IMPROVING MUSIC AND MATH SCORES
IN [Insert your school district here]
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1. PROJECT GOALS AND SCOPE
The goal of this project is to test out a promising approach for improving the test scores of our
students in math and music. We are requesting funding for each elementary school in our
district for a full-blown, [insert # of schools] campus demonstration project involving # music
teachers, # math teachers, and # students.
Music education has many side benefits that we believe [insert School District] can more fully
exploit. In previous studies around the country, music education has been found to have the
following synergistic benefits. Music students tend to:

Perform better in school by lengthened attention spans and sharpened listening skills.
Studies show that students who are involved with music fare better in mathematics,
science, and languages than their peers. Students involved with music also have higher
school attendance and graduation rates.

Develop Intellectually on both sides of the brain - not only the right or creative side by
stimulating imagination, but also the left or analytical side by promoting problem
solving and critical thinking. Students involved in music also have higher SAT scores.

Develop Faster Emotionally by tapping into moods, allowing for expression of feelings,
or offering relief from boredom or stress.

Learn Self-Discovery and develop self-esteem by allowing students to reveal talents of
which the teacher and the student may not be aware.

Broaden Friendships and Community by connecting with other students learning about
music - through an ensemble, a band, or simply through social networking.
In this project, we wish also to focus on the relation between music and math education.
Recently there has been a significant breakthrough in music education by a firm in Nashville,
Tennessee called QuaverMusic.com. This company has developed 21st Century teaching
resources that have been receiving rave reviews and winning nationally-recognized awards. The
program is being adopted by forward-thinking school districts, now in 39 states. Go to
QuaverMusic.com/ParentTeacher for a full description of the program and extensive
testimonials.
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The program is revolutionary because it uses integrated video and web-based resources to
equip teachers to teach students, providing a tool to facilitate the learning process. Over 30
fun-packed, high-energy DVD episodes cover Music Theory, Musical Instruments, Music History,
and Musical Styles. Additionally, this program offers options for our middle school students that
would facilitate a front-loaded classroom setting, allowing students to watch episodes at home
and come to class prepared to work, which would align with the laptop initiative our district has
invested in. The Teacher Guides offer many suggestions for developing a lesson plan and
emphasize Cross Curriculum Activities addressing Math, Science, Social Studies and the Arts.
The web based program supports the high-tech needs of teachers through over 150 interactive
whiteboards, over 400 musical tracks and scores, hundreds of printable activities, and a
Teacher Tool Box. The program also meets the needs of the students by providing an online
virtual world on a multi-media platform designed specifically to teach music in an engaging way
via games and creative activities that support higher level thinking skills. Quaver meets students
where they live – in the classroom and on the computer at home – making this a great
anywhere, anytime learning, too.
The goal of this project is to determine how effective this new educational paradigm is – not
only in our music classes but also the indirect impact on our math programs.
2. IDENTIFY LEARNING OBJECTIVES
As stated in our goals, we expect: (1) to elevate and significantly enhance the music programs
of [insert School District] , and (2) have a positive, if indirect, impact on math proficiency of our
students. We address math proficiency first in this section since the Grant Committee places
priority on funding math and reading improvement programs.
2.1 Common Core Math Practices
The Quaver Music program indirectly addresses each of the Common Core Math Practice
Standards, especially in Music Theory. The descriptions below are illustrative only since a
complete description would required many pages. Here are the eight Common Core Math
Practice Standards and how they relate to music education.

Make Sense of Problems and Persevere in Solving Them – Music is full of math
problems to be solved. From determining time signatures, to completing measures with
the right number of beats and note durations, to forming chords and even constructing
wave forms, students must look for entry points and where to begin to solve these
problems.
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
Reason Abstractly and Quantitatively – Many of the creative activities in music requires
abstract reasoning to determine melody lines as well as emotional swells and
quantitative reasoning to conform to the mathematical structures of music.

