Research validates the role of the arts

Numerous studies document the ways in which the arts boost student achievement:

• Taking piano lessons improves specific math skills in elementary school children, according to a study by UC Irvine researchers. Piano instruction is believed to enhance the brain's "hard-wiring" for temporal reasoning the ability to visualize and transform objects in space and time. Music specifically helps with fractions and proportional math.
• Regardless of socioeconomic background, students who make music get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music involvement, according to a UCLA study.
• According to the College Board, SAT scores in 2001 were 57 points higher on the verbal portion and 41 points higher on the math portion for students who studied the arts for more than four years.
• Middle and high school students who participate in instrumental music programs score significantly higher in standardized tests, according to university studies in Georgia and Texas.
• The arts connect students to themselves and to one another, transform the environment for learning, provide new challenges for students already considered successful and reach students who are not otherwise being reached, according to researchers from Harvard, Stanford and UCLA. They also reinforce positive social behavior by promoting confidence, self-control and teamwork.
• Music training helps underachievers, according to Rhode Island researchers, and motivates them to go to school.
• Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs among any group in society, reports the Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
• Certain forms of arts instruction enhance basic reading instruction aimed at helping children "break the phonetic code" that unlocks written language.
• Business Week reports that the nation's top business executives agree that arts educations programs can help repair weaknesses in education and better prepare workers for the future