Music Students Score Higher on SATS

In both verbal and math scores, high school student-musicians outpace peers. The College Entrance Examination Board reports, “Students of the arts continue to outperform their non-arts peers on the SAT(R). In 1998, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 52 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 37 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework/experience in the arts.” The 1996 report observed, “Those who studied the arts four or more years scored 59 points higher and 41 points higher on the verbal and math portions respectively than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.”

Reference: Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College Board, compiled by Music Educators National Conference, 1998, 1996.