music was recognized of paramount importance.

Plato felt that music should begin in the early years and counseled, “Music training is a

more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into

Shakespeare expressed similar feelings. “The man that hath no music in himself… let no

The fascinating correlation between music and mathematics is a theme which recurs

throughout history. Pythagoras thought of music as a department of mathematics and laid

the foundations of the science of acoustics. Reflecting these ideas centuries later,

German astronomer Johannes Kepler related music to planetary movement. Descartes

also saw the basis of music as mathematical as did Von Liebniz. This view strongly

supports the idea that music is a uniquely powerful educational tool involving and

integrating the activities of both the right and left brain – the aesthetic and the rational.

(A contemporary echo of this is the rapid growth of the interaction between computers

Let us take a look at the significance of music in the life of our communities today.

What ails our society and particularly our children and teenagers today? Probably the

same problems which have been complained of for thousands of years. But we do have

some special troubles – certainly when we compare ourselves to other societies – Japan,

Europe, and others. Our children are not learning as well as previous generations.

Maybe more music education, not less, is a key part of the answer to this problem. Think

of a child playing a horn in a marching band. What other educational situation provides

the total physical, intellectual and emotional involvement of the eyes, the hands, the

breathing, the ears, the feet, and the left brain skills of counting and measuring plus the

Mathematical skills are poor today. Perhaps Pythagoras, Kepler, and the rest were right –

with music training our kids might improve their math skills to a level more comparable

to the achievement levels of Japanese school children. Maybe it is no coincidence that

Japan’s public schools have what are probably the richest and most comprehensive music

Violence and vandalism are problems in schools across the country at enormous social

and economic costs. “Music”, as Concreve said, “Hath charms to soothe the savage

beast.” I am certain studies would show that kids in bands and orchestras get into far less

trouble, and are far better citizens than kids who are not. Indeed, it might be cheaper to

have every child in every school play in a band than carry the incalculable burdens of

affected. A bumper sticker I saw recently said it well: “The school band – nonviolent

There is another reason, a special and particular reason, why it is vitally important to

America, as has often been said, is the human melting pot of the world. People from

every race, culture, and language have come here in the last two hundred years to become

a part of the American dream. We are now finding out though – to our dismay – that the

melting pot does not work as fast or as efficiently as we used to believe it did. In addition

to the millions of under-privileged minorities in the U.S., we now have hundreds of

thousands, maybe millions of immigrants from countries with little of the common

European heritage shared by earlier generations of immigrants. The difficulties for these

Every thinking person knows deep down that for America to realize its full human,

uniquely American culture. If that solid foundation can be successfully laid, the

greatness of the American dream will continue to grow and flourish in the coming

Here is were music education in our schools can be a magnificent instrument to help

reach that goal. Absolutely nothing reaches the human spirit, no matter in what country

or society, like the power of music. Nothing builds bonds of friendship and respect

I cannot think of a more vital and fundamental objective for American public schools

than the pursuit of a common culture rich enough to contain all the diverse people within

this country. There are no means or methods as powerful and as effective as music

New Survey Of Americans Indicates Broad Support But Little Action On Behalf Of Arts

The non-profit arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts conducted a telephone

survey of over 1,000 people nationwide in February 2001. The purpose of the survey

was to gauge the attitudes of people toward the arts and their actions in support of the

arts. Americans for the Arts will be launching a public service campaign in late summer

of 2001 encouraging people to support their school arts programs and community arts

This week we will discuss the survey participants’ attitudes about the arts. Next week we

will examine the actions the participants have taken, and the reasons many have decided

Participants were asked to rank the importance of arts education to a child’s development on a scale of 1 to 10:

The survey participants were then given a series of activities that may be important to a

child’s development, and again asked to give each one a score from 1 to 10. Here is how

In another part of the study, participants were asked to agree or disagree with statements.

91% agree that “the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education for our

89% believe that “arts education is important enough that schools should find the money

75% agree that “incorporating the arts into public education is the first step in adding

96% believe that “art belongs to everyone, not just the fortunate or privileged.”

76% believe that “arts education is important enough to get personally involved in arts

education in the schools,” but only 35% of those who are closely involved in the life of a

68% of all respondents are satisfied with the current arts programs provided by local

schools. 100% of principals in the survey are satisfied with the arts programs in their

schools, as are 97% of the school board members. In comparison, 52% of teachers are

Respondents in the survey identified the actions they had taken to support arts education.

35% discussed arts education with other parents and/or concerned individuals in their

15% spoke to a teacher or school principal about scheduling more arts programs at

12% raised the issue of arts education at a PTA meeting or other community meeting.

9% formed a group of parents/children/others in the community to support the arts.

4% wrote a letter to the local school board or other government official requesting more

59% of parents and caretakers say they are more involved in arts education at present

The researchers then asked participants their reasons for not taking more action in regard

71% “There are other people or organizations in the community who are better suited to

58% “I am currently too busy or have too many demands on my time to get involved.”

31% “I don’t think there is anything I can do to personally affect change.”

29% “I don’t feel that my involvement will result in a serious benefit for the child.”

Pull-Out String Lessons Do Not Harm Academic Achievement According to Ohio Study

“Pull-outs have become almost a nightmare for many elementary school principals, who view the

practice as a kind of pernicious anemia that attacks whole-class instruction time. Once pull-outs

take hold in a school, there appears to be no end to them, and no way to rid the instructional

- From “Pull-outs: How much do they erode whole-class teaching?” by F. English, appearing in

Many school instrumental music programs remove students from a regular classroom for

individual or small-group instrumental instruction. Often, this practice causes tension among

teachers and administrators. Many of those opposed to pull-out lessons are concerned that

students will fall behind in their academic performance by missing classroom instruction time.

In the study described below, the test scores of students who leave their classroom for thirty-

minute string instrument lessons twice each week are compared to the scores of students who

The authors studied the 1995 results of the Ohio Proficiency Test (OPT) given to fourth-grade

students in Hamilton, Ohio. To make the comparison between string and non-string students as

fair as possible, the researchers looked at students' scores on a previous standardized test, the

Cognitive Abilities Test, or COGAT. Each of the 148 fourth-grade string students was matched

to a non-string student who achieved the same verbal score on the COGAT. This made a total of

296 students whose scores on the Ohio Proficiency Test were analyzed, and the academic

abilities of the non-string students selected for the study matched the academic abilities of the

Listed below are the mean (average) Ohio Proficiency Test scores for the students in this study:

From the results of this study we can conclude that the string students did not suffer negative

academic effects when compared to students of similar academic capability who remained in the

classroom. We can also conclude that the overall Ohio Proficiency Test performance of the

students who participated in string pull-out lessons was better than the performance of the

The results of this study seem to indicate that students who study instruments in a small-group or

individual setting actually improve their academic abilities, however this study was not designed

to document improvement, and further study is needed before drawing this conclusion.

Michael D. Wallick, the author of the Ohio report, offers this analysis of what takes place during

“When string students are excused from their classrooms for string class, they are not leaving

instruction. They are moving to another classroom in a different area of the building. The

concepts taught in string [lessons] go far beyond pitch and rhythm. For example, a student must

understand fractions and their relationships to each other in order to manipulate rhythm. The

student who has trouble understanding the abstract concept that a half is twice one quarter may

comprehend the concrete example of his or her bow moving twice as far on half notes as quarter

notes. The musician reads abstract concepts from the page and then translates them into concrete

-From “A Comparison Study of the Ohio Proficiency Test Results between Fourth-Grade String Pullout Students and Those of Matched Ability” by Michael D. Wallick, Journal of Research in Music Education, 1998. Research, Music and Policy Debates

The word is out researchers have discovered a way to make kids smarter. And savvy parents are signing their children up for private piano lessons while school boards debate the role of music in the public school curriculum. Statistics indicate that students who participate in music earn higher grades and score better on standardizes tests. But no one has been sure what that means: Do the brighter students gravitate toward music, or does music make students brighter? Now there is powerful evidence of a causal link between music instruction and intelligence.

In a study conducted by psychologist Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin at

Oshkosh and physicist Gordon Shaw of the University of California at Irvine, preschool

children were divided into four groups. One group received private piano keyboard

lessons while another received private lessons on the computer. The remaining two

groups served as controls, receiving neither piano nor computer instruction. According to

a report published in the February 1997 issue of Neurological Research, the children who

had received piano keyboard instruction scored 34 percent higher than the others on tests

designed to measure spatial-temporal reasoning. Because these functions are critical

components in the understanding of subjects like mathematics, science and engineering,

Ironically, at a time when education research indicates the need to move in one direction,

political pressures dictate another. Recent public concerns about basic skills in reading

and mathematics have led some school districts to narrow their curriculum, eliminating

ostensibly peripheral subjects like music, in an effort to improve scores on standardized

Wisconsin’s School District of Kettle Moraine has chosen a different approach. In a pilot

program during the 1996-97 school year, the district partially replicated an earlier

Rauscher study, using kindergarten students rather than preschoolers and group piano

keyboard instruction rather than private lessons. At the end of the school year, students

in classes that had received piano instruction outscored those who received no formal

music instruction by an astonishing 46 percent. “As a result of that pilot study,” District

Superintendent of Schools Sarah Jerome says, “all kindergarten students in the district

now receive piano keyboard instruction as part of the regular curriculum, and plans are

This revolutionary approach transcends the traditional view that piano lessons belong in

the exclusive domain of the parents. Instead, it focuses on whether piano keyboard skills

Perhaps it is time for school boards everywhere to step back from the battles over

funding, test scores, and curriculum, to look at the big picture and then redefine the terms

of the debate over education policy. If we mean business about improving student

achievement, we must rise above political pressures, above petty power struggles, and

pay close attention to what the researchers are telling us because their message about

-Source: “Research, Music and Policy Debates” by Joan Schmidt, Director National School Boards Association. NSBA is a national organization with a commitment to local governance of the public schools.

On March 8, 2000, leading advocates for school music education and some of the country's best-

loved musical artists were in the nation's capitol, where Representative David Mclntosh (R-lnd.)

introduced a concurrent resolution in support of music education for children everywhere.

