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Top Ten Lists 2000

Top Ten Lists 1999

Top Ten for Directors

Top Ten for Parents

Top Ten for Students

Top Ten for Administrators

Top Ten for Everyone

Top Ten Advocacy Quotes

Top Ten for 2000

1. In a 1995 study in Hamilton, Ohio, string students who participated in pullout lessons averaged higher scores than the non-pullout students in all areas of the Ohio Proficiency Test. Sixty-eight (68) percent of the string students achieved satisfactory ratings on all sections of the test, compared to fifty-eight (58) percent of the non-pullout students.

- Michael D. Wallick, “A Comparison Study of the Ohio Proficiency Test Results Between Fourth-Grade String Pullout Students and Those of Matched Ability,” Journal of Research in Music Education, 1998.

2. According to a 2000 survey, eighty-one (81) percent of people responding believe that

participating in school music corresponds with better grades and test scores. This is an

3. More music teachers are role models for minority students than teachers of any other

subject. Thirty-six (36) percent of surveyed minority students identified music teachers as their

role models, compared to twenty-eight (28) percent for English teachers, eleven (11) percent

- “Music teachers as role models for African-American students,” Journal of Research in Music Educa-

4. Only thirty-one (31) percent of teenagers and adults in a 2000 survey who do not play an

- Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music Conference, 2000.

5. Researchers at the University of California and the Niigata Brain Research Institute in Japan

have found an area of the brain that is activated only when reading musical scores.

- “Musical Brain – Special Brain Area Found for Reading Music Scores,” NeuroReport, 1998.

6. In the 1998 federal study Gaining the Arts Advantage, music teachers in many of the

strongest arts programs nationwide are encouraged by their schools to perform in their

- Gaining the Arts Advantage, The President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1998.

7. Ninety-two (92) percent of people who play an instrument say they were glad they learned

- Gallup Poll Shows Strong Support for Putting Music in Every School’s Curriculum, Giles Communications, 2000.

8. In academic situations, students in music programs are less likely to draw unfounded

9. The scores of elementary instrumental music students on standardized math tests increased

10. Nine out of ten adults and teenagers who play instruments agree that music making brings

1. In a 2000 survey, 73 percent of respondents agree that teens who play an instrument are

- Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music

2. Students who can perform complex rhythms can also make faster and more precise

corrections in many academic and physical situations, according to the Center for

- Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary role in human intellectual development, Center for Timing,

3. A ten-year study indicates that students who study music achieve higher test scores,

4. A 1997 study of elementary students in an arts-based program concluded that students’

5. First-grade students who had daily music instruction scored higher on creativity tests than a

- K.L. Wolff, The Effects of General Music Education on the Academeic Achievement, Perceptual-Motor Development, Creative Thinking, and School Attendance of First-Grade Children, 1992.

6. In a Scottish study, one group of elementary students received musical training, while

another other group received an equal amount of discussion skills training. After six (6)

months, the students in the music group achieved a significant increase in reading test scores,

7. According to a 1991 study, students in schools with arts-focused curriculums reported

significantly more positive perceptions about their academic abilities than students in a

8. Students who are rhythmically skilled also tend to better plan, sequence, and coordinate

9. In a 1999 Columbia University study, students in the arts are found to be more cooperative

with teachers and peers, more self-confident, and better able to express their ideas. These

10. College admissions officers continue to cite participation in music as an important factor in

making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time

- Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The Associated Press, October, 1999.

1. A 2000 Georgia Tech study indicates that a student who participates in at least one college

elective music course is 4.5 times more likely to stay in college than the general student popu-

- Dr. Denise C. Gardner, Effects of Music Courses on Retention, Georgia Tech, 2000.

2. On the 1999 SAT, music students continued to outperform their non-arts peers, scoring 61

points higher on the verbal portion and 42 points higher on the math portion of the exam.

- Steven M. Demorest and Steven J. Morrison, “Does Music Make You Smarter?,” Music Educators Jour-

3. Students who participate in All-State ensembles consistently score over 200 points higher

on the SAT than non-music students. This figure indicates that students can pursue excellence

4. Students with good rhythmic performance ability can more easily detect and differentiate

- “Rhythm seen as key to man’s evolutionary development,” TCAMS Professional Resource Center, 2000.

5. Students in arts programs are more likely to try new things, and they can better express their

- Champions of Change, the President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1999.

6. College students majoring in music achieve scores higher than students of all other majors

- Carl Hartman, “Arts May Improve Students’ Grades,” The Associated Press, October, 1999.

7. Music students demonstrate less test anxiety and performance anxiety than students who do

- “College-Age Musicians Emotionally Healthier than Non-Musician Counterparts,” Houston Chronicle,

8. The average scores achieved by music students on the 1999 SAT increased for every year

- Steven M. Demorest and Steven J. Morrison, “Does Music Make You Smarter?,” Music Educators Jour-

9. A majority of the engineers and technical designers in Silicon Valley are also practicing

- The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools, Center for the

10. Nine out of ten people with instrumental music experience are glad that they have learned

1. A group of second grade students in inner-city Los Angeles received piano training twice a

week, and they used specialized computer software that related the piano lessons to math con-

cepts. On standardized math tests, fifty (50) percent of the second graders scored as well as

fifth grade students in affluent Orange County, California. The scores of the entire second

2. In a 2000 Gallup Poll, seventy-five (75) percent of respondents believe learning a musical

instrument helps students do better in other subjects, such as math and science.

