Advocacy

Infographic about the importance of Music []

Why Music? Why Band? [] An open letter from Keynotes! Using Music to Close the Academic Gap []

Jack Stamp explain how music demands perfection. Enjoy! media type="file" key="_Jack_Stamp_-_Why_Music_Matters.mp3" align="center" width="240" height="20"


 * Speech by Karl Paulnack of Boston Conservatory ** []

Florida Arts Education Data and Student Achievement A new study of the Florida 2007-2008 12th Grade Cohort, consisting of 188,859 students, illustrates a powerful correlation between participation in fine arts courses, higher academic success in the classroom, and higher scores on the FCAT. This Florida Department of Education data, analyzed by a researcher at Florida State University, shows that student indicators of success increase for students in direct correlation to the number of years in which a student is enrolled in school dance, music, theatre, and visual art courses.

Shows Consistent Patterns

The Florida data show consistent patterns of correlation that are present across all measures:

􀂃 For all students: the more music and arts classes taken, the higher the student achievement in such measures as graduation rate, GPA, FCAT, and the SAT. 􀂃 For students on free and reduced lunch: the more music and arts classes taken, the higher the student achievement in all measures. 􀂃 For students of all ethnicities: the more music and arts classes taken, the higher the student achievement in all measures. 􀂃 The more arts classes taken, the less likely a student is to dropout of high school. ** Benefits All Students – Not Just Talented ** The frequent perception is that only “artistically talented” students join arts classes and these students tend to score consistently well on academic assessments. However, these data encompass all students in the identified 12th grade cohort and include expanded cultural and academic demographics; the data show that participation in school arts activities can benefit ALL students, not just the “talented.” While the correlation of music to academic success has been provided before, this Florida data reinforces that dance, music, theater, and visual art education have a broad positive effect across races and socio-economic levels. To view the data, please visit: [] To view presentations summarizing this data, please visit: Music-specific: [] Visual Art-specific: []