Flanked by renowned singer/songwriters Michael McDonald and James Taylor at a press

conference in the Rayburn House Office Building, NAMM-lnternational Music Products

Association President and CEO Larry Linkin joined National Association for Music Education

Executive Director Dr. John Mahlmann and VH1 President John Sykes in thanking Rep.

Mclntosh and co-sponsor Rep. Bob Clement (D-Tenn.) for their support of music education.

"People all over the country are waking up to the vital role music plays in a young person's

development, but grass-roots efforts aren't always enough," Linkin said. "There's a role for the

federal government to play in this struggle, and I'm very grateful to Representatives Mclntosh and

In addition to the press conference, members of the music education delegation spent the day in

The Mclntosh resolution, H.CON.RES. 266, cites the "growing body of scientific research" that

links music education to improved spatial-temporal reasoning and math performance, the

evidence that music helps keep at-risk students in school, and increased SAT scores among music

students. If the resolution is adopted by the House and Senate, it will become the official "sense

of the Congress" that music education enhances intellectual development, fosters artistic and

"Thanks to Congressman Mclntosh, the value of music education is poised to become part of the

public record, and Congress itself will be on board with our efforts to bring music into every

According to Mahlmann, music should be part of every child's core curriculum, not a frill. "There

is more evidence every day that music education has a beneficial ripple effect through the rest of

a child's academic and social life," he said. "Music shouldn't be any more optional than English or

math. Making that a reality will be much easier if the people here on Capitol Hill are behind us."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Only one in four students gets the chance to sing, play an instrument or

perform plays in class each week, even though most American schools offer some type of arts

As many schools increase their spending on such areas as computers and special education, less

money is available to pay for arts classes. But the failure to give students instruction or

performance opportunities in music, arts and theater is serious, said Education Secretary Richard

"In nearly every field in which we need to foster new ideas in order to succeed - from computers

to communications -- people with an education in the arts are playing critical conceptual roles,"

Renee Williams of the National School Boards Association said arts education programs vary

"When school districts are strapped for funds, the programs that seem to get cut first before

athletics or anything else are the arts programs," she said. "Some people just don't see the

importance of it. But, there has been recent research done on how these types of curriculums in

The first National Assessment of Educational Progress in the arts, which covered only classes

during normal school hours, found music is the most commonly offered arts class. Some form of

the subject was taught at least once a week in 81 percent of schools. Just 9 percent of schools

offered no music courses at all. Visual arts were taught at least once a week at 77 percent of

Weekly theater arts classes were offered at 17 percent of schools, but 74 percent of schools failed

to offer that subject at all. Dance was the least available art, offered at least once a week at 7

Not surprisingly, students with frequent instruction did better than those with fewer classes when

For example, when asked to sing, create music and perform dances, students who had instruction

at least once a week scored an average of 53 out of 100 points, compared with 27 for students

The NAEP study, often called the nation's report card, was conducted in 1997 on a representative

sample of 6,660 students from 268 public and private schools. Previous report cards have

The NAEP 1997 Arts Report Card released November 10, 1998 by the Education Department's

National Center for Education Statistics gives music educators a new opportunity to call the

attention of school administrators, parents, and the public to the important role of the arts in K-12

education. In releasing the report, Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said that this

assessment "supports a primary rationale for [the National Standards]." He noted that "the results

show that as a nation we are falling short in the opportunities we provide to our students for

http://nces.ed.gov, and the Arts Education Partnership's Web site at http://aep-arts.org.

Executive Director Bob Morrison to the National Governors Association on February 25,

As you are well aware, we are entering a time of intense focus in our country on

improving our schools. As a citizen and a parent, it is a breath of fresh air to see that

providing our children with the best possible education has brought everyone in this room

together. It is an issue that transcends political boundaries. I know it is a priority for the

group gathered here today, and I promise you it is also one for us in the business

You’ve heard it here today. The question is no longer whether reform is needed. The

debate has now centered on how. This is particularly true when we focus on reform

While we do not pretend to have the solution to the larger issue of how to improve our

schools, we do believe we have an important part of the solution: Music Education.

When I say music education, I am not referring to the exposure of our children to music

(like listening to classical CD’s or taking kids to an orchestra concert). I am talking

about the sequential acquisition of skills and knowledge in music. I am talking about

making and playing music, as part of the regular curriculum, available to all children.

That is why we started the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. VH1 Save The Music is a

non-profit organization dedicated to restoring music education in our public schools and

to raising awareness about the importance of music participation for our nation’s youth.

We do this primarily through VH1’s reach into 74 million U.S. television homes.

Due to competing demands for time and money in our public schools, music and arts

education programs have, in many communities, been eliminated over the past 30 years.

The devastation to these programs has been most significant in our more urban and rural

schools. One recurring theme I have found…in visiting schools across the country…is

that high-performing schools, without exception, include a robust music and arts

The elimination of music programs has occurred against the backdrop of a growing body

of scientific research that has been reinforcing what many of us in the music community

have known all along: Music Education Builds Brain Power. It is a key to improving

academic performance and a key to helping at-risk students and low performing schools.

In a study released last year, second graders from a low income school in Los Angeles

were given eight months of piano keyboard training, as well as time playing with newly

designed music software. The result? These students, taking the Stanford 9 Math Test,

-(Neurological Research, March 15, 1999; Gordon Shaw, Ph.D, University of California,

A related study by University of Wisconsin Professor, Dr. Frances Rauscher published in

1997 in the Scientific Journal Neurological Research showed that children involved with

keyboard instruction at early age showed significantly enhanced abstract reasoning

After learning about this research, the Wisconsin School District of Kettle Moraine

program that replicated the Rauscher study, using kindergarten students and group piano

instruction. At the end of the school year, students in classes that had received piano

percent! The program has since expanded to K through 6 students across the entire

The critical point here is the students were not taught math using music…they were

taught music. It was the process of learning music that helped improve their math skills.

One of the issues for at-risk youth is drug and alcohol abuse. A 1999 report released by

the Texas Commission on Drugs and Alcohol abuse found that students involved in band

or orchestra (when compared against other student activities) reported the lowest lifetime

According to the College Board, students involved with music score an average of 100

points higher on SAT tests than students who do not. The longer a student has been

In another study, Dr. James Catterall of UCLA analyzed the school records of 25,000

students who studied music had higher grades, scored better on standardized tests, and

had better attendance records. When he factored in economic status he also found that

In spite of this evidence, recent public concerns about declining basic skills in reading

and mathematics have led some school districts to narrow their curriculum, eliminating

The result has been the creation of an educational and cultural caste system. A system of

have and have-nots. A system where the elementary school children in the suburbs

surrounding Baltimore all have music. But, in the city, only 13 of 130 elementary

schools include music. The same is true for other areas from Boston to Los Angeles,

So…on the one hand, we have all of this research. On the other hand we have this

Inspired by much of this research, and stunned by our first hand knowledge of the

limitation of music instruction in New York City public schools, we formed our VH1

Save The Music Foundation in 1997…In many instances, our work in a community is the

first time many of these schools have had instrumental music programs in more than 20

years. Besides the academic impact of music instruction, we were pleasantly surprised to

1. Music programs are a catalyst for creating parental involvement in schools. The

parents not only come to see their children perform…they visit the after school rehearsals

and interact with the teachers and school officials. For many parents it is the first time

2. Music programs have attracted other members of the community, from senior citizens to local business leaders. Once people are in the school, they are able to see firsthand the efforts of the school, not just in music, but in other areas as well.

3. Because students are involved in the study of music during the school day, they practice music after school. It is clear that if a child has an instrument in his or her hand, there is less chance of picking up something more damaging, like a crack pipe, a needle, a bottle, or a gun.

4. In many instances, music has become the motivating factor for a child to stay in

pointed this out to us. So have hundreds of other principals, teachers, students and

parents who have written to us at VH1. Participation in a school music program in many

So what does the public think of this? A Gallup survey conducted last spring showed

- 78% of Americans agree that states should mandate music education for all students

- 85% agree that communities should provide the financial resources for these programs

- And a whopping 93% agree that schools should offer music instruction as part of the

As An Organization: We strongly urge that you open the aperture on core subjects

covered through your efforts with “Achieve” and look closely at the direct academic

understand the pressure created by the TIMMS Study to focus on the “basic core” subject

We believe the time has come to include music education in your areas of concern, data collection, standards comparisons and best practices reporting. This is a small request. But its impact, and the message it will send to education officials around the country, will be profound.

Be careful about the unintended consequences often caused by emphasizing only reading, math, and accountability. We all agree about the need to stress these issues. But, we need to be sure that we do so in a way that does not send a signal to local communities that this must be done at the expense of music or arts education. We now have solid proof that the two go hand in hand. The solution we all seek is not achieved by forcing schools to choose.

In Your States: Focus on what is happening with music in the regular curriculum. The

real benefits of music and arts education that we have discussed today come from them

Examine the research. Develop your own understanding of the critical impact these

programs have on the development of our children, our schools, and our communities.

And don’t take our word for it. Talk to educators in cities and schools across your state

Do you have policies in place and do you promote policies that include music education

as an equal educational partner (like math, reading, history and science)? We believe you

Do you have standards for the arts? If so, have you established an assessment process?

Having standards and an assessment process for music and arts education sends the

And what would any presentation to a group of distinguished governors be without a

request for more money! Some small targeted investments in music can reap years and

We are well aware of the challenges you face every day providing leadership for your

states. We do not expect you to wake up first thing every day and think about how to put

music and arts education back into the classroom. But, we do hope that, based on the

information we are sharing with you today, you will recognize its incredible academic

power. We believe this so strongly that we have committed millions of dollars of our

own. We are not lobbyists. We operate a cable television network and we are parents.