- Gallup Poll Shows Strong Support for Putting Music in Every School’s Curriculum, Giles Communica-

3. Second and third grade students who were taught fractions through musical rhythms scored

one hundred (100) percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional

- “Rhythm Students Learn Fractions More Easily,” Neurological Research, March 15, 1999

4. Students involved in arts programs had significantly higher class attendance rates than a

5. Classroom teachers in Rhode Island noted improved behavior and attitudes among a test

6. More than nine out of ten people believe that schools should offer musical instruction as part

- Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music

7. Teachers in schools with strong arts programs report greater professional interest, motiva-

8. States should mandate music education for all students, according to seventy-eight (78) per-

9. Ninth grade students in a Chicago arts program achieved reading scores that were a full

grade level higher than students not in the program. All other variables, including race, gender,

10. When faced with a problem to solve, students in music and the arts produce more possible

solutions, and their solutions are more creative, according to a nationwide study.

- N. M. Weinberger, “Arts Education Enhances ‘Real Life’ Personal Skills,” MuSICA Research Notes,

1. “During the Gulf War, the few opportunities I had for relaxation I always listened to music, and it brought me great peace of mind. I have shared my love of music with people throughout this world, while listening to the drums and special instruments of the Far East, Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Far North, and all of this started with the music appreciation course that I was taught in a third-grade elementary class in Princeton, New Jersey. What a tragedy it would be if we lived in a world where music was not taught to children.”

2. “Music is exciting. It is thrilling to be sitting in a group of musicians playing (more or less) the

same piece of music. You are part of a great, powerful, vibrant entity. And nothing beats the

feeling you get when you've practiced a difficult section over and over and finally get it right.

(yes, even on the wood block.) Music is important. It says things you heart can't say any other

way, and in a language everyone speaks. Music crosses borders, turns smiles into frowns, and

vice versa. These observations are shared with a hope: that, when schools cut back on music

classes, they really think about what they're doing - and don't take music for granted.”

3. “In every successful business…there is one budget line that never gets cut. It’s called

‘Product Development’ – and it’s the key to any company’s future growth. Music education

is critical to the product development of this nation’s most important resource – our children.”

4. “The things I learned from my experience in music in school are discipline, perseverance,

dependability, composure, courage and pride in results. . . Not a bad preparation for the

5. “Music is an essential part of everything we do. Like puppetry, music has an abstract quality

which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul.”

6. “Should we not be putting all our emphasis on reading, writing and math? The ‘back-to-basics curricula,’ while it has merit, ignores the most urgent void in our present system – absence of self-discipline. The arts, inspiring – indeed requiring – self-discipline, may be more ‘basic’ to our nation survival than traditional credit courses. Presently, we are spending 29 times more on science than on the arts, and the result so far is worldwide intellectual embarrassment.”

7. “It's [music education] terribly important, extremely important -- because when you are a

child, you are in a receptive age ... In high schools, public schools -- that's where they must

have the best influence, the first influence, which will go through their whole life.”

8. “It is our job, as parents, educators, and friends, to see that our young people have the

opportunity to attain the thorough education that will prepare them for the future. Much of that

education takes place in the classroom. We must encourage our youngsters in such pursuits as

music education. In addition to learning the valuable lesson that it takes hard work to achieve

success, no matter what the arena, music education can provide students with a strong sense

of determination, improved communication skills, and a host of other qualities essential for

- Edward H. Rensi – President and Chief Operation Officer, U.S.A. McDonald's Corporation

9. “A grounding in the arts will help our children to see; to bring a uniquely human perspective

to science and technology. In short, it will help them as they grow smarter to also grow wiser.”

10. “Some people think music education is a privilege, but I think it’s essential to being

1. Ninety-five (95) percent of people responding to a 2000 Gallup Poll believe that

- Gallup Poll Shows Strong Support for Putting Music in Every School’s Curriculum, Giles

2. Practicing musicians demonstrate 25 percent more brain activity than non-musicians when

3. In a 1998 study, retirees who participated in group keyboard lessons reported

decreased anxiety, decreased depression, and decreased loneliness when compared to a

- Scientific Study Indicates That Making Music Makes the Elderly Healthier, American Music Confer-

4. People who participate in the arts live longer than others, according to a Swedish study.

5. At-risk children participating in an arts program that includes music show significant

increases in self-concept, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale.

- Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts, Auburn University,

6. Martin Gardiner of Brown University tracked the criminal records of Rhode Island residents

from birth through age 30, and he concluded the more a resident was involved in music, the

- “Music Linked to Reduced Criminality,” MuSICA Research Notes, Winter 2000.

7. The part of the brain responsible for planning, foresight, and coordination is substantially

8. Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and

life-long use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among any group in our society.

9. In a French study, the use of melodies was shown to stimulate speech recovery in stroke

10. Taking a music elective course is a better indicator that a student will stay in college than

- Dr. Denise C. Gardner, Effect of Music Courses On Retention, Georgia Tech, 2000.

