Students Enrolled in Instrumental Music Have Higher ELA Test Scores Dr. Thomas Santone Music Teacher, Camden, NJ tsantone@camdencsn.org
In a 2018 study at a mid-sized public charter school in Camden, NJ, students enrolled in their instrumental music program were able to increase their PARCC ELA scores significantly when compared to students who were not enrolled in instrumental music. PARCC and NJ ASK scores from students who took instrumental music lessons were analyzed and compared to a randomized sample of the general population. It was found that there was no significant difference between the two groups in the ELA scores from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, but the students who began instrumental music lessons at the end of 5th grade and beginning of 6th grade scored significantly higher in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade PARCC tests when compared to a randomized sample of non-band students. Standardized testing data was analyzed from 2012-2017 where students enrolled in the instrumental band program were matched up with a randomized sample of non-music students. During their 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades (2012-2014), the students took the NJ ASK test. The state of New Jersey switched to the PARCC during the 2014-2015 school year, when the students were in the sixth grade. For the ELA portion of the NJ ASK during the students' 3rd, 4th and 5th grades, the band group and non-band group's scores were statistically equal (p<0.05). Students then had an option to join band. After taking instrumental music lessons for at least 8 months, PARCC ELA scores of the band students where statistically higher when compared to the randomized sample of non-music students. This statistical significance continued throughout the students' middle school experience. The connection between music, brain activity and language skills has been known to researchers for years now. Back in 1995 Peter Fox et al. studied brain activity on piano players while playing Bach’s “Italian Concerto” and two-handed scales. They report several regions of the brain are active during the performance. These are the left lateral cerebellum and the right supplementary motor areas, which are known as the auditory association areas in the right temporal cortex. With current technology, scientist have been able to take a closer look at the brain to see what brain functions are active while children are listening to and are playing music. Lehr (1998) writes that playing a musical instrument establishes more neural pathways in the brain. Because 80 to 90 percent of the brain's motor control capabilities regulate stimuli to and from the hands, mouth, and throat, playing a musical instrument at an early age can develop highly refined motor control and can stimulate almost the entire brain, increasing its total capabilities (Lehr, 1998). Lehr recommends introTEMPO
ducing the recorder by the second grade, and band instruments by the fourth grade to help facilitate this growth. Norman M. Weinberger, Ph.D., is a research professor and founder of University of California, Irvine's Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and of the Music and Science Information Computer Archive [MuSICA]. He has done extensive research in this area. Weinberger's (1998) research concludes that, "Learning and performing music actually exercise the brain - not merely by developing specific music skills, but also by strengthening the synapses between brain cells" (p. 38). Weinberger also lists the major functional brain systems that depend on this synaptic strength. These include: • The sensory and perceptual systems: auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic • The cognitive system: symbolic, linguistic and reading • Planning movements: fine and gross muscle action and coordination • Feedback and evaluation of actions • The motivational/hedonic (pleasure) system • Learning memory (Weinberger, 1998, p. 38) Weinberger (1998) also states that brain scans of students engaged in musical performance show that the entire cerebral cortex is active during the performance. The cerebral cortex is involved in many brain functions including memory, awareness, attention, thinking, language, and consciousness. If this is true, every student should be engaged in musical performance as part of class every day as a brain exercise, especially early in childhood, during pre-school years, when children are developing these brain functions. Weinberger concludes, "In short, making music actively engages the brain synapses, and there is good reason to believe that it increases the brain's capacity by increasing the strengths of connections among neurons" (p. 38) and "music making appears to be the most extensive exercise for brain cells and their synaptic interconnections" (p. 39). Wilfried Gruhn (2005), Emeritus Professor of Music Education, University of Music Freiburg, Germany, agrees with Weinberg, stating: "Music can stimulate the growth of brain structures and connects many activated brain areas" (p. 100).
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