You know in a business like VH1…there is one part of the budget you never cut! It’s

called Product Development. Well, the children in this country are the future products of

our society. They are our future customers, our leaders and our neighbors. And as

Superintendent Floyd [of Cincinnati] said earlier so eloquently, “children don’t control

Whereas there is a growing body of scientific research demonstrating that children who

receive music instruction score better on spatial-temporal reasoning tests and proportional math

Whereas music education grounded in rigorous instruction is an important component of a well-rounded

Whereas opportunities in music and the arts have enabled children with disabilities to participate more

Whereas music and the arts can motivate at-risk students to stay in school and become active

Whereas according to the College Board, college-bound high school seniors in 1998 who received mu-

sic instruction scored 53 points higher on the verbal portion and 39 points higher on the math

portion of the tests than college-bound high school seniors with no musical instruction;

Whereas a 1999 report by the Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse states that

individuals who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of

Whereas comprehensive, sequential music instruction enhances early brain development and

improves cognitive and communicative skills, self, discipline, and creativity: Now, therefore, be it

(1) music education enhances intellectual development and enriches the academic environment for chilren

(2) music educators greatly contribute to the artistic, intellectual, and social development of

American children, and play a key role in helping children to succeed in school.

VH1 President John Sykes appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor

and Pensions on June 29, 1999 to present testimony on the importance of music and arts

education in our schools. His statement contains good information for anyone interested in

John Sykes, President, VH1 Statement before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions United States Senate June 29, 1999

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Kennedy, and members of the committee. I greatly appreciate

this opportunity to appear before you to discuss the issue of music and arts education in our

schools. As a parent, a businessman and, above all, as a citizen, I have an abiding interest in this

VH1 Save the Music is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education

in America's public schools. This foundation seeks to raise awareness about the importance of

music education and to restore music programs in schools across the country. We work with

partners such as MENC: The National Association for Music Education, The National School

Boards Association, The Recording Industry of America, America's Promise, local school

districts and cable companies across the country, such as District Cablevision right here in

Washington, DC. With these partnerships, VH1 Save the Music sets up local programs where we

collect used musical instruments and donate them to needy public schools. Whatever we don't

We administer this program with a combination of high energy and low overhead, which allows

us to put 90 cents of every dollar to work in the form of a musical instrument in a child's hands.

We also leverage this investment with a commitment from local schools to rebuild music

By the end of 1999, VH1 Save the Music will have generated some $25 million in total support

for 350 school music programs in 30 cities affecting more than 120,000 school children. Our ten-

year plan is to provide $100 million in total support to bring music participation to one million

There are so many challenges facing our public schools - Why save the music? We all know

music and arts education in school provides enormous cultural and social benefits for children and

for society at large. But what has recently come to light over the past decade is a growing body of

research that shows a direct connection between music and arts education and a child's ability to

excel academically. Studies dating back to 1989 have revealed that students involved in music

programs show improved reading abilities and higher math and science scores. They also have

enhanced self-esteem and are less likely to be involved with gangs and drugs. In addition, these

students demonstrate significant improvements in their spatial abilities. Because the study of

music generates neural connections, it benefits those brain functions that aid the abstract

As you can see from the chart, the college board last year documented a 100-point gap in SAT

scores between students who had music and arts instruction during their early elementary school

years and students who did not. Dr. Fran Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin and her

colleagues have demonstrated remarkable increases in the spatial-temporal IQ's of children who

received music training compared to those who did not receive training. Eight months after

instruction began, the music students' scores improved by 46 percent while the scores of children

who received no training improved by only 6 percent. These findings were consistent across

Yet, despite this important research, school music and arts programs are being cut back or

completely eliminated. I have a copy here of last Thursday's San Francisco Examiner which

describes a controversial decision by the city's unified school district to cut their popular

elementary school arts program. And it's not just happening in San Francisco. Only 25 percent of

8th grade students participated in a music program according to the 1998 NAEP Arts Assessment.

Many students, particularly those in poor urban or rural districts, have no access at all to music or

arts programs. How can we expect students to excel when we are denying them what we now

I had the great privilege to be principal for a day last month at Public School 153 in Brooklyn. I

walked into a music class and saw Mrs. Linda Keltz giving lessons to her 4th grade orchestra. I

couldn't believe my ears - they all had instruments! Feeling encouraged, I asked Mrs. Keltz how

her school managed to support her program. "What support?" she replied. "I bought these

instruments with my own money at flea markets. We don't have a penny in our budget for musical

It was a sobering experience as well as a testament to the dedication of teachers like Mrs. Keltz.

But we should not and cannot rely on flea markets and selfless teachers who use their own

paychecks to provide instruments to students. That will not rebuild the music and arts programs

And while I am proud of our accomplishments at VH1 Save the Music, I am daunted by the scale

and scope of the need - a need we cannot possibly meet without the government getting actively

While the United States has been busy growing the Dow Jones Industrial average by 1000 percent

over the past 20 years, our children's test scores have been dropping steadily, placing American

students near the bottom of all those from industrialized nations. At the same time, we have been

steadily withdrawing funds from music and arts programs in our schools, causing many to wither

At VH1, we are committed to doing our part to help bring about change. First of all, it's the right

thing to do. We can effectively use VH1's powerful reach to 68 million U.S. television homes to

send an important message that music and arts education is an investment in our children's future.

The other reason is a bit more direct...children are our future customers, employees and

neighbors. We're making a solid business investment in the future of our society.

In every successful business, whether it's VH1's parent company Viacom, IBM or the Ford Motor

Company, there is one budget line that never gets cut. It's called "Product Development" - and it's

the key to any company's future growth. Music education is critical to the product development of

We want to be sure all children have access to an education that includes music and arts, not just

the best students, not just the gifted students, not just the talented students, and certainly not just

This is not so we can create the next Mozart, Picasso, or Bruce Springsteen. We teach our

children music and arts because it will equip them with the skills that can create the next George

Soros, Michael Armstrong, or Katherine Graham. In essence, we teach our children music and

Our parents had music and arts education available to them. You had it. I had it. Why are we taking it away from our children? We need to ensure that our kids have it too. I promise that we at VH1 and Viacom will continue to do our part. But we need one more very important partner – you - to help us as we work to build back these music and arts programs - one school, one child at a time.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony today. Once again, I want to thank you for this

opportunity to address the committee. And I would be pleased to answer any questions you may

What does our society want for our children? That they be able to use their minds well and that

they respect and value the opinions of others? We could agree perhaps on these two educational

In another article in the Phi Delta Kappan, Craig Sautter speaks of different kinds of curricula in

schools. The standard, subject-matter-driven curriculum is the one we mostly think about. There

are a couple of others. The first is the so-called “metacurriculum”, whose aim is the development

of higher-order or "critical and creative" thinking skills - in other words, the ability to use one's

The other is the "hidden" curriculum, which has to do with students' motivation to learn and with

their interactions with peers and adults. This "hidden" curriculum is more closely related to the

real concerns of those inside schools, as we read in "Voices from Inside," a report based on

interviews with teachers, students, principals, and parents conducted by the Claremont (CA)

Could it be that most of our schools are directing their efforts toward objectives that are less

relevant than they once were? Are we focusing on the wrong things in thinking about education?

Do we need to rethink the whole purpose of education? Should we find out just what Americans

All of us - professional educators and members of the general public alike - are at once expert and

amateur about educational matters. Since we have all been subjected to schooling, we all have

opinions as to where education ought to be heading. Educators, who should know the most of all,

If the public is footing the bill for public school education, it has the right to insist that

educational services be delivered in an efficient and professional manner. In order for this to

happen, we clearly need an approach to school improvement that is not only coherent but also

Let me suggest an idea - a coherent approach - for your consideration. Three years ago I found

something that actually worked, and I have been investigating the reasons why ever since. On the

surface it has nothing to do with "education" as we have come to understand it. Most of us believe

that education is primarily absorbing facts -building a knowledge base to become "educated."

What I found was that the arts -when taught during (not after) the school day, when offered to all

students (not just to the talented), and when presented as serious subjects with high standards - are

Not only do the arts enable students to achieve academically at rates far beyond what might be

expected of them (in subjects such as math and science), but other marvelous things happen as

well. Students who study the arts respect their peers and treat them well. They become motivated

to learn. They enjoy coming to school, working hard, and succeeding. Through the arts, the whole

school "ecology" changes. High standards become the norm in all subjects. Relationships between

students and teachers improve. Each curriculum -- the regular, the meta-, and the hidden - is

Ron Berger, a sixth-grade teacher in western Massachusetts, has this to say about his results with

students: "The infusion of arts has had a profound effect on student understanding, investment,

and standards. As a whole, students not only do well on standardized testing measures, but

importantly and demonstrably do well in real-life measures of learning. They are capable and

confident readers, writers, and users of math; they are strong thinkers and workers; they treat

Ron Berger's school and other arts-integrated schools around the country provide models of

institutions that have achieved dramatic results by using all the arts as powerful systems for

delivering learning and as effective agents for change. A coherent vision for schooling in the 21st

I find it particularly puzzling that many professional educators -- who should know what they are

doing - have slighted the arts. Yet research conducted by the Center for Arts in the Basic

Curriculum (CABC) points to the conclusion that arts-integrated schools are the most promising

I ask those who are skeptical to consider first the principles that are driving education today. They

include the idea that students have fixed amounts of intelligence --various-sized "buckets," if you

will. Educators will say that they can tell, early on, the size of students' buckets and will put each

into the appropriate track for his or her bucket's size. And educators believe that their primary job

During the last 20 years, cognitive psychologists studying how people really do learn have

established that children do not absorb knowledge passively - they construct it actively. And with

that process they are able to make their buckets larger. David Perkins of Harvard University has

described this process of constructing knowledge as building and revising "relational webs."

As knowledge is constructed, it must be made meaningful. Meaning arises from the marriage of

concepts -- born from the active use of our perceptive abilities - with an analytic framework,

Most educators believe that meaning can be arrived at merely through analysis and reason. These

beliefs find their origin in the works of Plato, who considered the senses illusory and confined

them to a cave. Equipping students with the structure, or framework, is enough, in these

Neurologists, physicists, and cognitive psychologists are discovering this to be a false notion.