1. The 1997 Gallup Survey on Americans’ attitudes toward music revealed that eighty-six

percent (86%) of adults agree that all schools should offer instrumental music as part of the

regular curriculum. The same percentage endorses community financial support for school

2. Students with coursework/experience in music performance scored 52 points higher on the

verbal portion of the SAT and 36 points higher on the math portion than students with no

3. A 1985 study by Edward Kvet showed that student absence from class to study a musical instrument does not result in lower academic achievement. He found no difference in academic achievement between sixth grade students who were excused from class for instrumental study and those who were not, matching variables of sex, race, IQ, cumulative achievement, school attended, and classroom teacher.

- Cutietta, Hamann, and Walker, Spin-Ofs: The Extra-Musical Advantages of a Musical Education, United Musical Instruments U.S.A., Inc., 1995.

4. Researchers at the University of California - Irvine report that second-grade students given

four months of piano keyboard training, as well as time playing with newly designed computer

software, scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than other children.

5. The nation’s top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair

weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st Century.

- “The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education,” Business Week, October 1996.

6. A study of 811 high school students indicated that the percentage of minority students with a

music teacher role model was significantly higher than for teachers of any other discipline.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of these students identified music teachers as their role model,

compared to 28% English teachers, 11% elementary teachers, and 7% physical education/

- D.L. Hamann and L.M. Walker, “Music Teachers as Role Models for African-American Students,” Journal of Research in Music Education, 1993.

7. Longer arts study means higher SAT scores. Students participating in arts courses for two

years averaged 29 points higher on the verbal portion and 18 points higher on the math portion

of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Students with four or

more years in the arts scored 57 points higher and 19 points higher on the verbal and math

8. Admissions officers at 70 percent of the nation’s major universities have stated that high

school credit and achievement in the arts are significant considerations for admission to thier

9. In a study of approximately 7,500 students at a medium-size university between 1983 and

1988, music and music education majors had the highest reading scores of any students on campus, including those majoring in English, biology, chemistry, and mathematics.

- Peter H. Wood, “The Comparative Aademic Abilities of Students in Education and in Other Areas of a Multi-focus University,” ERIC Document Number ED327480.

10. Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medial school

applicants. He found that sixty- six percent (66%) of music majors who applied to medical

school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. Forty-four percent (44%) of bio-

1. Music — specifically song — is one of the best training grounds for babies learning to recognize the tones that add up to spoken language.

2. Researchers at the University of Muenster in Germany have discovered that music lessons in

childhood actually enlarge parts of the brain. An area used to analyze the pitch of a musical

note is enlarged 25% in musicians compared to people who have never played an instrument.

The earlier the musicians were when they started musical training, the bigger this area of the

3. A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reports that music training

(specifically piano instruction) is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing

- Dr. Frances Rauscher and Dr. Gordon Shaw, Neurological Research, University of California at Irvine, February, 1997.

4. Studying music strengthens students’ academic performance. Studies have indicated that sequential, skill-building instruction in art and music integrated with the rest of the curriculum can greatly improve children’s performance in reading and math.

- Martin Gardiner, Alan Fox, Faith Knowles, and Donna Jeffrey, “Learning Improved by Arts Training,” Nature, May 23, 1996.

5. There is a very high correlation between positive self-perception, high cognitive competence

scores, healthy self-esteem, total interest, school involvement, and the study of music.

- O.F. Lillemyr, “Achievement Motivation as a Factor in Self-Perception,” Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities.

6. On the basis of observations and experiments with newborns, neuroscientists now know that infants are born with neural mechanisms devoted exclusively to music. Studies show that early and ongoing musical training helps organize and develop children’s brains.

- Susan Black, “The Musical Mind,” The American School Board Journal, January, 1997.

7. Research shows when a child listens to classical music the right hemisphere of the brain is

activated, but when a child studies a musical instrument both left and right hemispheres of the

brain “light up.” Significantly, the areas that become activated are the same areas that are

8. Courses in music, as well as in art and drama, positively influenced the decisions of high

- N.H. Barry, J.A. Taylor, and K. Walls, “The Role of the Fine and Performing Arts in High School Dropout

9. The U.S. Department of Education recommends that middle/junior high school students

take courses in the arts, stating “Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a

valuable experience that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world

around them. It is well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to

- “Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years,” U.S. Department of Education, 1997.

10. College admissions officers give special consideration to students who have mastered the

- Thomas C. Duffy, “Can Colleges Help School Fine Arts Programs?” Connecticut Music Educators Association News.

1. Surveys show that a majority of parents believes the arts are as important as reading,

writing, math, science, history, or geography. Most parents want their children to have more

2. Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools who were given an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the music program who had started out behind the control group achieved statistical equality in reading and pulled ahead in math.

3. Over nine in ten adults (93%) surveyed agree that music is part of a well-rounded education.

4. The Kettle Moraine school district in Wales, Wisconsin is requiring piano lessons for all K-5 pupils after seeing encouraging results from a district pilot program. District officials based their pilot program on research findings that show music training - specifically piano instruction - is far superior to computer instruction in enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills.

5. The arts are recognized as a core subject in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act approved by both houses of Congress in 1994.

6. A two-year Swiss study involving 1,200 children in 50 schools showed that students involved in the music program were better at languages, learned to read more easily, showed an improved social climate, demonstrated more enjoyment in school, and had a lower stress level than non-music students.

