Imagine a school system where the teaching of a core subject such as English or math has been completely removed. Now imagine being told it was because they wanted to use the money elsewhere. Sounds pretty weird, right? However, since 2008, 80 percent of the budgets in US school districts have been cut, and according to US News Weekly, one of the first things to be removed are music programs. As of recently, there has been a remarkable amount of debate about whether or not it is beneficial to have music education programs in public schools. Many believe it would be more beneficial to take these programs out of public schools to save money and use it elsewhere. However, music education programs should not only be kept in schools, but the music programs should be made more rigorous starting early on in a student’s life. This is because of three things: music teaches students skills that can be applied to other subjects, students in music programs scores higher on standardized tests and get better grades, and music is an escape for many students.

Music education programs should be kept in school for many reasons, the first reason being that students who have taken part in music education programs can use the skills gained from music and apply it to other aspects of their education. One skill that music greatly impacts is reading, “The combined results of 30 studies indicate that music instruction is linked to significantly improved reading skills.” (Standley) Also, “Researchers have found a correlation between three or more years of instrumental music training and enhanced auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, vocabulary, and nonverbal reasoning.” Another skill positively affected by music study is math. “The combined results of 12 experimental studies indicate a positive relationship between voluntary music study and math achievement.” (Vaughn)

Another reason why music education programs should be kept in our schools is because students who participate in it are more likely to get good grades and score higher on standardized tests. “a ten-year study, which tracked over 25,000 middle and high school students, showed that students in music classes receive higher scores on standardized tests than students with little to no musical involvement. The musical students scored, on average, sixty-three points higher on the verbal section and forty-four points higher on the math sections of the SATs than non-music students.” (Judson) Schools get funded based on how well their students do on standardized testing. With that being said, why are we trying to get rid of something that will not only help our students graduate but provide the schools with more money? “Schools that have music programs have significantly higher graduation rates than do those without music programs (90.2 percent as compared to 72.9 percent).”

Finally, music programs should be kept in schools because for a lot of people, music is used as an escape. “Music is effective for relaxation and stress management...Researchers at Stanford University (press release 2006) have said that ‘listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication.’ They noted that music is something that almost anybody can access and makes it an easy stress reduction tool.” (UNR) To take a logical standpoint, we simply cannot get rid of music education because music is just as important as any other activity that students take part in. To take away music education programs from students, especially those who have already enjoyed participating in them, and not take away other activities such as football, basketball, baseball, art, etc. would be depriving a group of students of enjoying what they love. And if students enjoy music so much that it helps them relieve stress, why should we take it away from them if them having less stress makes them feel happier? Having happier students means that students are more likely to learn better, why take that away?

Music is a very important factor in our everyday lives, and it should continue to be an important factor in our educational systems. Music programs don’t only provide a wide range of skills that can be applied to other areas of school and life, but it helps get better grades, higher test scores, and more people to graduation which gets the schools more money. We can’t get rid of music education program because it would be unfair to deprive only some students of doing what they love and it would be unfair to take something away that can help people cope with everyday stress. Long story short, music education programs need to be in schools because they are helping us, not hurting us.

Works Cited
Judson, Ellen. “The Importance of Music.” Music Empowers Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May. 2015.
Kalivretenos, Alexis. "The Importance of Music Education."TheHumanist.com. N.p., 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 May 2015.
"All Research." – National Association for Music Education (NAfME). National Association for Music Education, 2015. Web. 20 May 2015.
Standley, J. M. "Does Music Instruction Help Children Learn to Read? Evidence of a Meta-Analysis." N.p., 2008. Web. 20 May 2015.
Forgeard, M. "Practicing a Musical Instrument during Childhood Is Associated with Enhanced Verbal Ability and Nonverbal Reasoning." N.p., 2008. Web. 20 May 2015.
Vaughn, K. "Music and Mathematics: Modest Support for the Oft-claimed Realtionship." N.p., 2000. Web. 20 May 2015.
"Virtual Relaxation Room." Releasing Stress Through the Power of Music. University of Nevada, Reno, n.d. Web. 23 May 2015.