Only combining the intellect with the senses, they believe, can arrive at meaning. Backing up the

idea that the intellect and the senses must work together as coequal partners to construct meaning

is Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner maintains we have at least seven

intelligences, rather than simply the two to which schools cater (the verbal and the

logical/mathematical intelligences). Gardner suggests that people exhibit intelligence in several

other ways. These include the visual/spatial, musical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal

What does all this have to do with the arts? Those who work with Gardner in Harvard's

Project Zero, a group that has been thinking about this subject for 20 years, now say

emphatically that the arts represent these other intelligences - they are cognitive domains that

In light of these discoveries, I suggest that the fundamental assumptions on which the educational

enterprise rests are flawed and must be reexamined. I am not implying that educators aren't doing

their job. They are simply doing what the public has asked them to do. The practical problems of

teaching young people in today's schools are enormous. We all have great respect for those

willing to put up with what can be intolerable working conditions. However, new understandings

about intelligence and about how children learn should be applied to teaching practices and

curriculum, which in turn must be aligned with what we, as a people, have agreed are the

Art educators are also laboring under intolerable conditions, not the least of which is the general

attitude that what they teach is irrelevant. However, to a certain extent they are victims of their

own attitudes. Many art educators are really interested only in finding that special youngster who

will turn out to be a talented artist. They do not believe, or even want to believe, that the arts are

cognitive domains, because that would make the arts accessible to everyone. The arts would then

no longer be the special province of the talented. Arts educators want to remain "special." Since

most other educators see little worth in the specialty of arts educators, they are doomed to push

their shopping carts laden with materials from class to class, while the "real" educators take

breaks or get together in planning sessions. We have in many art educators the educational

While general educators operate with old and misguided assumptions about mind, knowledge,

and intelligence, art educators pursue the talented and leave the rest struggling. Yet, if we are

imbued with multiple intelligences -- if the arts are indeed cognitive domains -- then we are all

artists in one form or another and to a greater or lesser extent. Maybe we cannot sing or dance

well, but we can write imaginatively, or draw, or act. As I mentioned earlier, these arts-related

intelligences are the source of concepts, and concepts are essential for the construction of

meaning. Since the arts represent organized forms of perception, we conclude that higher levels of

abstract thought " i.e., critical and creative thinking capabilities " are dependent to a significant

extent on artistic thinking. Thus the metacurriculum of our schools can be addressed most

Edward de Bono believes that these higher-order, perceptive skills are vastly more important to

success in life than are the rational skills of logical reasoning. "We need to move from our exclusive concern with the logic of processing, or reason, to the logic of perception. Perception is the basis of wisdom. For twenty-four centuries we have put all our intellectual effort into the logic of reason rather than the logic of perception. Yet in the conduct of human affairs perception is far more important. Why have we made this mistake?

We might have believed that perception did not really matter and could in the end be controlled

by logic and reason. We did not like the vagueness, subjectivity and variability of perception and

sought refuge in the solid absolutes of truth and logic. To some extent the Greeks created logic to

make sense of perception. We were content to leave perception to the world of art (drama, poetry,

painting, music, and dance) while reason got on with its own business in science, mathematics,

economics and government. We have never understood perception. Perceptual truth is different

One physicist, Morton Tavel of Vassar College, believes that the future of the sciences is

dependent on the arts. This notion appears to be yet another untenable idea, attributing to the arts

powers that most people cannot accept. After all, are not the sciences in the business of collecting

scientific "facts" about how the world operates? Not according to Albert Einstein. He suggested

that the very purpose of the sciences is to understand the senses. He said, "The aim of science is

the conceptual comprehension and connection, as complete as possible, of the sense experiences

The aim of the arts is similar. The sciences and the arts are both investigations into the nature of

reality. Artists and scientists share the desire to investigate and express the ways interlocking

pieces of reality fit together. They simply use different symbol systems and different ways of

Aesthetic awareness is as necessary to science as it is to the arts. Aesthetic understanding is

reached by connecting the intellect with the senses - which is precisely Einstein's definition of the

aim of science. According to Morton Tavel, "An apple falling is not simply an event. It is the

exhibition of a unity which, to the discoverer, is a profoundly emotional, exciting and even

Leonard Shiain, author of Art & Physics, suggests that "mind (intellect) and universe (senses)

may be simply aspects of a binary system and that art and physics should be seen as two pincers

of a claw grasping reality. The arts, being organized perceptions, are primary sources of material

with which to engage in scientific thinking. Shiain suggests that artists are the first to

conceptualize, through their art, important understandings or generalizations about the world that

scientists only later translate into language. He proposes that "the radical innovations of art

embody the preverbal stages of new concepts that will eventually change a civilization."

Moreover, the arts provide connections that allow lateral leaps between cognitive domains, which

Could it be that our schools at present allow children to play with only half a deck? In denying the

arts to our children, do we deny them access to organized (as opposed to chaotic) forms of reality

- since our perception of reality is a combination of the intellect and the senses? Is it possible that

the failure of our schools can be attributed to a significant degree to the dismissal of the arts from

Those of us at CABC think so. We believe that we need to regain a balance between the rational

mind and the perceptive mind. We need to integrate head, heart, and hand. At the moment, we

concentrate on the head - "the basics" -- and our efforts aren't working. We suggest a new

paradigm for education in America: arts-integrated education, or education in and through the

Source: “What Do We Want Our Schools To Do?” - by Eric Oddleifson, Phi Delta

Kappan, February 1994 - At the time of his article, Eric Oddleifson was chairman of the

School Curriculum, use of academic time, and the applicable value of knowledge brought

to the classroom are all being discussed in today’s society. With an emphasis on “back

to basics,” it becomes increasingly more significant to bring the importance of music to

Why should a young person consider joining the band (choir, orchestra)? How long

Creativity: Creativity is the source of all possibilities. We are constantly challenged

to explore this area of the mind. Music appeals to the part of the mind which opens new

horizons. The study of music supports wonderment, imagination, appreciation, and

sensitivity. Music allows us to experience creativity as an inventive thinking style.

music. If we do not expose the human to music, we are depriving the individual of an

array of personal understandings that cannot be found in any other part of life.

according to the given situation. Emotional stability stems from the capacity to deal with

life’s many inconsistencies. To accomplish both, the individual must be able to access

the cognitive (factual) and affective (emotional) sides of the mind. Music is one of the

few academic disciplines which demands this ability and reinforces learning patterns to

complete. In music, every student will be required to perform the entire composition

from beginning to end. Although there may be errors in the performance, it is most

unusual to see an individual simply stop and put their instrument away. The important

qualities of tenacity and persistence establish habits for positive, productive living.

These attributes can be found in many subject areas; however, MUSIC does not make

these optional, but a fundamental necessity from the first note ever played or sung.

Participation at the level of excellence is not a personal preference; it is a requirement.

Success breeds success in every avenue of life. Therefore, a successful and well-trained

musician does tackle life with knowledge of “what it takes to get there,” and the wisdom

The Kettle Moraine district in Wales, Wisconsin is requiring piano lessons for the remainder of

this school year for all K-5 pupils after seeing encouraging results from a district pilot program.

Private funding will enable the district's music teachers to provide piano lessons to 1,800

The pilot program was started in 1996. District officials based it on research that has linked music

to improved learning through its enhancement of students' spatial-temporal reasoning skills.

Those skills aid in understanding proportion, geometry, and other mathematical and scientific

Kindergartners in two of the 4,200-student district's elementary schools were given piano lessons

twice a week for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. They were tested before the lessons began and then at

four-month intervals. At the end of the school year, tests showed that the kindergartners who had

the lessons scored 43 percent higher on solving puzzles and 53 percent higher on block building

Even with the increase in scores, "we don't know yet how piano lessons will play out in the

children's lives," said Mary Anne Zupan, a music teacher at Wales Elementary School who was

instrumental in starting the program. But, she added, "I love seeing the change in their attitudes

The expanded program is being subsidized by about $40,000 in aid, which includes a $15,000

grant from a local printing firm, as well as funds from the parent-teacher organization and a local

The district turned to Frances H. Rauscher, a developmental psychologist at the University of

Wisconsin-Oshkosh, as a consultant for the project. She and a colleague conducted a study in

Despite the pilot program's success, Ms. Rauscher acknowledges that more research is needed

before anything definitive can be said. Piano lessons "certainly will not do any harm," she said.

But other experts are not so sure. John T. Bruer, the president of the James S. McDonnell

Foundation, a St. Louis philanthropy that supports research in cognitive science, says that having

teachers focus on music takes away from more important subjects. He contends that there are

other area educators should focus on first. "It's odd that educators are willing to base reform on

one study," Mr. Bruer said. "It points to how desperate schools are to help children and how little

The district, meanwhile, is reporting strong support from parents, teachers, board members, and

the community. "It's not the only thing that we do ... but this program has been nothing but

-Source: “Wisconsin District Requires Piano Lessons or K-5 Students” - by Karen L. Abercrombie, Education Week, Oct. 14, 1998

Second Grade Students Combining Computers and Music Score As Well As Fourth Grade Students on Math Exam

Children Taught With New Curriculum Combining Math And Music Score Higher On Test Of Advanced Math Skills And Stanford 9

If your teenagers want to be in the high school band or drama club let them. It may improve their

grades, as high school students who take music lessons and join theater groups do better in math,

reading, history, geography and citizenship, according to a study of Education Department data to

"If young Americans are to succeed and to contribute to what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan

Greenspan describes as 'our economy of ideas,' they will need an education that develops

imaginative, flexible and tough-minded thinking," Education Secretary Richard Riley said in a

message accompanying the study. "The arts powerfully nurture the ability to think in this

The study, which tracked more than 25,000 students for more than 10 years, found that students

who reported consistently high levels of involvement with instrumental music scored significantly

This observation held true for students regardless of their parents' income, occupations and levels

of education said James S. Catterall, the lead author and an education professor at the University

of California, Los Angeles. "It's not a matter of economic advantage. It's a matter of something

While 38.6 percent of higher-income students who were uninvolved in music scored high in math,

"Kids who are more advantaged tend to be more involved in the arts. Period. They have more

opportunities and you'd expect them to do better," Catterall said in an interview.