7. Research shows when the arts are included in a student’s curriculum, reading, writing, and

- J. Buchen Milley, A. Oderlund, and J. Mortarotti, “The Arts: An Essential Ingredient in Education,” The California Council of the Fine Arts Deans.

8. The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students

- Academic Preparation for College: What Students Should Know and Be Able to Do, The College Board.

9. When researchers analyzed the NELS:88 database of the U.S. Department of Education,

which tracked 25,000 students over a ten-year period, they discovered that students who

were involved in music scored higher on standardized tests and reading tests than students not

taking music courses. This finding was consistent for students of all socioeconomic

10. School districts with strong arts education programs report that superintendents and school

principals who collectively support and regularly articulate a vision for arts education are

critically important to the successful implementation and stability of district arts education

- Gaining the Arts Advantage, The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 1999.

1. “Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective.”

2. “Perhaps we’ve all misunderstood the reason we learn music, and all the arts in the first place. It is not only so a student can learn the clarinet, or another student can take an acting lesson. It is that for hundreds of years it has been known that teaching the arts, along with history and math and biology, helps create the well-rounded mind that western civilization, and America, have been grounded on.”

3. “Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”

4. “Our society is committing cultural genocide. When the economy tightens and school bud-

gets shrink, programs in music and the other arts are most often the first to be cut back or even

totally eliminated from the curriculum. This deprives children of a unique opportunity to

develop their creativity, learn self-discipline and teamwork, and increase their sense of self-

worth. It strikes me as being supremely ironic that today, we still have to try to make the case

- Michael Greene, President of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences

5. “I believe arts education in music, theater, dance and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. They [children] have an enthusiasm for life, a spark of creativity, and vivid imaginations that need training...training that prepares them to become confident young men and women.”

6. “While most of us will never sing like Aretha Franklin or Celine Dion, an education in the arts can help all of us reach our individual dreams. Research now shows that music education not only lifts our children’s hearts, but also dramatically increases their abstract reasoning, spatial skills, and their scores on math and verbal exams. At a time when too many arts education programs are the first to be cut and the last to be added, all of us must send a clear message. When it comes to igniting our children’s ability to learn and imagine, the arts must be just as central to our children’s education as the three R’s.”

7. “The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading, writing, and arithmetic...music, dance, painting, and theater are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment.”

8. “I have a premonition that one day we will soon wake up...to the realization that stripping

instrumental music from our elementary schools was a true blunder of twentieth century

9. “Whoever has skill in music is of good temperament and fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools.”

10. “Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them — a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.”

1. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania School District analyzed its 1997 dropout rate in terms of students’ musical experience. Students with no ensemble performance experience had a dropout rate of 7.4 percent. Students with one to two years of ensemble experience had a dropout rate of 1 percent, and those with three or more years of performance experience had a dropout rate of 0.0 percent.

- Eleanor Chute, “Music and Art Lessons Do More Than Complement Three R’s,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 13, 1998.

2. Two research projects have found that music training - specifically piano instruction - can

dramatically enhance children’s spatial-temporal reasoning skills, the skills crucial for greater

3. School leaders affirm that the single most critical factor in sustaining arts education in their schools is the active involvement of influential segments of the community. These community members help shape and implement the policies and programs of the district.

- Gaining the Arts Advantage, The President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities, 1999.

4. Students with band and orchestra experience attend college at a rate twice the national average.

5. Music students out-perform non-music on achievement tests in reading and math. Skills such as reading, anticipating, memory, listening, forecasting, recall, and concentration are developed in musical performance, and these skills are valuable to students in math, reading, and science.

- B. Friedman, “An Evaluation of the Achievement in Reading and Arithmetic of Pupils in Elementary

6. One in three of today’s school-aged children will hold an arts-related job at some time in his

7. The College Board, in a publication about college admissions, states, “preparation in the

arts will be valuable to college entrants whatever their intended field of study.”

- Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need To Know and Be Able To Do, The College

8. Music therapists working with Alzheimer’s patients have found that rhythmic interaction or

listening to music resulted in decreased agitation, increased focus and concentration, enhanced

ability to respond verbally and behaviorally, elimination of demented speech, improved ability

- Carol Prickett and Randall Moore, “The Use of Music to Aid Memory of Alzheimer’s Patients,” Journal of Music Therapy, 1991.

9. Medical researchers have reported that subjects lowered bother their systolic and diastolic

blood pressure as much as five points (mm/Hg) and reduced heart rates by four to five beats

per minute following music listening sessions. People with high blood pressure can help keep

their blood pressure down by listening to tapes of relaxing low frequency music in the morning

- Tony Wigram, “The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Low Frequency Sound and Music,” Music Therapy Perspectives, 1995.

10. A 1997 Gallup Survey on Americans’ attitudes toward music revealed that 89% of

respondents believe music helps a child’s overall development, and 93% believe that music is

New Survey Of Americans Indicates Broad Support But Little Action On Behalf Of Arts

CARLSBAD, Calif.–According to a new nationwide survey conducted by the Gallup Organization, more than nine in ten Americans believe music education should be a part of every student’s day. In fact, more than three-quarters of the people questioned feel that states should mandate it. "American Attitudes Toward Music," conducted for NAMM — International Music Products Association, also found that active music making takes place in half the homes in America. Music participation and support for school music education are both significantly stronger than in an identical poll conducted in 1997. Another significant finding is the sharp increase in the number of people who believe music education helps students succeed in other academic areas. "The results of this national survey leave no doubt that Americans feel strongly about music," says NAMM President and CEO Larry Linkin. "It’s especially dramatic to see the growing clamor for music education in our schools."

