Abstract

For several decades music educators have proposed that the study of music has a significant impact on student academic achievement, attendance rates, and student conduct. In an era of higher student and teacher accountability, increasing budget cuts, the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and stringent state standards of learning, a number of educators have argued that education in music can boost test scores, attendance, attitudes toward school, reduce discipline referrals, and increase overall academic achievement.

The purpose of this literature review was to quantify general education claims by examining high school academic achievement data, attendance rates, and student conduct in order to make the case that the Impact of Music on Academic Achievement on secondary school students.

The research discussed within this literature review briefly explores the impact that music education has on the human brain and on academic achievement at the elementary school and secondary school levels. Moreover, influences that integrating music has on academic achievement in general education courses, arts integration programs, and elements of an effective music education program are explored. Specific research studies provide evidence to support key concepts and the need for additional research.

Conclusions of this research are based upon sophisticated statistical tests including descriptive and inferential statistics, correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression statistics. These tests confirmed the four research questions and null hypotheses that music students out perform their non-music counterparts in academic achievement, attendance rate, and student conduct. Although some school divisions studied do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, music students had fewer days absent than non-music students (Waller, 2004).

Keywords
Music Education, Academic Achievement, Attendance Rate, Student Conduct, Secondary Education. Curriculum, Mozart Effect, Audio.

Introduction

What is the impact of participation in music education on academic achievement? On the surface there is a fairly straightforward answer: students who participate in music education frequently do better than their peers on many measures of academic achievement such as grade-point averages and standardized tests like the SAT or ACT. For example, using information from the National Center for Educational Statistics, (Morrison, 1994) reported that on a sample size of 13,327 high school sophomores those who participated in music reported higher grades in English, math, history, and science than those who did not participate in music.

However, a closer examination of these and other data adds many caveats and qualifiers to this notion. Consider as just one example the fact that two researchers (Cox, 2001; Holmes, 1997) found that a possible explanation for apparent superior achievement is that music participants had higher academic achievement scores prior to enrolling in music studies. It is the purpose of this literature review to examine, compare and contrast research literature on this topic to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of this timely issue (Hodges, 2007).

There are numerous questions that arise when one considers the impact that music has on academic achievement. For example. Does music training positively affect reading ability? Does music instruction improve verbal memory? There are four questions that are used to explore the validity of the research on the Impact of Music Education on Academic Achievement; (1) academic achievement, (2) attendance rate, and (3) student conduct with regard to music courses taken and (4) student conduct with regard no music courses taken in grades nine through twelve. The answers to these and other questions are addressed by the research and investigations of literature contained within this literature review (Hodges, 2007).

Purpose of this Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of music participation or non- music participation on academic achievement, as measured by grade twelve weighted cumulative grade point average; on attendance rate, as measured by the number of absences in grade twelve; and on student conduct, as measured by the number of discipline referrals in grade nine through grade twelve. This investigation included students with 4 or more years, 3 to 3.5 years, 2 to 2.5 years, and 1 to 1.5 years in vocal or instrumental music instruction; students not participating in instrumental or vocal music instruction; and students that may have been enrolled in a combination of vocal and instrumental music courses in grades nine through twelve in secondary school divisions. Additional purposes of this study are to conduct investigations to review relationships between music education and attendance rates and music education and student conduct and observed behavioral patterns.

Methods of Research
The research design of the Impact of Music Education on Academic Achievement includes the following independent variables: subject and number of years enrolled in formal music courses or no formal music courses, gender, ethnicity, and enrollment in formal music courses or no formal music courses in high school, grades nine through twelve. The dependent variables include: academic achievement as measured by grade twelve weighted cumulative grade point average (GPA), attendance rate as measured by the number of absences in grade twelve, and student conduct as measured by the number of discipline referrals in grade nine through grade twelve.

The four research questions that are presented and discussed in order to explore the validity of this research include: (1) academic achievement, (2) attendance rate, and (3) student conduct with regard to music or (4) student conduct with regard no music courses taken in grades nine through twelve. Ethnicity and gender were reported using the common dependent variables among participants in three populations – entire study population, music population, and non-music population.

Studies for standardized music assessments include the following literature studies: (Colwell) Music Achievement Tests (Gordon) Primary Measures of Music Audiation (Gordon) Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (Gordon) Music Aptitude Profile (Seashore) Measures of Musical Talents Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale. Subjects in these studies ranged from preschool through college students. Sample sizes ranged from fairly small (e.g., N = 42; Huang, 2004) to very large (N = 17,099; Cobb, 1997). A few studies included variables such as gender or race, but most did not. Musical experiences included traditional music education activities such as elementary general music or high school band, as well as special programs such as keyboard instruction. In a few studies, subjects were participants in general arts or extracurricular activities, not music per se. A wide variety of research designs and data analysis strategies were employed (Hodges, 2007).

