IMPROVED TEST SCORES: 

A study published in 2007 by Christopher Johnson, professor of
music education and music therapy at the University of Kansas,
revealed that students in elementary schools with superior
music education programs scored around 22 percent higher
in English and 20 percent higher inmath scores on standardized
tests, compared to schools with low-quality music programs,
regardless of socioeconomic disparities among the schools or
school districts. Johnson comparesthe concentration that music
training requires to the focus needed to perform well on a
standardized test.

Aside from test score results, Johnson’s study highlights the
positive effects that a quality music education can have on a
young child’s success. Luehrisen explains this psychological
phenomenonin two sentences: “Schools that have rigorous
programs and high-quality music and arts teachers probably
have high-quality teachers in other areas. If you have an
environment where there are a lot of people doing creative,
smart, great things, joyful things, even people who aren’t doing
that have a tendency to go up and do better.”