Among more than 1,500 people surveyed, 95 percent stated that they feel music is part of a well-rounded education (up from 90 percent in 1997), 93 percent feel schools should offer musical instruction as part of the regular curriculum (up from 88 percent), and 78 percent (up from 70 percent) feel states should mandate music education for all students. Among respondents who said they currently play a musical instrument, 92 percent feel that music is a very important part of their lives, 92 percent said that music brings the family together and 92 percent said learning to play an instrument was something they were always glad they’d learned. Even among non-players, only 31 percent said they feel they’re too old to start learning. Recent scientific findings about the broad benefits of music education have had an effect on people’s attitudes. Eighty-one percent of respondents said they feel participating in school music corresponds with better grades and test scores, up sharply from 69 percent in 1997. Seventy-five percent said they believe learning a musical instrument helps students do better in other subjects such as math and science, and 73 percent said they believe teens who play an instrument are less likely to have discipline problems.

The 1997 study took place just as the new wave of music research was beginning to build. Since then, scientists in a variety of disciplines have published findings that reinforce the value of music education — not only for its own sake, but as a key to intellectual development, physical wellness, and improved academic grades across the curriculum.

For example, researchers at Michigan State University, led by Dr. Frederick Tims, have found that making music improves the health of the elderly. At a Miami Veterans Administration hospital, Tims also found that group music therapy raised the levels of important neural hormones in Alzheimer’s disease patients. A study from the University of California at Irvine led by Dr. Gordon Shaw found that elementary school students at the 95th Street School in Los Angeles who took piano lessons boosted their math performance. In fact, the same researchers who conducted the 95th Street study have also found that the neural firing patterns at the most basic level of brain activity seem to resemble the patterns in music.

The survey found that 50 percent of households have one person age five or older who currently plays a musical instrument, up from 38 percent in 1997. Forty percent of households have two or more persons who play a musical instrument, up from 34 percent in 1997. In all, 53 percent of households own a musical instrument, up from 43 percent. Participation in various musical activities is up as well from three years ago: private lessons (from 18 to 21 percent of households that report at least one person participating), school instrumental programs (from 23 to 29 percent) and other types of instrumental music programs(from 7 to 11 percent) are all more popular than before.

The survey consisted of 1504 telephone interviews with participants aged 12 or older from February 5 through 28, 2000. By gender, respondents were 57 percent female and 43 percent male; 21 percent were students; 62 percent were over age 35, with 29 percent aged 18-34 and 9 percent aged 12-17. College graduates made up 64 percent of the people surveyed. Fifty-five percent of respondents reported a household income of less than $45,000. "Across this country, families, voters and school boards are facing tough choices," says Linkin.

"For some time, researchers have made the case that music has a place in every person’s life. Now, we know the people of America feel the same way. We’ll work hard to translate these sentiments into concrete change."

After decades of pummeling by Proposition 13, theater, music and drawing are slowly returning to the schoolroom. But educators face new hurdles, including a lack of qualified teachers.

Gregory Lawrence Jefferson was a fifth-grader at Daniel Webster Elementary in Pasadena when he heard the sound that changed his life. After the Pasadena Symphonyplayed at his school, the kids were invited to try the various instruments. "I was the one who picked up the flute," he says. "It was like a spark." He talked his parents into buying him one, started band and orchestra classes, and "things just took off from there." Jefferson, now 24 and a renowned classical flutist who has performed worldwide and with singers ranging from Luciano Pavarotti to Diana Ross, says he was lucky to get a taste of the arts when he did: Not long afterward, school programs were radically cut back.

The arts have long struggled to hold their place in schools. But now, after years of being battered by funding crunches and a back-to-basics movement, they are beginning to return to classrooms alongside reading, writing and arithmetic. While some are ready to declare a renaissance in arts education, others are more cautious. They see frustratingly uneven progress. But clearly change is taking place.

* The State Board of Education in January adopted standards that for the first time spell out what students need to know to develop and demonstrate literacy in dance, music, theater and the visual arts, just as in languages, math, science, history and social science. Though short of a mandate, it is a step toward integrating the arts into the public schools' core curriculum.

* Admissions requirements at the state's public universities are being amended to require more arts instruction in high school.

* In February, the state PTA launched "SMARTS: Bring Back the Arts," an awareness and advocacy campaign targeted at legislators, school boards, media and parents with a goal of seeing that every public school student gets quality arts education from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Last October the 1.8 million-member organization adopted arts education as its top priority.

* Statewide, 211 school districts have received a total of $6 million in California

Department of Education grants, seed money to help them start implementing effective

* A 10-year Arts Education Plan adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District in

1999 recognizes the "powerful role" of the arts in education and has as a primary goal

that every graduating senior will be proficient in one art form and have an overview of

* Last week, the L.A. school board gave final approval to an $18.6-million budget for

arts education, up $5 million from last year. "We fought for it," school board president

Caprice Young said. "It was controversial because the superintendent did not initially

Despite signs of a revival, there are significant issues confronting the integration of the

arts into curriculum. Some educators worry that the growing focus on learning that can be

measured solely by standardized tests presents a threat to subjects in which assessment is

more subjective. And, pressed to meet testing goals, schools may well continue to give

short shrift to the arts in favor of subjects that produce hard numbers. Other issues range

from a shortage of qualified teachers to ongoing financial pressures on schools.