Research Design and Procedures
A number of researchers have been interested in the degree to which music aptitude or music experiences are related to academic achievement. The literature is nearly evenly divided between those studies in which a high degree of relationship was reported and those in which a low or negligent relationship was found. Using data from first and fourth graders, (Lamar, 1989) found a significant, positive relationship between music aptitude and reading and one that approached significance for math. Music aptitude was also highly related with academic achievement in eight to 12-year-old students (Johnson, D., 2000). (Palos-Tuley, 2003) found positive significant effects for academic achievement and the degree of involvement in the fine
Arts of Hispanic students in grades three, four, and five, involved in either: an intensive fine arts academy, a rotational fine arts program, or a minimal fine arts program. A positive relationship was found for those high schools whose band participated in concert festival and SAT scores (Hodges, 2007).

For those bands that participated in concert festival, a positive relationship was found between level of difficulty of music and SAT scores, but not for festival ratings and SAT scores. (Ciepluch, 1988) determined that a significant relationship existed between the sight reading achievement of instrumental music students and reading and math achievement and GPA.

Using the school district database, the following demographic information was collected for the secondary school graduation classes:
1. identification of music and non-music participants
2. type of music enrollment (vocal or instrumental)
3. final grade twelve cumulative weighted grade point averages
4. number of absences in grade twelve
5. number of discipline referrals in grades nine through twelve

The entire population of grade twelve music students in the sampled school division was utilized in data collection and analysis. Students who attended more than one high school in the same school district and remained in the vocal or instrumental music program were included in the study. A similar process was employed to determine non-music participants. All non-music participants were included in data collection and analysis. Students included in this group must have been enrolled in the same school division for four years (grades 9 – 12) and not enrolled in 150 formal public school music education courses for more than one-half year (1 semester). Students attending more than one high school in the same school district and not enrolled in formal public school music education courses for more than one-half year (1 semester) were also included in the study (Waller, 2004).

Finally, students not meeting requirements specified in this study were eliminated. Names for selected students were coded to provide maximum anonymity. Coded information was entered into a database using SPSS 13. At no time were students identified by name, school, or by the school division’s student

Identification numbering system. Likewise, the school division was not identified. There were no more than minimal risks involved for participation (Waller, 2004).

A number of additional studies support the contention that students who participate in formal music education have higher academic achievement scores than students who do not participate in formal music education (Babo, 2001; Cardarelli, 2003; Cobb, 1997; Cox, 2001; Frakes, 1984; Huang, 2004; Linch, 1993; Miranda, 2001; Mitchell, 1994; Parrish, 1984; Schneider & Klotz, 2000; Trent, 1996; Underwood, 2000; Zanutto, 1997). Furthermore, being excused from nonmusic classes to attend instrumental lessons does not adversely affect academic performance (Corral, 1998; Cox, 2001; Dryden, 1992; Engdahl, 1994; Kvet, 1982).

Three selected studies are briefly reviewed here as illustrations of this type of research. (Cardarelli, 2003) investigated the effects of instrumental music instruction on standardized test performance of third-grade students. Students were divided into two groups: those participating in an instrumental music training program and those not participating. The music training activity was designed for inner city students who could not financially afford to take music lessons. She found statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the two groups, with a positive effect of the music program on the students’ achievement levels (Hodges, 2007).

(Schneider & Klotz, 2000) examined the relationship between enrollment in music performance classes and athletic extracurricular activities on academic achievement. Three hundred forty six subjects were divided into three groups: musicians (band or choir), athletes, or non-participants. All three groups were statistically equivalent in fifth and sixth grade. During seventh, eighth, and ninth grades the musicians achieved significantly higher academic achievement scores than the athletes but did not score higher than the non-participants. The authors noted that the musicians showed a tendency to maintain stabilized scores while the athletes and non-participants groups’ scores dropped (Hodges, 2007).

Using records from two area high schools, (Trent, 1996) determined that those high school seniors who had participated in instrumental music programs from sixth through 12th grades scored significantly higher on standardized tests of language arts and math than their counterparts who had participated in non-music extra-curricular activities or who had not participated in extra-curricular activities. Several authors who conducted literature reviews arrived at conclusions supporting these three studies: those who participate in music have higher academic achievement than those who do not (Arnett-Gary, 1998; Shobo, 2001; Yoon, 2000). Not everyone, however, obtained such clear results.