Construct Viable Arguments and Critique the Reasoning of Others – While music does
not address this math practice directly, students must learn how to listen and ask useful
questions. Students can also be asked about the meaning of different musical pieces
and have their reasoning critiqued by others.

Model With Mathematics – Music conforms basically to a mathematical model. This
model is characterized by a time signature, a key, note durations, intervals for chords,
and other quantitative relationships. Audio engineering and encoding music are also
highly dependent on math.

Use Appropriate Tools Strategically – There are multiple tools in music to compose
music, from piano players, to drum machines, to Garage Band type applications. There
are waveform generators and recording tools all available to teach students how to use
tools strategically. These tools will be available in the proposed program.

Attend To Precision – In performing music, precision is required, especially when in a
chorus or band. Music teaches rhythms and precision in working together. This
attention to detail is highly correlated with the attention to detail required in math.

Look For and Make Use of Structure – As stated earlier, music has structures in terms of
time signature, key, tempo, and dynamics. Students will learn to identify and use these
structures in classroom activities. Musical compositions also have structures in terms of
Verse and Chorus, Theme and Variation, and Rondo forms.

Look For and Express Regularity in Repeated Reasoning – Most musical pieces have
characteristics in common. Students are encouraged to identify the regularities such as
tempo, dynamics, beats per measure, and the like. These characteristics vary by musical
styles.
In sum, the links between math and music are very strong. And while Quaver’s Program is
specifically designed to improve music education, we believe it will also help with math skills.
And in this project, we will make sure to emphasize those components of music education that
promote the math practices defined in the Common Core. The students will see real examples
of math applied to one of their favorite pastimes – music. This will make math more meaningful
to them.
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2.2 National Teaching Standards for Music Education
There are also nine national standards in music education. The team at QuaverMusic.com has
developed an extensive crosswalk between these standards and the teaching resources
offered, since it is designed to improve music appreciation and test scores in music. The
crosswalk is described at www.QuaverMusic.com/ParentTeacher. Briefly, the crosswalk is as
follows:

Singing alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music – QuaverMusic.com has
hundreds of music tracks for students. An interactive whiteboard Karaoke application
lets students sing along. Multiple musical styles are provided, including hip-hop, rock,
and pop. They can learn phrasing, breathing, and posture.

Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music Quaver prints scores of works that students composed so that they can play them in
class. While the program does not teach individuals how to play instruments, it does
teach them all about the instruments.

Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments – QuaverMusic.com has
“creatives” for creating melodies on the piano, guitar, and a Garage Band-like loops
program called QGrooves. Students can write lyrics to their compositions as well.

Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines – QuaverMusic.com allows
compositions to be developed with different guidelines. QDo’s are classroom exercises
where the student has to complete a composition that has already been started.
Instructions are provided on how to complete the composition.

Reading and notating music – There are episodes on notation and reading music as well
as numerous class exercises on interactive whiteboards for doing so.

Listening to, analyzing, and describing music – QuaverMusic.com has a magical Metro
Station that transports students to famous musical venues that describe different styles
of music. Students can listen to, analyze and describe the music.

Evaluating music and music performances – The teacher helps students evaluate the
music and music performance. Quaver’s Program is not a curriculum but a massive set
of 21st Century Teaching Resources that the teacher can customize for his/her purposes.

Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside
the arts – Again, the program emphasizes cross-curricular activities. For example in the
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Music History series, the relationship between the Impressionist Period in music is and
the Impressionist Period in art is explored.