"It's going to be a long haul before we have universal acceptance, but I think we're on the

road to arts education for every child," said Don Doyle, arts consultant at the state

Department of Education. "We have moved from the doldrums of the '80s and early '90s

Current developments are in stark contrast to the dark days for the arts in schools, a

decline that began after passage in 1978 of Proposition 13, the property tax freeze. The

freeze sapped funding to schools and, in the scramble for dollars, the arts were seen as

frills. Schools cut programs, sold band instruments and gave pink slips to art and music

For many schools, arts education turned into a 20-year hit-or-miss proposition, a legacy

not easily reversed. But arts organizations, parents groups and educators who have been

fighting to bring back the arts feel they have won a crucial victory: a change in attitude

about the importance of the arts in their own right and about their ability to foster

As school board president Young puts it: "If you have a kid who's stood up in front of a

crowd and sung, or painted a picture and shared it with classmates, that's a kid who's a

courageous learner, someone who's not afraid to dive in, ask probing questions and

A national survey conducted in February by Americans for the Arts, a New York [City]-

based arts advocacy organization, found that 91% of adults think the arts are vital to a

well-rounded education for children, 95% agree that the arts teach creativity and self-

expression and 89% think arts education is important enough to be included in the

curriculum. In October, the group will launch a national public service campaign to

Among factors seen as influencing thinking about the arts is the emergence of studies

finding links between music and, say, math reasoning. The studies and the relentless

efforts by arts advocates, who even when the arts lost a formal place in the classroom

found a way to get them in, have combined to catch the attention of policy makers.

In endorsing the new state standards, Delaine Eastin, state superintendent of public

instruction, said that students must be prepared to fill the increasing number of arts-

related jobs in California. The entertainment industry contributes more than $25 billion to

This school year, about one-fourth of [Los Angeles Unified School District’s] 400

elementary schools will have a prototype arts program--music, dance, theater, visual arts. In middle schools, there are arts specialists in place, but programs vary widely. Richard Burrows, who joined LAUSD last year in the new position of director of arts education, says having state standards is "a remarkable step forward ... We are at a watershed moment." He sees L.A. schools as beginning "an intensive journey" toward arts education for every child in the 730,000-student district. The $5-million increase in the district's arts budget, though still a small part of the overall budget, will enable schools to hire additional arts staff, acquire textbooks and other resource materials and to enhance and expand its development program for professionals. Other California school districts are experiencing what Ella Steinberg, director of visual and performing arts for San Diego Unified, calls a "bit by bit" comeback after "a big decline."

Jim Thomas, visual and performing arts coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education, says seven of the county's 27 school districts, together serving most of the county's 495,000 students, have a strong commitment to K-12 arts programs and have hired arts coordinators. In other districts, the quality of programming varies, with "concentrations of arts" here and there. Two schools with intense concentrations are the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, which opened on the Cal State Los Angeles campus in 1985 and has 500 students and a waiting list, and the Orange County High School for the Arts, founded in 1987 at Los Alamitos High School and which moved last year to a site in Santa Ana. Each is open to students who have demonstrated exceptional talent.

In many districts, in-school programs presented in partnership with arts institutions and

community groups have been an important component in keeping arts education alive.

When cutbacks came, L.A.'s Music Center, art museums and theaters brought the arts to

hundreds of thousands of children who otherwise would have had no exposure. In Orange

And, even in the leanest years, the arts had a powerful ally in the PTA. Said state PTA

president Jan Harp Domene, "We felt very strongly that if we brought arts back to our

schools, it would give kids a reason to get up in the morning. Some kids need to have that

The PTA cites statistics such as a study by the College Entrance Examination Board

showing that students with four years of arts education outperformed peers with no arts

education or arts work experience on the SAT--by 59 points on the verbal and 44 points

A UC Irvine study found that preschoolers who took eight months of keyboard lessons

significant increases in self-concept among at-risk children participating in an arts

The recent Harvard Project Zero of Boston College and Harvard Graduate School of

Education, found three areas with a reliable causal link between arts education and

classroom drama and verbal skills. The survey looked at almost 12,000 published and

unpublished studies and suggests that correlations between excellence in other subjects

Further, the study warns, arts education should not be justified "in terms of what the arts

can do for mathematics or reading." That, it says, is a "double-edged sword"--the arts

Last spring, the first countywide study of the state of arts education in Los Angeles

County schools, Arts in Focus, found a reality gap between how people assess the

Commissioned by Arts for L.A., a coalition of arts leaders advocating public support of

the arts, it was based on interviews with officials of 80 of the county's 82 school districts.

Laura Zucker, executive director of L.A. County Arts Commission, one of the study

funders, said: "One hundred percent of the people interviewed believe that arts education

is important. What that says is that we've won the battle. Everyone's with us now on the

importance issue. But there's a gulf between the belief and the implementation."

