Why Teach Music | SaveFineArtsInASD

Why Teach Music?

Music education is a critical part of the learning process and with the rise of attendance and graduation rates pays for itself. The benefits of a solid music education is imperative for the success of our students and community.

Music Builds Strong Brains
When students study math or reading, specific areas of the brain are used to process information. With music, you take the international language of music notation and use spatial recognition to process pitches and mathematical analysis to subdivide rhythms. You then have to take the information that has been processed and turn it into breath control and body motion to create emotion in music. When you read and play music the brain has to fire everywhere at once. The corpus callosum, the part of the brain that transfers information from one hemisphere to the other, has to grow to handle the amount of data that is being thrown at it. Over time, the enlargement of the corpus callosum allows musicians to process more data faster than non musicians. This is why the majority of doctors and CEO’s, who have to process a lot of information fast, were musicians.

Music Increases Attendance and Graduation
Musicians have the highest attendance rate and graduation rate of any group in the district. It is not because they are the “good kids,” it’s because their brains work differently. Music is the core subject that all other subjects sit atop of.
Districts with music programs have:

An average graduation rate of 90.2%, compared to a 72.9% rate found in schools without music programs.
An attendance rate of 93.3%, compared to 84.9% in schools without them.
A reduction in disciplinary infractions of 3.6%

Music Benefits Academic Outcomes

Music students:

Are shown to be one academic year ahead of their peers in math, science, and English.
Consistently score higher in math and verbal skills because the "transferable skills" of pattern recognition and auditory processing apply directly to literacy and logic.
Score an average of 15% higher on standardized tests than their peers.
Score 53 points higher in Verbal and 39 points higher in Math on the SAT.
Have lower rates of substance abuse, and higher self-esteem than their peers.

Low-income music students:

Stay on track with reading at grade level; improved sound processing erases the "poverty signature" on the brain.
Are twice as likely to score at high levels in mathematics compared to their peers who are not involved in music.

Music Is Key to ASD Goals and Policies

Music education:

Addresses the ASD 2028 Goal for math and reading proficiency.
Promotes high attendance which is a critical "leading indicator" for school funding and state reporting.
Meets the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Federal law defines music as a core subject within a "well-rounded education." and ensures Directors of ASD stay compliant with federal standards to protect Title I and other federal funding streams.
Develops the "foundational capacities" (collaboration, resilience, and executive function) that the ASD Board defines as its "College, Career, and Life Ready" goal.