But the influence of music was far more pronounced among lower-income students. Among the

lower-income students without music involvement, only 15.5 percent achieved high math scores.

The study also found that as students progress through high school they are less likely to be

involved in the arts. "There's a clear trend," Catterall said. "Kids' participation in the arts

declines. It may be that high schools offer fewer programs than middle schools or that kids are

Fewer than 3 percent of seniors take out-of-school classes in music, art or dance compared with

More than half of the "high-involvement" seniors are found in top levels on standardized tests

"Students at grade 10 were asked if it was OK to make a racist remark," the authors wrote.

"About 40 percent 'no-drama' students felt that making such a remark would be OK, where only

When the 12th graders involved in plays were compared to their uninvolved counterparts, 20

Catterall noted that the work supports strong suggestions, but is not definitive.

This study was one of seven included in "Champions of Change - The Impact of the Arts on

Learning," by Edward B. Fiske, former education editor of The New York Times. The project

was sponsored by the GE (General Electric) Fund and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur

MUSIC SCORE HIGHER ON TEST OF ADVANCED MATH SKILLS AND STANFORD 9 M.I.N.D. Institute shows building math education on understanding of the brain helps children comprehend advanced concepts at earlier ages and improve their Stanford 9 math scores

Irvine, Calif. (February 24, 2000): A curriculum combining piano lessons, educational

math software and fun math problems can help second graders achieve scores on certain

tests comparable to fourth graders, according to studies by the Music Intelligence Neural

The curriculum uses piano instruction to enhance the brain's ability to learn then allows

children to apply that mental acuity toward math problems, said Gordon Shaw, physicist

and president of the MIND Institute-a nonprofit group dedicated to research that uses

In the studies, second-graders from 95th Street Preparatory School in inner-city Los

Angeles were compared with fourth and fifth graders from an Orange County school with

a higher socioeconomic level. The students took the advanced math concepts exams,

Second grader who received piano training and used the software and practiced math

puzzles and exercises every week attained scores comparable to fourth graders. Half of

these second graders scored in the top 20th percentile of the nationwide Stanford 9 test in

"These are exciting results, and show the potential of connecting music and math," said

Shaw, professor emeritus of physics at UC Irvine. "Our goal is to show that any school

For 45 minutes two days a week, students get piano instruction from a music teacher at

school. Then they use computers to play an educational game developed by the study's

lead author and neuroscientist, Matthew Peterson. They play the game, called Spatial-

And one day a week, their classroom teacher leads a math integration lesson, in which

students do brain-stretching problems aloud. These lessons add to the regular math

Piano instruction is thought to enhance the brain's "hard-wiring" for spatial-temporal

reasoning, or the ability to visualize and transform objects in space and time, Shaw said.

Music involves ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space and time. In a way,

At the same time, when children use the STAR software, they are led on geometric and

math adventures by a penguin called JiJi--playing games that boost their ability to

manipulate shapes in their minds. Finally, teachers bring the music and puzzles together

for their math integration lessons, tying the concepts into standard math lessons that

concentrate on a language approach. The children learn to enjoy exploring math, instead

Students taught with the curriculum demonstrated a heightened ability to think ahead,

Peterson said. "They were able to leap ahead several steps on problems--in their heads,"

MIND Institute researchers used the advanced math concepts test, which tested skills in

symmetry, graphs, fractions, pre-algebra problems and proportional math, to evaluate the

children's learning. These subjects are all matched to topics covered in the state math

The findings are of major importance because a grasp of proportional math and fractions

is a prerequisite to math at higher levels, and children who do not master these areas of

math cannot understand advanced math critical to high-tech fields. This type of math is

Four Los Angeles-area schools now use the curriculum, bringing music and math to 380

second-graders. The MIND Institute hopes to expand to 10 schools in the next school

year, with second- and third-grade curricula. The institute also hopes to eventually

The MIND study, which is being submitted for publication, is only the latest in a series

linking musical training to the learning process. Prior studies based on a mathematical

model of the cortex predicted that early music training would enhance spatial-temporal

reasoning, and a 1997 study showed that preschool children given six months of piano

piano keyboard lessons with STAR to show that second graders at the 95th Street school

could master advanced math concepts through spatial-temporal methods. By adding the

math integration lessons, the present study ties into students' standard math lessons.

The major results for second graders are now measured in dramatically increased written

test scores that are comparable to those of fourth and fifth graders at a school with a

higher socioeconomic status. These second graders also achieved high scores on the

The MIND Institute recently opened new offices in Irvine. The group is a community-

based, nonprofit scientific research institute whose mission is to explore relationships

among music, reasoning and the brain to the benefit of society in education and medicine.

On March 2, 2000, Dr. Gordon Shaw officially opened the new offices of the Music Intelligence

Neural Development (M.I.N.D.) Institute in Irvine (California). The new headquarters will house

the research team that developed the Spatial-Temporal Animation Reasoning (STAR) software

that has been so successful, combined with music lessons, in teaching kids proportional math.

In a press release dated February 24, 2000, Dr. Shaw explained that a curriculum combining piano

lessons, educational math software and fun math problems can help second graders achieve scores

on certain tests comparable to fourth graders, according to studies by the Music Intelligence

The curriculum uses piano instruction to enhance the brain's ability to learn then allows children

to apply that mental acuity toward math problems. In the studies, second-graders from 95th Street

Preparatory School in inner-city Los Angeles were compared with fourth and fifth graders from an

Orange County (CA) school with a higher socioeconomic level. The students took the advanced

For 45 minutes two days a week, students received piano instruction from a music teacher at

school. Then they used computers to play an educational game developed by the study's lead

author and neuroscientist, Matthew Peterson. They play the game, called STAR, for 45 minutes on

another two days a week. And, one day a week, their classroom teacher leads a math integration

Second graders who received piano training, used the software and practiced math puzzles and

exercises every week attained scores comparable to fourth graders. Half of these second graders

scored in the top 20th percentile of the nationwide Standford 9 test in math, and these students

achieved scores on the advanced math concepts exams comparable to the Orange County fifth

Rats that have listened to Mozart sonatas before and after birth learn faster than other rats,

The scientists said their findings reinforce studies that indicate certain kinds of classical

Unfortunately for Phillip Glass fans, recordings of his minimalist compositions did not help the

Frances Rauscher and colleagues played Mozart, "white noise," or Glass compositions to

"The rats exposed to the Mozart work completed the maze more rapidly and with fewer errors

than the rats assigned to the other groups," the researchers wrote in the journal Neurological

"This suggests that repeated exposures to complex music induces improved spatial-temporal

learning in rats, resembling results found in humans." They noted that spatial abilities are marked

-Source: “Got Mozart? It Does A Rat Good.” - Reuters Washington as reported in the New Jersey Star Ledger

Want a mathematical challenge? Try writing, reading, and playing music. Not only does it take

an ear for music, it requires an appreciation for the principles of mathematics. Because Jimmy

Buffett started his career on raw talent, some of the mathematical aspects of music (counting,

forming chords, and so forth) came to him quite naturally. But he realized how important

understanding certain mathematical concepts was when he decided to write a musical called

Don’t Stop the Carnival with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk. Composing music

required knowledge of music theory, which has mathematical underpinnings. “Of all the

academic subjects, math is most closely connected with music. Music is all based on fractions

and patterns,” says Michele Adams, a middle grades mathematics teacher, music teacher, and

piano player from The Woodlands, Texas. “Where fractions are concerned, music focuses on

divisions of time for the rhythm and space for dealing with intervals such as octaves or fifths.”

Adams points to the Gregorian chants. “They are based on strict rules of mathematics,” she

• Counting: Counting is fundamental to playing music. One must count beats per measure

• Patterns: Music is full of patterns – patterns of notes, chords, and key changes. Musicians

learn to recognize these quickly. Patterns, and being able to invert them (known as

• Geometry: Music students use geometric shapes to help them remember the correct finger

position for notes or chords (more than one note played simultaneously). For instance, guitar

• Ratios, proportions, and fractions: Reading music requires an understanding of ratios and

proportions. For instance, a whole note needs to be played for twice as long as a half note,

four times as long as a quarter note, and so forth. Divisions of the beat, placement of the

strong and weak musical beats, and even determining when to take a breath while playing a

wind instrument or singing depends upon fractions, multiples, and groupings of beats.

Researchers at UCLA tracked the math proficiency test scores of a group of 14,915 students

from eighth through twelfth grade. The researchers divided the group by socio-economic status

and involvement in instrumental music. The students in the lowest quartile of family income

For this study, the researchers looked at the math proficiency test scores of low SES students

who participated in instrumental music from eighth grade through twelfth grade. The researchers

compared these scores to the average math proficiency test scores of all students tracked.

Students Achieving “High Performing” Scores on Grade 8 Math Proficiency Test:

Students Achieving “High Performing” Scores on Grade 12 Math Proficiency Test:

While 2.3% more of the entire student population achieved “high performing” scores in twelfth

grade than in eighth grade, 11.9% more of the low SES students studying instrumental music

achieved “high performing” scores on the math proficiency test in twelfth grade.

The results of this study clearly illustrate a connection between sustained instrumental music

-Source: “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive

Involvement in Music and Theater Arts.” by James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau, and John

This study is found in the compilation “Champions of Change” published by the President’s

Council on the Arts and Humanities. You can find the link for this study at www.pcah.gov

Taking piano lessons and solving math puzzles on a computer significantly improves specific

math skills of elementary school children, according to a study by researchers at the University of

The results of the study-published in the March 15, 1999, issue of the journal Neurological

Research are the latest in a series that link musical training to the development of higher brain

functions according to UCI physics professor emeritus Gordon Shaw, who led the study.

