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In recent years, researchers have looked carefully into the correlation between studying music and intelligence. Although we believe that music is a core subject, and that students should have the opportunity to learn music for its own sake, mounting evidence proves the many additional benefits of a robust music education.
A study published in September 2006 in the scientific journal Brain indicates that young children who received a year of musical training showed improvements in math, IQ, and literacy as well as superior memory when compared with children who did not receive the instruction.1 The College Entrance Examination Board reports that students of the arts scored an average of 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the SAT and 41 points higher on the math portion of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.2
Music education has benefits that reach well into adulthood too. The National Center on Education and the Economy’s 2007 report states, “The arts will be an indispensable foundation for everything that comes after for most members of the workforce.”