For years, we’ve heard that making music makes kids smarter. The latest proof of this comes from the UK and an interesting analysis done by Cambridge Assessment.
This new report found that the effect of taking music is equivalent to a sixth of a grade per qualification for students in comprehensive schools.
This roughly equates to a typical student getting one letter grade higher on one or two of their other subjects. So music raises their other scores by at least one letter grade. Wow!
The research was based on an analysis of Department for Education data relating to 478,085 students in England, and controlled for socio-economic factors such as whether the young person had received free school meals.
As well as GCSE music, the analysis also found a positive link between taking graded music exams – formal assessments of those learning a musical instrument, where grades are available from 1 to 8 – and GCSE attainment.
Tim Gill, the researcher who carried out the analysis, said the size of the academic effect associated with taking a music qualification was “not trivial”.
He said: “The results show that a comprehensive school student who typically takes nine GCSEs would expect to get a higher grade in one or two of their other subjects if they studied GCSE music, or a higher grade in at least three subjects if they achieved a graded music qualification at grade 4 or above.”
Music helps kids in SO many ways that’s difficult to count them all. MeloQuest’s Keys & Kingdoms gives kids a 1-2 punch of teaching REAL piano skills and making the lessons SO engaging that kids practice without being told and learn even more because THEY want to learn…