Researchers worked with 135 second-grade students at the 95th Street School in Los Angeles

after conducting a pilot study with 102 Orange County students. Children given four months of

piano keyboard training, as well as time playing with newly designed computer software, scored

27 percent higher on proportional math and fractions tests than other children. The study was

funded through grants from the Texaco Foundation, The Gerard Family Trust, and Newport

Piano instruction is thought to enhance the brain's "hard wiring" for spatial-temporal reasoning,

or the ability to visualize and transform objects in space and time, Shaw said. Music involves

At the same time, the computer game-called Spatial-Temporal Animation Reasoning (STAR)-

allowed the children to solve geometric and math puzzles that boost their ability to manipulate

Children who took piano lessons and played with the math software performed better on tests of

fractions and proportional math than children who took English language instruction on the

computer and played with the math software. They also performed better than those who had

neither piano lessons nor experience with the math software according to Shaw. Puzzles in the

STAR game allow children to apply the type of mental acuity that appears to be heightened by

The findings are significant because a grasp of proportional math and fractions is a prerequisite to

math at higher levels, and children who do not master these areas of math cannot understand more

"Proportional math is usually introduced during the sixth grade, and has proved to be enormously

difficult to teach to most children using the usual language-analytic methods," Shaw said. "Not

only is proportional math crucial for all college-level science, but it is the first academic hurdle

that requires the children to grasp underlying concepts before they can master the material. Rote

Students who used the software and played the piano also demonstrated a heightened ability to

think ahead, Shaw said. "They were able to leap ahead several steps on problems in their heads,"

These findings offer not only new insight into the theory of mental development, but also a

potentially powerful teaching tool, capable of stimulating second-grade children to master critical

sixth-grade reasoning concepts. The piano teaching and software helped children regardless of

The study is only the latest in a series linking musical training to the learning process. Prior UCI

studies based on a mathematical model of the cortex predicted that early music training would

enhance spatial-temporal reasoning, and a 1997 study indicated that preschool children given six

Research participants included Amy Graziano, a postdoctoral researcher in UCI's Department of

Physics and Astronomy who designed and coordinated the project, and Matthew Peterson, a

former student of Shaw's who is now a doctoral student in the Department of Vision Science at

UC Berkeley. Shaw and Peterson administered the program through their non-profit Music

Intelligence Neural Development (MIND) Institute in Irvine, and Peterson designed the STAR

software. Graziano and Shaw are both part of the UCI Center for the Neurobiology of Learning

and Memory, an internationally known institute dedicated exclusively to the multi-disciplinary

investigation of how the brain processes information and makes and stores memories.

The researchers plan to expand the study to six schools this fall to demonstrate its effectiveness in

a variety of settings, and are seeking educators in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego

counties who are interested in participating and can furnish a music teacher and computers. They

also are developing new written math tests with Michael Martinez, UCI associate professor of

education, and preparing materials to integrate piano training and the STAR software into the

standard second-grade math curriculum. They eventually would like to apply the findings to the

-Source: American Music Conference; “UC Irvine Study Shows Second-Graders in Study

Scored Higher than Others on Fractions and Proportional Math” – by Dr. Gordon Shaw.

A study of 113 Georgia students found that eighth grade students who participated in

private music lessons for at least two years scored more than five percent higher on the

math portion of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) than other school musicians who

The students who received keyboard lessons scored significantly higher than even those

This study did no investigation into the cause of the connection between higher math test

scores and long-term private music lessons. While some may argue that affluence is a

factor, a quick look at students’ backgrounds showed that wealth was not a major factor

This study demonstrates that students who pursue long-term musical training also often

Second Grade Students Combining Computers and Music Score As Well As Fourth Grade Students on Math Exam

M.I.N.D. Institute shows building math education on understanding of the brain helps

children comprehend advanced concepts at earlier ages and improve their Stanford 9 math

Irvine, Calif. (February 24, 2000): A curriculum combining piano lessons, educational math

software and fun math problems can help second graders achieve scores on certain tests

comparable to fourth graders, according to studies by the Music Intelligence Neural

The curriculum uses piano instruction to enhance the brain's ability to learn, then allows children

to apply that mental acuity toward math problems, said Gordon Shaw, physicist and president of

the MIND Institute-a nonprofit group dedicated to research that uses music as a window into

In the studies, second-graders from 95th Street Preparatory School in inner-city Los Angeles

were compared with fourth and fifth graders from an Orange County school with a higher

socioeconomic level. The students took the advanced math concepts exams, which tested math

Second graders who received piano training, used the software and practiced math puzzles and

exercises every week attained scores comparable to fourth graders. Half of these second graders

scored in the top 20th percentile of the nationwide Stanford 9 test in math, and these students

achieved scores on the advanced math concepts exams comparable to the Orange County fifth

"These are exciting results, and show the potential of connecting music and math," said Shaw,

professor emeritus of physics at UC Irvine. "Our goal is to show that any school can get the

For 45 minutes two days a week, students get piano instruction from a music teacher at school.

Then they use computers to play an educational game developed by the study's lead author and

neuroscientist, Matthew Peterson. They play the game, called Spatial-Temporal Animation

Reasoning (STAR) for 45 minutes on another two days a week. And one day a week, their

classroom teacher leads a math integration lesson, in which students do brain-stretching

problems aloud (see example attached). These lessons add to the regular math curriculum--they

Piano instruction is thought to enhance the brain's "hard-wiring" for spatial-temporal reasoning,

or the ability to visualize and transform objects in space and time, Shaw said. Music involves

ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space and time. In a way, music primes the brain to

At the same time, when children use the STAR software, they are led on geometric and math

adventures by a penguin called JiJi--playing games that boost their ability to manipulate shapes

in their minds. Finally, teachers bring the music and puzzles together for their math integration

lessons, tying the concepts into standard math lessons that concentrate on a language approach.

The children learn to enjoy exploring math, instead of fearing making math mistakes.

Students taught with the curriculum demonstrated a heightened ability to think ahead, Peterson

said. "They were able to leap ahead several steps on problems--in their heads," he noted.

MIND Institute researchers used the advanced math concepts test, which tested skills in

symmetry, graphs, fractions, pre-algebra problems and proportional math, to evaluate the

children's learning. These subjects are all matched to topics covered in the state math standards

The findings are of major importance because a grasp of proportional math and fractions is a

prerequisite to math at higher levels, and children who do not master these areas of math cannot

understand advanced math critical to high-tech fields. This type of math is ordinarily taught in

Four Los Angeles-area schools now use the curriculum, bringing music and math to 380 second-

graders. The MIND Institute hopes to expand to 10 schools in the next school year, with second-

and third-grade curricula. The institute also hopes to eventually expand the curriculum to grades

The MIND study, which is being submitted for publication, is only the latest in a series linking

musical training to the learning process. Prior studies based on a mathematical model of the

cortex predicted that early music training would enhance spatial-temporal reasoning, and a 1997

study showed that preschool children given six months of piano keyboard lessons improved

dramatically on such reasoning. A 1999 study combined piano keyboard lessons with STAR to

show that second graders at the 95th Street school could master advanced math concepts through

spacial-temporal methods. By adding the math integration lessons, the present study ties into

The major results for second graders are now measured in dramatically increased written test

scores that are comparable to those of fourth and fifth graders at a school with a higher

socioeconomic status. These second graders also achieved high scores on the nationwide

The MIND Institute recently opened new offices in Irvine. The group is a community-based,

nonprofit scientific research institute whose mission is to explore relationships among music,

reasoning and the brain to the benefit of society in education and medicine. For more

Singing appears to be much more than just a fun thing to do; it seemingly uses a person's

spatial intelligence. Researchers in the United States and New Zealand report in [a 1997]

issue [vol. 24, No. 2] of the English scientific journal “The Psychology of Music” that the

simple act of singing changes the way the brain "thinks" about music. These findings come

on the heels of recent reports showing that piano playing increases the spatial ability of

Spatial intelligence is that aspect of our intelligence that allows us to make judgments

about the three-dimensional world in which we live. A football player catching a pass

relies on spatial intelligence to judge the trajectory of the ball. An architect uses it to

visualize what a building will look like when it is completed. We all use it every time we

drive a car and have to judge the distance to the car in front of us. Advanced math courses

The report tells of a fairly complex experiment that was conducted to determine how the

human brain thinks about music while singing. The experiment counted on the brain's

natural desire to group things together. For example, if a person goes to the grocery store

but forgets his or her list, he or she will to try to remember what was on the list. The most

common way would be to remember the items according to some logical groups; say dairy

products, meat products, and cleaning products. Another way would be to remember by

menu; if they were having hot dogs for lunch they would remember hot dogs, buns, baked

beans, mustard and ketchup and then go on to the next meal that is planned. If you

watched this person in the grocery store you could tell how they had things grouped in

their head by the paths they took around the store. This same logic was used with the

University of Auckland taught college students to sing many melodies by hearing and

singing them over and over for five weeks. The melodies were deliberately written to be

very similar to each another. It soon became obvious that the students were grouping the

songs in order to remember them. [However, the students] grouped them according to a

very abstract aspect of music - the shape of the melody - even though there were many

other more obvious ways they could have been grouped. Melodies with similar patterns of

notes going up and down were grouped together by the students. This happened even

though they had never seen the music for the songs and did not know they were supposed

Thus, the students were converting the sounds into an image in their heads. This image was

actually a picture of what the melody would look like if it were somehow projected on a

piece of paper. Interestingly, trained musicians and non-musicians did it exactly the same

way showing that it is probably a basic way the brain works, not something that is learned.

These findings help answer a fundamental question about music. Researchers have long

wondered why a person can recognize a song when it is played in different keys. For

example, if "Happy Birthday" is played in two different keys, the two versions could have

no actual notes in common. Yet almost everyone, regardless of musical training, will

recognize it as the same song. It has long been suspected that the brain remembers music

These findings also add support to music programs for children in elementary school.

administrators. Now it seems, this fun activity is actually developing a child's spatial

ability: an ability important in everything from driving a car to advanced math.

