The Intrinsic and Extrinsic Value of Instrumental Music Instruction on Standardized
Mathematics and Reading Scores of Third-Grade Students
Colleen Rigot
May 2004
The purpose of this study was to determine if third-grade students who attended string
instruction in a pull-out program from academic studies for sixty minutes a week would
show any measurable gains in reading and mathematics scores on standardized testing
(based on scores from the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) in grade two
compared to scores from the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) in grade three). This
study involved use of a pre-post causal comparative design to compare MSA reading and
mathematics normal curve equivalent (NCE) scores of students from two groups over a
one-year period with CTBS scores from the previous year. Achievement gains of
students involved in the string program were greater than those of non-string students,
although the difference was not statistically significant. Research in areas related to the
impact of arts instruction on student achievement should be ongoing as the arts continue
to defend their place in the core curriculum of schools.