Other findings: A shortage of qualified arts teachers, with one arts specialist for every

1,200 students countywide; no real incentives to develop sequential systems; and lack of

Few of the county's school districts reported that they are implementing the Department

of Education's framework and standards. "There's nothing about them that's mandatory,

and they do not come with any resources for implementation," Zucker said. "There is not

The good news: The survey found that the county's five most populous school districts--

The Arts Commission has just brought on board a director of arts education programs

who will work with a counterpart at the County Department of Education to help schools

"It's definitely not hand-wringing time," Zucker said. "The pendulum is swinging back,

but it's not going to keep swinging on its own momentum." The pattern has been that

when educators who are passionate about the arts leave, the arts leave with them. Zucker

wants to see arts education institutionalized "so the next time the pendulum is getting

The new admissions criteria at the UC and California State University systems may add

stability. Now high school students can choose between one year of arts or foreign

By 2004, graduates will need at least one year in a single arts discipline to get into the

At one time, the arts were a dumping ground for students, said Larry Peeno, deputy

executive director of the National Art Education Assn., a visual arts teachers' group based

in Reston, Va. The attitude was, "Give us your poor and downtrodden and we will make

them artists. I think the arts community in the public schools has learned that that's not a

He said, "We were drawing on cave walls 9,000 years before we were writing on them.

We feel that children who come to school on the first day, regardless of their socio-economic background, bring with them innate skills that more closely resemble art,music and P.E. than they do reading, writing and arithmetic. But it's ground out of them by third grade. The curriculum drives creativity underground."

Still, Peeno said, 15 years ago, one or two states had a fine-arts requirement for

graduation; now 30 do. Asked if there is cause for optimism, Peeno laughed and said,

Gai Jones of El Dorado High in Placentia heads the California Educational Theater Assn.,

an organization of theater education advocates. "Our big push," she said, is to get theater

teachers credentialed. Of course, proper theaters in all schools would be nice too. Right

now, she said, it "varies from the multipurpose room to a 1,200-seat auditorium to a room

The payoff for her, as a teacher, is when everything comes together and "the magic

finally works." One magic moment was the school's spring production of "The Diviners,"

in which there is a drowning scene, an illusion that had to be created without water.

"The kids that designed the lighting and ran the light board and the kids that ran the

sound and the actors worked so closely together. Just to see the smile that crosses a

theater kid's face when he's accomplished something he didn't think he could do," is

Jones remembers too a "wonderful, positive kid" who was a student in the '70s and

played the mother abbess in "The Sound of Music." Deborah Voigt is now a Metropolitan

John Larrieu, executive director of the California Assn. for Music Education, a public

school teachers' organization, said there has been a resurgence of music education. "Our

biggest problem is that the teachers are not coming out of school. There was a good

period of time after Proposition 13 when people didn't major in music education."

The result? "A very serious shortage of music teachers. Our job site is listing 50 or 60

openings that haven't been filled for this year." On the positive side, he said, orchestral

programs are making a comeback, and "there's a lot of interest in electronic music, which

is a credit course in many schools, and a lot of multicultural focus in California. Mariachi

He is hopeful that the new UC and Cal State admissions standards will boost arts

education but knows that when schools have options, "they have a tendency to offer the

classes that cost the least money, like drawing. Music classes are notoriously more

The executive director of the National Assn. for Music Education, John Mahlmann, sees

the state of music education as better than a decade ago "but still threatened. We're

regaining lost ground. I'm not so sure we're better off than we were 20 years ago."

His organization is a consultant to "Sesame Street," which is planning programming to

expose young TV viewers to music. Overall, he describes the status of music in the

Donna Banning, president of the California Art Education Assn., an organization of

teachers and parents promoting arts in the schools, said arts teachers are a "graying

population" and wonders if there will be a cadre of qualified arts teachers in the future.

Many artists, who might in another era have earned an education credential, have for

"Since Proposition 13, we now have teachers in the elementary schools who have never

had art in their own lives. There is no longer a requirement for elementary teachers to

take a music or arts education class in our state universities. They don't have the skills.

Banning, who has taught for 31 years at El Modena High School in Orange, would like

too to see credentialing of theater and dance teachers. "Right now we have theater as part

of language arts. Teachers can get a credential and never have theater arts. And dance is

part of P.E. There are lots of 'walk-on' dance teachers" going from school to school.

She speaks of the thrill of seeing students "find that art is where they want to be" and

going on to become artists. But she also mentions a special-ed student who came to her

ceramics class as a shy ninth-grader and went on to be her teaching assistant, to mentor

Although the state has set standards for arts education, the Legislature has not wanted to

mandate assessment. "To be perfectly frank, we're really in the beginning stages of

determining what would be appropriate to assess," said Doyle of the state Department of

Education. To encourage districts to self-assess, the department, in cooperation with 30

National and state standards notwithstanding, Doyle acknowledged that "if it's not tested,

it's not taught. It's not on the radar screen for some people. Those test scores for math and

reading, there's big dollars attached" for districts. "There are no such rewards right now

professional organization of superintendents of education in the 50 states, believes the

Specifically, he points to President Bush's proposal, now before Congress, to require

states to test all children in grades three through eight in math and reading, and how such

Philip sees arts education today as a victim of "benign neglect. There's no conspiracy out

there to diminish arts education. It's just that people are frying other fish. I think we're in

In Los Angeles, said school board president Young, "one of the advantages we have is

Flutist Jefferson, who got his start at Webster Elementary, went on to L.A. High School

for the Arts and won honors in the Music Center's Spotlight competition, is among those

His talent has taken him before audiences large and small. He has played before former

President and Barbara Bush, in Japan and China and for kids in inner-city classrooms.

