Music Class Participation And The Academic Achievement Of Sixth Grade Students At Seymour Middle School PDF Download

This study examined whether or not students that participated in a school sponsored instrumental music program had higher academic achievement and attendance than students that did not participate in a school sponsor instrumental music program. Units of measurement included standardized test scores and attendance, without taking into consideration variables such as gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. This study concentrated on participants from three middle schools (6-8) and three high schools (9-12) in Baltimore County, Maryland. Data were gathered on Maryland School Assessment (MSA) and Maryland High School Assessment (HSA) scores and federally reported school attendance rates were accessed based on the 2007-2008 school year. Four research questions were investigated and six null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance. Independent samples t -tests were used to compare enrollment in instrumental music classes to student's academic achievement and attendance rate. There were statistically significant differences among the high school students enrolled in an instrumental music class and those that were not enrolled in instrumental music class on the English and algebra sections of the HSA, and in the attendance rates. The HSA scores of the students that were enrolled in an instrumental music class were significantly higher on both sections of the test. They also had significantly higher attendance rates than the students that were not enrolled in an instrumental music class. These findings suggest the high school students that participate in a school sponsored instrumental music program have higher academic achievement and attendance rates than high school students that do not participate in a school sponsored instrumental music program. The results of data analysis showed that in middle school there were no statistically significant differences among the students from the three middle schools that were enrolled in an instrumental music class and the middle school students that were not enrolled in an instrumental music class on the reading and mathematics sections of the MSA or in attendance rates. These findings suggest that participation in an instrumental music class on the middle school level had no significant impact on student achievement or attendance.