Two researchers found that music participants had higher achievement scores in reading but not math (Dryden, 1992; Neuharth, 2000). (Kluball, 2000) found that the study of instrumental music was significantly related to mathematics and science tests but not to language arts, social studies, writing and the SAT verbal and mathematics tests. Other researchers have either found no significant difference in the academic achievement of music participants and other students (Haanstra, 2000; Holmes, 1997; Sprouse, 1971) or identified alternative explanations for their apparent superiority (Cox, 2001; Rossini, 2000; Schneider & Klotz, 2000; Shadd, 2002). In reviewing the literature, McIntyre & Cowell (1984) found that findings were unclear and often contradictory (Hodges, 2007).

Only five experimental studies have been identified that tested the effects of music instruction on academic achievement. Three of the five obtained results indicating that music instruction did have a positive effect on academic achievement. Olson (2003) affirmed parallel reading and math concepts through Kodaly music instruction with first, second, and third grade students. Female students at all three grade levels improved math scores and males at the first and second grades improved reading scores. (Barr, Dittmar, Roberts, & Sheraden, 2002) provided elementary students with 16 weeks of instruction for the improvement of listening skills in addition to music instruction. Results indicated improved academic performance. Hoffman (1995) compared fifth graders who received keyboard instruction with those who received traditional text-based music instruction. After one year of instruction (at the end of fourth grade) the keyboard students had higher scores on only one measure, a subtest of language mechanics. However, after two years of instruction (at the end of fifth grade), the keyboard students outperformed their counterparts on total language, 3 R’s battery, concept of numbers, math computations, math applications, and total math.

In contrast to the positive effects on academic achievement found in the studies mentioned previously, (Hines, 2000) found that the type of instruction students received affected neither reading nor mathematics achievement. She had compared the effects of two types of instruction—motoric music instruction (utilizing movement) and non-motoric music instruction (excluding movement) on the academic achievement of learning disabled students from kindergarten through ninth grades. Likewise, third, fourth and sixth grade students who received music instruction did not show improved academic performance over peers who did not receive similar music instruction (Legette, 1993).

Conclusion
The connection of the integrated instruction between music and mathematics extends as least as far back as the Pythagorean experiments in 6th century BC. In more recent times, many have suggested the use of music in teaching mathematics (Church, 2001; Dudley & Pecka, 1994; Johnson & Edelson, 2003; Rothenberg, 1996; Shilling, 2002; Tips for Beginners, 1991). Some of these suggested programs are quite innovative; for example, (Stevens, Sharp, & Nelson, 2001) describe a program that has students drumming ratios such as 6:8 in 6/8 meter.

Regardless of how creative these suggestions are however, they are just that—suggestions, and there are very few research studies that confirm their enthusiasm. (Hodges, 2007).
Reading is a key to successful academic achievement. Yet, according to the most recent national assessment, only 32% of the nation’s fourth grade children are reading at or above grade level (NAEP, 2000). To counteract this situation, the government has allocated nearly $4 billion for Reading First, program that aims to improve reading instruction for K-3 students (http://www.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/nclb-reading-first.html). An early intervention program to help students acquire better reading skills should enable them to perform better throughout their school years and beyond (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

It has seemed reasonable to a number of researchers that music instruction might improve auditory perception skills that, in turn, might impact reading abilities. Indeed, for the most part, research has supported this notion. Music perception utilized auditory mechanisms related to reading as musical skills correlated Significantly with phonological awareness and early reading skills in a group of four and five- year-old children (Anvari, Trainor, Woodside, & Levy, 2002). Also studying four and five-year-olds, (Lamb & Gregory 1993) found that pitch discrimination skills were correlated with reading performance. The important factor in this relationship is detection of pitch changes; timbre discrimination was not significantly related to reading. Using a small sample (N = 16) of nine and ten-year-olds, Barwick, Valentine, West & Wilding (1989) found a significant moderate relationship (r = .53) between tonal memory and reading age. These results were confirmed in a follow-up study with a larger sample (N = 40) and a slightly large age span (Hodges, 2007).

Commentary

Considering this body of research literature as a whole leads to a mid-position on the effects of music on academic achievement, regardless of whether it is specifically music instruction, music integrated with other disciplines, or background music. That is, at one extreme the data do not support the contention that music will necessarily improve academic performance and at the other extreme there is certainly no basis for saying that music instruction has no effect on academic achievement. Human learning is such a complex phenomenon that any simplistic explanation such as these must be rejected. Therefore, some music experiences have a positive impact on academic performance under Administrators, the data simply do not support a more definitive statement. Almost completely neglected in the research literature is the impact of the individual teacher. Simply testing the effects of a given form of music instruction without taking into account the characteristics of the teacher is short sighted. Logically, there is the possibility that excellent teachers who are enthusiastic and who relate well to students may make a greater difference in educational outcomes than the particular methodology used.

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