"The arts are our culture," he said. "It's so important for kids to be exposed at a young

age. If I had not been, who I am now and what I'd be doing would be very, very different,

The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President Bush in January, 2002.

There you have it. The arts are on equal footing with the subjects that have been

traditionally considered the “core” subjects. This definition is tucked away in the

glossary, and policy makers may not notice it there. It is our responsibility as arts

educators and advocates to make it known to the decision-makers at our state and local

levels that according to federal law the arts are a CORE subject, eligible for federal

The No Child Left Behind Act requires each state to determine its own standards and

assessments for school subjects. States are currently working to implement “challenging

academic standards” for content and achievement in math and reading. Science standards

must be in place by the 2005-06 school year, and states must have yearly assessments in

math and reading for grades 3-8 starting in 2005-06. Beginning in 2007-08, science

assessments must be in place for grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. States also have the

There is a flurry of planning going on right now at the state level. The decisions that are

currently being made will shape the educational system for the next several years. By

organizations have the opportunity to make the arts an important part of education in

schools throughout our states. President Bush and Congress, through the No Child Left

Behind Act, have given us this great opportunity by designating the arts as a core subject,

However, if we allow our state planners to set the standards and assessments for math,

reading, science, and possibly other subjects without our input, the arts could be left

behind for the next decade or so in our schools. Right now, while the states are planning

standards and assessments, and even after the planning and during the implementation of

these new guidelines, our input determines the status of arts education in our schools.

(www.artsusa.org/pdf/no_subject_left_behind.pdf). The excerpt suggests ideas we can

offer to state planners, and it also provides ways to contact the decision-makers in our

states. I also suggest that you contact the representatives of your state Music Education

Association (MEA). Make sure that they are familiar with the No Child Left Behind Act

and with the opportunities it gives to arts educators. You can find your state MEA

officers and links to most MEA websites at (www.menc.org/connect/stateinf.html).

From the standpoint of arts, the plans present many opportunities. At a minimum, arts

- Include the arts, as appropriate, in both the content standards and assessments in math,

reading, and science. Also encourage states to consider assessments in the arts.

To find the status of arts standards and assessments in your state, visit the Arts Education

arts.org/policysearch/searchengine). Also learn more about: the national math standards

(http://www.nap.edu/books/0309053269/html/index.html); and the national language arts

This type of assessment requires the ability to solve problems and think critically,

abilities that arts education fosters. Examples may be found in the 1997 National

Assessment of Education Progress in the Arts (http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/arts).

- Recognize arts education as one of the many viable strategies for whole school reform.

schools.org/index.htm), initiated by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.

One resource for school-based programs that involve the community can be found at the

The Kennedy Center’s Alliance for Arts Education Network has an online tool titled “A

Community Audit for Arts Education: Better Schools, Better Skills, Better Communities”

state to state, in most states it will be driven by four main people: the governor, and the

heads of the state department of education, Title I, and the state board of education. Find

State Boards of Education – (http://www.ibiblio.org/cisco/schoolhouse/schools/boards/)

A federal guide to the “No Child Left Behind Act” is at (www.nochildleftbehind.gov).

One of the best resources about the “No Child Left Behind Act” for arts educators is the

guide “No Subject Left Behind” available at (www.artsusa.org/pdf/no_subject_left_behind.pdf)

Is there such a thing as kids who actually want to go to school on snow days? At Adams

Elementary School in Hamilton, Ohio, there are parents and teachers who will proudly

Children at Adams experience the arts as part of each of their core subjects – math,

science, language arts, and social studies. They also participate in a class in each of four

art disciplines – visual art, music, dance, and drama – every week, taught by a certified

arts instructor. Teachers work together on lesson plans so concepts learned in both arts

and non-arts classes are coordinated and reinforce each other. SPECTRA+ brings the

“When the children at Adams are learning about George and Martha Washington in

social studies, they’re also learning the minuet in dance,” says Kathy Leist, the principal

at Adams for eight years who now serves as director of continuous improvement for the

Hamilton school district. “In second grade, the children are learning U.S. geography in

social studies and singing the states of the union in music.” The result is kids who love

Rediscover The Arts – was developed by Hamilton’s Fitton Center for the Creative Arts.

The Hamilton school district provides basic funding for SPECTRA+. Fitton provides

training for school staff, some financial resources, and administrative support. Schools in

SPECTRA+ grew out of a cultural action plan instituted during Hamilton’s bicentennial.

The first goal was to build an arts center – the Fitton Center – then to build an arts-in-

education program for children. The partnership that ensued included the Ohio Arts

“One of the values of integrating art into the curriculum is it gives children multiple

opportunities to learn a concept,” says Jackie Quay, who administers SPECTRA+ for the

Fitton Center. In other words, if children aren’t learning a concept through one

experience, they’ll learn it through another. Children have a better chance to “get” a