Biology is a staple at most American high schools. Yet when it comes to the biology of

the students themselves – how their brains develop and retain knowledge – school

officials would rather not pay attention to the lessons. Can first graders handle French?

What time should school start? Should music be cut? Biologists have some important

evidence to offer. But not only are they ignored, their findings are often turned upside

Force of habit rules the hallways and classrooms. Neither brain science nor education

research has been able to free the majority of America’s schools from their 19th-century

roots. If more administrators were tuned into brain research, scientists argue, not only

would schedules change, but subjects such as foreign language and geometry would be

Lectures, work sheets and rote memorization would be replaced by hands-on materials,

drama and project work. And teachers would pay greater attention to children’s

emotional connections to subjects. “We do more education research than anyone else in

the world,” say Frank Vellutino, a professor of educational psychology at State

Plato once said that music “is a more potent instrument than any other for education.”

Now scientists know why. Music, they believe, trains the brain for higher forms of

thinking. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, studied the power of music

by observing two groups of preschoolers. One group took piano lessons and sang daily in

chorus. The other did not. After eight months the musical 3-year-olds were expert

puzzle masters, scoring 80 percent higher than their playmates in spatial intelligence – the

This skill later translates into complex math and engineering skills. “Early music training

can enhance a child’s ability to reason,” says UC Irvine physicist Gordon Shaw. Yet

music education is often the first “frill” to be cut when school budgets shrink. Schools,

on average, have only one music teacher for every 500 children, according to the

Buying your kids a computer to open their minds to the wonders of science and logic?

Maybe you better buy a piano keyboard instead. A team of psychologists exploring the

link between music and intelligence has found that piano instruction is far superior to

computer instruction in enhancing the kind of abstract reasoning skills a child will need

In a two-year experiment, one group of preschoolers was given private piano and singing

lessons and another got private computer lessons. The musically trained kids scored 34%

higher than the others on tests measuring the higher brain functions critical in science,

Texas All-State Musicians Score 196 Points Above National Average On The 2000 SAT

“You are talking to someone who had very little to do with the arts before I came here. This has

changed me enormously. I have an appreciation for the arts that I never had before. I have seen

and I have seen them take off and fly because we pulled them into in arts and opened up new

avenues. I couldn’t work anymore in a school that wasn’t totally immersed in the arts.” – Middle

In a July 1999 study, researchers from Columbia University revealed the positive effects of arts

classes on upper elementary and middle school students. Instead of seeking a direct connection

between arts classes and test scores in particular subjects, the researchers attempted to

“determine what cognitive, social, and personal skills are developed through arts learning, [and]

The authors produced statistical data about the impact of the arts upon students’ higher-order

thinking skills, students’ self-perceptions, and the overall environment of a school. The authors

The authors studied the arts experiences of 2046 students in grades four, five, seven, and eight in

18 public schools throughout New York, Connecticut, Virginia, and South Carolina. Students

listed their years of experience in each of the arts (visual art, music, dance, and drama) on a

questionnaire, and the students were divided into quartiles based on their arts experience.

All students in the study completed tests designed to measure thinking skills, academic habits,

and self-image. All teachers in the study completed surveys to evaluate school environment,

perception of student behavior, classroom arts practices, and attitudes toward the arts.

The authors also interviewed administrators, subject specialists, and teachers of all subjects, and

“High Arts” refers to students in the highest quartile of arts experience. “Low Arts” refers to

The following statistics indicate the percentage of students achieving a high score on tests of

The following statistics indicate the percentage of students achieving high scores on a survey of self-confidence:

The researchers note that the arts exposure level of the students tested is not directly related to

-Source: “Learning In and Through the Arts: Curriculum Implications” by Judith Burton, Robert

Horowitz, and Hal Abeles, from the Center for Arts Education Research Teachers College,

This study is published in the compilation “Champions of Change,” with a link at www.pcah.gov

Elementary School in Dallas, Texas, has proven what academicians, educators, and

cultural community supporters have been saying for years: An integrated arts curriculum

The scientific study – the Partnership Assessment Project – was conducted by the non-

profit Partnership for Arts, Culture and Education, comprised of more than 50 arts and

cultural organizations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The project was begun

in 1992 in an attempt to determine the impact of community-based arts and cultural

enrichment, integrated into a school's core curriculum, on student achievement in the

language arts. The study was based on the assumption that elementary students in

socioeconomically deprived settings, who exhibited minimal success in standardized

testing situations, would benefit academically from exposure to community arts and

Three elementary schools in the Dallas area were chosen for the study on the basis of 12

variables: ethnicity; socioeconomic status; standardized test scores; criterion-referenced

programming; and the presence of music, art, drama, or dance specialists. Over the four-

year course of the study, one school – Rosemont Elementary – was provided significant

community arts and cultural programming which was fully integrated into the core

curriculum. The second school benefited from community arts and cultural programs

without integrating them, while the third had no community arts or cultural programming

The project design used at the first school included training teachers in using the arts in

the classroom, transferring art experiences into the core curriculum, and assessing the

Representatives from arts and cultural organizations also received training in designing

By the third year of the study, the project teachers had the skills and knowledge needed to

integrate the community arts and cultural programs. Core subjects were vertically aligned

through thematic units, and these units served as keys for the teachers to select

community programming for their students. For example, second-grade students used

dance to learn basic geometric shapes, while third graders used dance to understand the

relationship between the body's muscles and bones. Fifth-grade students combined the

study of acoustics with a trip to a symphony hall, where they simulated and described the

At the conclusion of the project last year, a comparison of the three schools showed

significant differences in language arts achievement. The Rosemont School, which had

integrated the programs into its curricula, maintained dramatically higher average scores

than the other two schools. According to the assessment report, "the results of this study

overwhelming support the premise that integrating community [arts] programming into

So what does it all mean? Put simply, it demonstrates quantitatively the remarkable value

of integrating arts experiences into the curriculum. It means, too, that teachers who use

arts and cultural programming in the classroom can bring more enthusiasm to the core

curricula. As one teacher said, "The children really started to see connections...and it's

been fun seeing them respond to that.... Once they get started, they just find similarities

Although the project's comparisons were limited to language arts achievement, it can be

inferred that such programming could have a significant impact on student achievement

generally. Art experiences can no longer be perceived as pleasant fluff compared

to more substantive areas of instruction: math, science, reading, and writing. When used

in an integrated manner, with teachers trained in the techniques of incorporating arts

programming into the core curriculum, art becomes a vital tool in increasing a child's

These statistics, first released in 1997, are based on the study of over 25,000 students, tracked for

several years. The authors of the study incorporated data from students of all ethnic and

The study also looked at students of low socio-economic status both as part of the entire student

population and separately, to see if arts education had a significant impact upon students of low

“Arts” refers to experience or coursework in performing or visual arts either in school or outside

-Source: “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive

Involvement in Music and Theater Arts.” by James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau, and John

This study is found in the compilation “Champions of Change” published by the President’s

Council on the Arts and Humanities. You can find the link for this study at www.pcah.gov

How does music boost the intellect and enhance learning? Does it stimulate and are of

the brain associated with creativity? Are children’s musical preferences wired into the

brain or culturally determined? Do musicians’ brains differ from those of other people?

Tracing neurological development through childhood provides some clues to this quest.

integration, enhancing speech and listening. Choral reading, poetry, and varieties of

pronunciation and dialect become important, as the brain and auditory system begin to

process the voices and the wisdom of the world at large. Children who have never heard

dialects or foreign language tend to regard such unfamiliar speech as weird for the rest of

their lives. Hearing a variety of dialects on TV or at the movies helps slightly, but

learning to sing simple folk songs in Japanese, Swahili, German, or even regional accents

like those of Texas enable the brain to encode new sounds – and thereby understand the

During this stage, the corpus callosum, the bridge between the left and right sides of the

brain, completes its development, allowing both hemispheres to respond to an event

simultaneously. Recent studies have found that the corpus callosum of musicians is

thicker and more fully developed than in other people, reinforcing the idea that music

pronounced in musicians. This are of the brain appears to be associated with language

processing and might also “categorize” sounds, suggesting a perceptual link between

language and music. Studies like this, notes science writer Richard A. Knox, are “part of

a growing body of evidence indicating that human brains are designed to process,

appreciate, and eventually create music – an activity whose importance for the species

The recording industry produces one of history’s most popular products. Virtually

But is it possible that everyone also needs music? Beyond being a form of art or

entertainment, might music also be a kind of essential nutrient that the human brain

These questions are being explored in on-going experiments under my supervision at the

University of California, Irvine. And the answer, at least so far, is yes. We have found

that music can enhance spatial reasoning – the brain’s ability to perceive the visual world

accurately, to form mental images of physical objects, and to recognize variations of

These findings hold new and profound implications for the importance of music in

education, especially the education of young children. Spatial reasoning is essential to

success in a variety of academic subjects, notably math, the sciences, and engineering.

Many problems common to these disciplines are not easily described in verbal form, and

depend for their solutions on abstract thinking and visualizations – skills that result from

Mere listening can boost spatial reasoning, but what might be achieved through a

program of active music training? This is the focus of our work with preschool children,

and the aspect of our research that may offer the greatest benefits for future generations.

Last year, we completed a pilot study in which ten three-year-old children were given

music training – either singing or keyboard lessons. The scores of every child improved

significantly on the Object Assembly Task, a section of the Wechsler Preschool and

At the American Psychological Association’s annual convention in Los Angeles in

August, we reported the results of a follow-up experiment. In that experiment we found

that the spatial reasoning performance of 19 preschool children who received eight

months of music lessons far exceeded that of a demographically comparable group of 15

The notion that music is important to the development of a child’s intellect is hardly new.

