The present study employed population-level educational records from 4 public school student cohorts (n ϭ 112,916; Grades 7-12) in British Columbia (Canada) to examine relationships between music education (any participation, type of participation, music achievement, and engagement level) and mathematics and science achievement in Grade 10 as well as English achievement in Grades 10 and 12, while controlling for language/cultural background, Grade 7 academic achievement, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Music participation was related to higher scores on all 4 subjects and these relationships were stronger for instrumental music than vocal music (Cohen's d range: .28 to .44 [small-medium effect sizes] and .05 to .13 [null-small effect sizes]). School music achievement positively related to scores on all subjects; such relationships were stronger for achievement in instrumental music compared with vocal music. Higher levels of music engagement (number of courses) was related to higher exam scores on all subjects; this pattern was more pronounced for very high engagement in instrumental music (d range: .37 to .55; medium effect sizes) compared with vocal music (d range: .11 to .26; small effect sizes). The effect sizes of these group differences are greater than the effect sizes corresponding to average annual gains of students' academic achievement during high school-in other words, highly engaged instrumental music students were, on average, academically over 1 year ahead of their peers. The findings suggest that multiyear engagement in music, especially instrumental music, may benefit high school academic achievement. Findings and implications are discussed within the broader interdisciplinary literature on music learning.
Educational Impact and Implications StatementThis large-scale study identified evidence of positive relationships between school music participation and high school exam scores in English, mathematics, and science using population-level educational records for over 110,000 students in British Columbia, Canada. Participation in school music (especially instrumental music) was related to higher exam scores, and students with higher levels of school music engagement had higher exam scores. The positive relationships between music engagement and academic achievement were independent of students' previous (Grade 7) achievement, sex, cultural background, and neighborhood socioeconomic status, and were of considerable magnitude: The group differences observed in our study were greater than average annual gains in academic achievement during high school. In other words, students highly engaged in music were, on average, academically over 1 year ahead of the peers not engaged in school music. In light of this study (the largest of its kind to date), as well as supporting evidence suggesting music learning in childhood may foster competencies (e.g., executive functioning) that support academic achievement, educators may consider the potential positive influence of school music on students' high sc...
