Music Education Statistics and Facts

Music Education Facts to Share

• Music majors are the most likely group of college graduates to be admitted to medical school. — Lewis Thomas, “The Case for Music in the Schools,” Phi Delta Kappan
• Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among any group in our society. — H. Con. Res. 266, United States Senate
• High school music students have been shown to hold higher grade point averages than non-musicians in the same school. — National Educational Longitudinal Study
• 78% of Americans feel that learning a musical instrument helps students perform better in other subjects. — Gallup Poll, “American Attitudes Toward Music”
• Nine out of ten adults and teenagers who play instruments agree that music making brings the family closer together. — Music Making and Our Schools, American Music Conference
• With music in schools, students connect to one another better—showing greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism, and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm. — Eric Jensen, Arts With the Brain in Mind
• 71% of Americans surveyed by Gallup believe that teenagers who play an instrument are less likely to have disciplinary problems. — Gallup Poll, “American Attitudes Toward Music”
• A study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors achieved the highest reading scores among all majors, including English, biology, chemistry, and math. — “The Case for Music in the Schools,” Phi Delta Kappan
• Students exposed to music-based lessons scored 100% higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. — Neurological Research
• The schools that produced the highest academic achievement in the United States spent 20% to 30% of the day on the arts, with special emphasis on music. — International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
• Music enhances the process of learning. The systems it nourishes—including integrated sensory, attention, cognitive, emotional, and motor capacities—are driving forces behind other learning. — Konrad, R.R., Empathy, Arts and Social Studies
• Teaching through the arts motivates children and increases their aptitude for learning. — Eric Jensen, Arts With the Brain in Mind
• During moments of musical euphoria, blood travels through areas of the brain associated with contentment and joy, and away from areas associated with depression and fear. — Dr. Frederick Tims, reported in AMC Music News
• 95% of Americans in a Gallup Poll believe music is a key component in a child’s well-rounded education; three quarters believe schools should mandate music education. — Gallup Poll, “American Attitudes Toward Music”
• Martin Gardiner of Brown University tracked Rhode Island residents from birth through age 30 and concluded that the more a resident was involved in music, the lower the person’s arrest record. — “Music Linked to Reduced Criminality,” MuSICA Research Notes
• With music instruction in schools, teachers found that students were less aggressive. — Konrad, R.R., Empathy, Arts and Social Studies
• Students of lower socioeconomic status who took music lessons in grades 8–12 increased their math scores significantly compared with non-music students. Reading, history, geography, and social skills also rose by 40%. — Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey, and Knowles
• 54% of American households reported having at least one musical instrument player—the highest figure since the study began in 1978. — Gallup Poll, “American Attitudes Toward Music”
• The College Entrance Examination Board found that students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math than students with no arts participation. — College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers
• The world’s top academic countries place a high value on music education. Hungary, the Netherlands, and Japan have required music training at elementary and middle school levels for decades. — International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Test
• Music training helps underachievers. Students lagging behind academically caught up to classmates in reading and surpassed them in math by 22% after seven months of music instruction. — Nature
• College-age musicians are emotionally healthier than their non-musician counterparts in performance anxiety, emotional concerns, and alcohol-related problems. — Houston Chronicle
• The arts are one of the six subject areas the College Board recognizes as essential to thriving in college. — Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do
• The arts produce jobs, generating an estimated $37 billion and a return of $3.4 billion in federal income taxes. — American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet
• Students taking music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT than students with no arts participation. Music performance students scored 53 points higher on verbal and 39 points higher on math; music appreciation students scored 61 points higher on verbal and 42 points higher on math. — College Entrance Examination Board
• According to the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, music students received more academic honors and awards than non-music students. — National Center for Education Statistics
• Music majors comprised the highest percentage of accepted medical students, at 66%. — Lewis Thomas, “The Case for Music in the Schools,” Phi Delta Kappan
• Research on music and intelligence concluded that music training was more effective than computer instruction in improving children’s abstract reasoning skills. — Neurological Research, Vol. 19
• “The arts enrich communities and employees, and also stimulate the kind of intellectual curiosity our company needs to stay competitive.” — Norma R. Augustine, Chairman and CEO, Martin Marietta Corporation
• “A grounding in the arts will help our children to see; to bring a uniquely human perspective to science and technology. In short, it will help them as they grow smarter to also grow wiser.” — Robert E. Allen, Chairman and CEO, AT&T Corporation
• Arts education helps students develop workplace skills: flexibility, problem-solving, communication, creativity, innovation, and a drive for excellence. — Joseph M. Callahan, Director of Corporate Communications, Xerox Corporation
• “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.” — Richard W. Riley, Former U.S. Secretary of Education
• Secondary students participating in band, orchestra, or choir reported the lowest lifetime use of all substances. — Texas School Survey of Substance Abuse Among Students, Grades 7–12
• Sequential, skill-building instruction in art and music integrated with the rest of the curriculum can greatly improve children’s reading and math performance. — “Learning Improved by Arts Training,” Nature
• Music lessons—and even listening to music—can enhance spatial reasoning, a higher-brain function needed for complex tasks including mathematics. — Frances Rauscher, Ph.D., and Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
• “The arts are an economic plus—second only to aerospace as our most lucrative national export.” — Michael Greene, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences