Worldwide Music Progams and Science Scores

Excerpts from an article by James R. Ponter, appearing; in the February, 1999 issue of the NASSP (National Association of; Secondary School Principals) Bulletin.
: Comparing School Music Programs and
Science Test Scores of Countries Worldwide; Nations whose students consistently outperform the United States; in tests assessing science achievement are the countries where; music is a primary focus of the curriculum. Test results cited in; the 1983 report A Nation at Risk showed the United States trailing; badly behind other countries in mathematics and science. A 1988; test of the International Association for the Evaluation of; Educational Achievement (IAEEA) ranked the United States; fourteenth among 17 countries on an instrument testing science; achievement of eighth and ninth graders (AAAS, 1989). Our; students' scores compared favorably with those of Thailand and; Singapore, while trailing far behind Poland, Italy, Korea, English-; speaking Canada, and every other participating country, with the; exception of the Philippines and Hong Kong.; This report was among the catalysts for the many reform efforts of; the '80s and '90s. In New Jersey, these reforms included the; Governor's Statewide Systemic Initiative, Core Course; Proficiencies, the Core Curriculum Content Standards, and the; Academy for the Improvement of Teaching. These actions were; accompanied by a flurry of legislative initiatives aimed at; tightening the requirements for obtaining and retaining teaching; and administrative certification.; Trampled in the stampede toward technology in the classroom, one; of the most neglected reforms has been a serious examination of; the influence of the arts on academic achievement, particularly; upon achievement in mathematics and science. In conjunction; with recent work in cognitive psychology regarding the; relationship between music and academic achievement, it is; enlightening to examine the status of music in the curricula of; those countries whose students consistently outpace our students in; mathematics and science. The top-performing students on the; 1988 IAEEA Test in science were the eighth and ninth graders; from Hungary, followed by those from the Netherlands and Japan.; WHAT ARE OTHER COUNTRIES DOING?; If we examine the top three ranked countries on the 1988 test, we; see some fascinating parallels between academic achievement and; music education. In a 1988 study cited by Frank Hodsoll,; Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, he noted that in; grades 1-6, the Japanese require two class periods per week [of; music]. Music includes singing, instrumental performance, and; appreciation of both western and Japanese music. At middle level,; students learn to sing in choruses and play instruments in; ensembles (DOE 1987).; In Dutch secondary schools, music and art became mandatory; subjects in 1968, and compulsory examinations in these subjects; were implemented in 1976 (Netherlands National Institute for; Educational Measurement).; In Hungary, the land of Bela Bartok and Franz List, with its; number one ranking in science achievement for eighth and ninth; graders, music education has long been an essential and; developmental program implemented nationally by the composer; Zoltan Kodaly. Both voice and instrumental training twice a week; are compulsory throughout the first eight years of schooling.; The centrality of music education to learning in the top-ranked; countries seems to contradict the United States' focus on math,; science, vocabulary, and technology. Yet, we continue to; emphasize the need for computers in every classroom, and more of; the same academic emphasis.; MUSIC AND THE BRAIN; According to Howard Gardner, musicians follow a progression of; notes, a very sequential left brain process; seeing patterns in the; construction of phrases, seeing the whole for expressive phrasing; and interpretations, and dealing with rhythmic patterns, on the; other hand, are very right-brain skills. Additionally, mathematical; abilities involved in timing, counting, and the symbolic encoding; of time and sound involve abstract and spatial reasoning.; All this brain activity must be consummated in the form of precise; fine motor skills. Beyond all other musical activities, the playing; of stringed instruments without keys or frets involves the; estimation of decreasing distances down the finger board for; accurate intonation.; Bowing technique requires the cultivation of an intuitive sense for; velocity and acceleration that may later become codified in the; symbolic language of calculus.; Because it draws on so many different attributes, music develops; flexibility in thinking. Musical training is an effective way, not; only to enhance the conceptual-holistic-creative thinking process, but; also to assist in the melding and merging of the mind's capabilities.; Although most musical capabilities seem to be represented initially in; the right hemisphere, as an individual becomes more skilled,; capabilities that were housed in the right hemisphere are found; increasingly in the left. It appears that, with musical training, a; significant proportion of skills migrate across the corups callosum; into the linguistically dominant left hemisphere (Gardner, 1984).; DOES MUSIC MAKE YOU SMARTER?; The mental flexibility that is developed by the study of music is; reflected in industrial applications. One of the most innovative; and entrepreneurial centers of U.S. commerce is the Silicon; Valley of California. Grant Venerable, in "The Paradox of the; Silicon Savior," says: "One of the most striking facts in Silicon; Valley industry is that the very best engineers and technical; designers are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians"; (1989).; Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate; majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66 percent of; music majors who applied to medical school were admitted. This; was the highest of any group, while only 44 percent of the; biochemistry majors were admitted (1994).; The research emerging from the cognitive sciences gives us useful; information to explain the connections between music and; learning. Technology allowing us to see the human brain in the; process of thinking shows us that when people listen to melodies; with a variety of pitch and timbre, the right hemisphere is; activated, as it is when one plays by ear or improvises. When; music is read, the player must understand key signatures, notation,; and other details of scores and follow the linear sequence of notes; activating the left hemisphere in the same area that is involved in; analytical and mathematical thinking (Dickinson, 1993). This; mental multi-tasking seems to enhance cognitive ability in; powerful ways that we must not ignore.; RE-THINKING AND ACTING; The studies cited here seem to present a compelling argument in; favor of the implementation of long-term developmental; instrumental music programs for all students, not just those; students with an obvious aptitude and interest. Music programs; should go beyond the scope of our present treatment of elementary; classroom music and should be centered on the mastery of musical; instruments including the voice and be aimed at solo and ensemble; performance. These programs should also include appreciation; and theoretical components for all students.; Source: James R. Ponter. "Academic Achievement and the Need; for a Comprehensive, Developmental Music Curriculum." NASSP; Bulletin. Vol. 83 No. 604, February 1999.; References:; American Association for the Advancement of Science. Science; for All Americans: A Project 2061 Report on Literacy Goals in; Science, Mathematics and Technology. Washington, D.C.:; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1989.; Dickinson, Dee. Music and the Mind. Seattle, Wash.: New; Horizons for Learning, 1993.; Gardner, Howard. Art, Mind and Brain - A Cognitive Approach to; Creativity. New York: Basic Books, 1984.; National Commission on Excellence in Education. A Nation at; Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. Washington, D.C.:; U.S. Government Printing Office, 1983.; Thomas, Lewis. "The Case for Music in Our Schools." Phi Delta; Kappan, February 1994.; U.S. Department of education. U.S. Study of Education in Japan.; Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, January; 1987.; Venerable, Grant. "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior." In The; Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of; the Public Schools. New York: The Center for the Arts in the; Basic Curriculum, 1989.