Plato believed music was the first subject that children should learn, to create a sense of

The discovery of this link has a special significance today, when music occupies a

paradoxical position on American society. Music has never been more prevalent than it

is in the United States today. With technology such as portable compact disc players, it is

now possible to listen to high-quality recorded music anywhere, any time we want. In

our homes, in our cars, in supermarkets, or camping in the wilderness, music serves as a

Yet as a subject in school, music has rarely been regarded with less esteem. For more

that 10 years, music programs have been systematically cut or reduced in many U.S.

school districts. The rationale given by the legislators and school administrators has been

starkly pragmatic: in order to revive lapsed academic standards and maintain America’s

ability to compete globally in business and technology, school curricula must focus on

the "basics” – reading, writing, math, and the sciences. That reasoning maintains that

music is a nice activity for kids to learn, but with school budget belts being pulled tighter

In light of our findings, however, this argument no longer holds water. Music, in fact, is

one of the basics: a building block that serves as the foundation for one of the brain’s

higher cognitive functions. Without first being given training in music, our children

cannot reach their full potential to be doctors, mathematicians, engineers, scientists, or to

Our research also indicates that music training may most benefit those children for whom

maximizing academic and career potential is critically important: the disadvantaged. In

our pilot study with preschool children, those from disadvantaged backgrounds displays a

particularly dramatic improvement in spatial reasoning ability following music training.

footing with children from more affluent backgrounds. Because it is nonverbal, music

unlike many traditional teaching methods, does not force disadvantaged children to

struggle with language or cultural differences. And unlike children from higher-income

families, who have access to private music lessons, school may offer many disadvantaged

brainpower. The challenge is to identify and articulate the music training programs that

We know what knowledge is, but intelligence is harder to define. For decades, scientists

have relied on single measures of intelligence to categorize people. In recent years,

though, criticism of intelligence tests has mounted, and some researchers now argue that

No person has done more to promote that view than Harvard University psychologist

Howard Gardner. His writings on intelligence, creativity, and leadership have made him

one of the nation’s most influential educators and thinkers. He contends that there are at

least eight different kinds of human intelligence, a radical notion that has revolutionized

Gardner’s ideas have been controversial. Many psychologists criticize him for failing to

do experiments to prove the existence of eight separate intelligences, even though they

were proposed more than a decade ago. Some education reformers say Gardner gives

teachers license to indulge their students and overlook learning deficiencies – at a time

when academic standards and performance in the U.S. desperately need to be raised.

Gardner’s ideas about multiple intelligences spring from his work beginning two decades

ago with gifted children and victims of brain damage. That was when he first observed

the disparate “intelligences” that form the basis of his theory. Gifted children would

excel in one or two particular capabilities, such as music or mathematics. Brain-damaged

people would lose certain abilities they once possessed. He eventually isolated seven

different mental faculties, to which he recently added an eighth. They are: linguistic,

logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal,

According to Gardner, people possess these intelligences in varying degrees, which helps

determine how they learn and how they ultimately fare in the workplace. He believes it

is possible to hone these intelligences through concerted effort – and that they will wither

Some psychologists are politely critical of the theory. “Its value is that it got people to

think more broadly about intelligence, and that’s good,” says Yale University

psychologist Robert Sternberg, another prominent writer and thinker on the subject of

intelligence. But, Sternberg notes, “what Gardner calls musical and bodily-kinesthetic

intelligences, I would call talents.” Gardner believes all eight intelligences are of equal

intrinsic value. It is the culture and context in which people live and work that accord

Scientific support for Gardner’s theory may yet be forthcoming from genetics labs.

Recent research carried out by Mark Keating and colleagues at the University of Utah

and elsewhere points to the existence of a gene that may govern a narrowly defined

spatial skill – the ability to replicate a simple checkerboard pattern with four cubes. The

discovery of other such genes may follow, and could help demonstrate the independence

Gardner’s theory has met much success in part because it affirms what every good

teacher knows -–that there is more than one way to learn and hence there should be more

than one way to teach. But critics argue that this lets teachers and students off the hook:

If Johnny can’t read, it must be because he’s bodily kinesthetic. Diane S. Ravitch, a

senior research associate at New York University, contends that the application of

Gardner’s ideas in schools could lead to “an invidious tracking” that accepts some

children as academic failures. Furthermore, says Ravitch, Gardner’s theory flies in the

face of the national-standards movement, who’s objective is to figure out the best

Yet there is mounting evidence that teaching aimed at sharpening one kind of intelligence

will carry over to others, enhancing them, too. Researchers at the University of

California at Irvine found that when preschoolers were given several months of piano

keyboard instruction, their performance on spatial-temporal reasoning tests improved

dramatically. Another study integrated visual and performing arts with social studies and

other core subjects for high-risk students in four U.S. elementary schools. Standardized

test scores in core subjects were boosted, says Professor James S. Catterall of the

The idea that a person might be stronger or weaker in certain intelligences – and might

perhaps want to bolster the weaker ones – is now moving beyond the schools and making

its way into products for kids and training for adults. The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain, by

Sierra On-Line Inc., bills itself as a CD-ROM that plays off of people’s intelligences.

Producer Sherry Wrana says developers set out to design games and puzzles that would

have “multipath solutions,” and in so doing, inadvertently stumbled upon Gardner’s

Some companies are using multiple-intelligence precepts in their training. Saturn Corp.

is developing a new course on multiple intelligence. All 10,000 employees of the eleven-

year-old General Motors Corp. offshoot are required to take at least 92 hours of

instruction a year in courses of their choosing – anything from safety to leadership, as

part of a corporate philosophy that stresses worker training. At the outset, the new course

will introduce workers to the intelligences. But trainers at Saturn might adapt a multiple-

intelligence theory to other instruction: For example, they might one day use music to

enhance learning in some of their technical training courses, says Saturn training and

Ask Gardner what other workplace applications multiple-intelligence theory might have,

and he says: “The sky’s the limit.” From hiring and promoting to the daily search for

solutions, a multifaceted approach that captures and takes advantage of all ways of

thinking and learning can only enhance creativity and innovation, he says. Gradually, a

theory that seized the imagination of the education community is making its way into the

"The ultimate challenge for American education is to place all children on pathways toward

success in school and in life. Through engagement with the arts, young people can better begin

lifelong journeys of developing their capabilities and contributing to the world around them.

"Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning" also shows that the arts can play a

vital role in learning how to learn, an essential ability for fostering achievement and growth

throughout their lives. … (It) provides new and important findings of actual learning experiences

involving the arts. …(It) presents these research findings, complete with ground-breaking … data

and analysis, as articulated by leading American educational researchers. … Perhaps what

makes their findings so significant is that they all address ways that our nation's educational goals

may be realized through enhanced arts learning. … As these researchers have confirmed, young

people can be better prepared for the 21st century through quality learning experiences in and

These quotations from Dr. Riley, Secretary of Education, are taken from the introduction

to a remarkable report that was issued in October of 1999. This "Champions of Change"

MacArthur Foundation under the auspices of The Arts Education Partnership and The

The COC report is not restricted to music or any single subject within arts education.

document. It contains the reports of seven major projects in arts education. The present

article will first list some of the major findings. After this, we will discuss the results of

In the main section of this article, we will report the findings of three specific projects

particular sequence to highlight a special aspect of the findings, the local school

environment for learning. I believe this is particularly important for at least two reasons.

First, it has been largely ignored. Second, the effects of arts education take place within

real walls, as an interaction between students and teachers. We need to appreciate this

ongoing educational dialogue to fully understand why and how the arts have such a

beneficial effect on students. While all the reports are extremely important. I think you

will find that the information obtained within specific school setting provides a uniquely

The first project concerns the broadest report of academic performance, the relationship

between involvement in arts education and academic performance for 25,000 students

across the United States. It provides an interesting contrast for the second project, which

is the most specific type of program. This is the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education

(CAPE) which brings professional arts practitioners from various disciplines to certain

schools. The final - and longest - report is about schools in which arts are an important

and continuing part of the normal curriculum. It concerns the performances of students,

teachers and their interactions. This report brings new and important insights into how

and why arts education facilitates intellectual and personal development in students. It

The first report is that of James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleu and John Iwanaga of the

extensive database from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey [NELS.88]. This

survey obtained information on more than 25,000 secondary school students over a

period of 10 years. The very large sample size is noteworthy because it avoids problems

encountered with small populations, such as a few classes in a limited number of school

settings. The authors studied both the arts in general and then focused on music and

theater arts. They were particularly interested in how arts education impacted students

from families of lower socio-economic resources (low SES), compared to those from

The overall findings were quite clear. Performance in a wide range of academic subjects

and on standardized tests was significantly higher for students involved in sustained arts

education. Statistical analyses of academic performance from the 8th through 12th grades

further showed that the beneficial effects increased over time. Of particular importance,

low SES students also showed significant improvements if they were involved in arts

education. In fact, their relative gains were as great or larger than the high SES students.

Given these findings, it is somewhat troubling to note that the authors also found a

significant decrease in arts education involvement from grades 10 to 12. For example, the

percent of students taking lessons outside of school hours decreased from 11% to 3%.

revealing. Dr. Catterall and his associates discovered that music students were far more

likely to achieve the highest levels of proficiency in math tests than non-music students.

Again, low SES students also benefited. In fact they not only scored higher in math than

low SES students who were not involved in music but also better than the average of all

students. The positive effects of instrumental music instruction also increased from the 8th

to the 10th grades. For example, 21% of eighth grade music students from low SES

households scored high in math compared to 11% of non-music low SES students. By

Do these findings definitely show that consistent involvement in arts education,

particularly in instrumental music education, causes the high levels of general academic

and math performance? Dr. Catterall and his colleagues are quite aware of the challenges

that must be met to be able to draw a causal connection. However, they point out that

there is good reason to suspect that arts education helps cause the findings because other

studies have reported "… that children are more engaged and cognitively involved in

school when the arts are part of, or integrated into, the curriculum." Nonetheless, it might

be argued that better students select arts involvement. However, the authors also

emphasize that improvements are greater within the same students over time, from the 8th

to the 12 grades. This is difficult to explain if the higher performance levels were not

We conclude this review by considering an extensive study performed by Judith Burton,

Robert Horowitz and Hal Abeles, of the Center for Arts Education Research at Columbia

University. It involved 2046 children in grades 4, 5, 7, and 8 in 12 public schools in New</