The Effect of Music Participation on Mathematical Achievement and Overall Academic Achievement of High School Students

During my research I stumbled upon a study that was conducted on high school students, comparing those with some music credits to those with none. The findings of this study was that no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups of students' mean math grade point averages (GPA) or their mean cumulative GPAs. Another study was conducted where students were then separated into two groups based on the number of music credits. Students who had earned at least two music credits per grade level were placed in Group A. This category included ninth graders with two or more music credits, tenth graders with four or more music credits, eleventh graders with six or more music credits, and twelfth graders with eight or more music credits. The remaining students were placed in Group B. The findings of this study indicated that students in Group A performed better than students in Group B. However, the differences were not statistically significant. This study did indicate a slight upward trend in GPAs as the number of music credits increased. Lower GPAs were nonexistent as the music credits increased.


Reference:

Cox, , H. A, and L. J.Stephens . "The effect of music participation on mathematical achievement and overall academic achievement of high school students ." International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology Volume 37, Number 7/(15 October 2006,on line date:Tuesday, November 07, 2006): 757-763.