Evidence overwhelmingly suggests, "making music makes better students". Research demonstrates music and art education improve student achievement, increase SAT scores, verbal and math skills, improves creative problem solving, team building, self-esteem, self-discipline, and other characteristics of good citizenship. Students involved with music education are less likely to join gangs, and more likely to graduate high school and go on to college. The issue is not music education, but whether we want to optimize our children's potential.

Nearly one in five American schools fails to offer music or art classes even once a week. -- The National Assessment of Educational Progress, Department of Education, The Texas Cultural Trust

Neurological Research, March 1999

Students who were exposed to the music-based lessons scored 100 percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. Second-grade and third-grade students were taught fractions in an untraditional manner -- by teaching them basic music rhythm notation. The group was taught about the relationships between eighth, quarter, half and whole notes. Their peers received traditional fraction instruction.

Music study can help kids understand advanced music concepts. A grasp of proportional math and fractions is a prerequisite to math at higher levels, and children who do not master these areas cannot understand more advanced math critical to high-tech fields. Music involves ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space and time. Second-grade students were given four months of piano keyboard training, as well as time using newly designed math software. The group scored over 27 percent higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children who used only the math software.

University of Central Florida

Young children with developed rhythm skills perform better academically in early school years. Findings of a recent study showed that there was a significant difference in the academic achievement levels of students classified according to rhythmic competency. Students who were achieving at academic expectation scored high on all rhythmic tasks, while many of those who scored lower on the rhythmic test achieved below academic expectation.
Source: "The Relationship between Rhythmic Competency and Academic Performance in First Grade Children," University of Central Florida, Debby Mitchell.