Understanding music in relation to history and culture – There is also a magical English
Phone Box at QuaverMusic.com that transports students back in time to over 15 venues
from cavemen beating on logs to Beethoven to Francis Scott key. History and culture are
stressed in the materials.
The end result is that the on and offline resources in Quaver’s Program are designed to achieve
the benefits of learning music as described in Section 1. Project Goals and Scope.
3. NEED FOR PROJECT
Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music is destined to become the gold standard for music
education. The program is strongly supported by the National Association for Music Education
and numerous prominent music teachers around the country. The program is replacing
textbooks as the medium to teach students music. Currently over 150 schools are basing their
music programs on Quaver’s Program even though it was just released in May 2011! There are
over 1,000 elementary and middle schools in 39 states actively considering Quaver for their
music program, trying to work out procurement issues.
Recently, a Middle School teacher in Illinois conducted a rudimentary test to determine how
well the Quaver episodes instruct the students.
He taught his students about verses, refrains, bridges, and interludes, as well as, forms – such
as the Rondo form. He explained the concepts on one day to three separate classes, and then
on the following day showed them Quaver’s Episode 16: Form. He gave a short test to his
students both before and after the video viewing.
The test scores before the video averaged around 60% retention and after the video – over
90%, a major improvement. This test was by no means scientifically rigorous, nor statistically
representative, but it proved that his students retained the Quaver material. When students
are having fun and are being entertained by the material, they retain it. In fact the students
wanted more. For further studies or to be connected with this educator, contact the Quaver
team at info@QuaverMusic.com
So Quaver’s Program will be a major boost to the music education program in the district as
well as have indirect beneficial effects on the learning of other subjects including math.
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Because the Committee is interested in math, we will make a special effort to measure the
effect on math scores as well as music scores.
4. COMMON ASSESSMENTS AND INSTRUMENTS
Quaver’s School Program consists of multi-media, state-of-the-art resources for teaching music
in the classroom. As mentioned, the resources include episodes of various subjects, web-based
classroom activities, and an online virtual world for students. The purpose of testing is to
determine to what extent the Quaver Resources improves learning music in the classroom and
also how well math skills are improved.
4.1 Research Questions






Do Quaver’s resources increase student retention in the classroom?
Do students like the Quaver approach more than their traditional program?
Are students more interested in music after experiencing Quaver?
Are there areas where the Quaver resources could be improved?
Do student test scores in math improve after receiving Quaver’s Program?
Do students see more reason for learning math after Quaver’s Program?
4.2 Research Variables
Certain variables need to be controlled for in order to ensure the results are representative for
other districts and schools. These variables include:




Grade Level of the Students (K through 6th)
Experience of the Teacher (Experienced with Computers/Limited Experience with
Computers)
Nature of Material Taught (Music vs. Math - Right brain or Left brain)
Existing Teaching Resources In School (Traditional/Enhanced)
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4.3 Research Design
The research will be ongoing, but there will be an intermediate testing to show preliminary
results.
Different types of material will be taught – lessons on music theory which emphasizes the math
(or left-brain) aspect of music and lessons on music history, instruments, and styles which
emphasizes the arts or right-brain) aspect. Initially we will focus just on Music History to
complement the Music Theory/Math.
The research design will consider the different levels of experience of the teachers with
computer learning.
To control for differences in the profile of the students, the demographic breakout of the
students needs to be considered.
All grade levels should be included in the design to see if the resource materials are more suited
to different grades.
Coordination with the teaching of math is essential to measure the impact of music on math
scores.
4.4 Test Procedures
Selected tests will be conducted during the course of the project to measure the impact of the
new program. For example, in one test, each teacher would teach two classes at the same
grade level for each lesson. The first lesson should be taught where Classroom A receives
Quaver’s Program and Classroom B does not. The teacher administers the test to each
classroom and compares the scores.
The second lesson will be taught where Classroom B receives Quaver’s Program and Classroom
A does not. This will control for the capability and interests of the students between classes.
Similarly the teacher then compares the scores.
It is critical that the material taught be that which would normally be taught in the school.
Quaver’s Program is a resource only and not a curriculum. If the test has questions not
specifically covered in Quaver’s Program, it is perfectly all right for the teacher to teach those
points as she sees fit as part of Quaver’s Program.
The test should have at least 15 questions (and preferably more) to measure the difference in
comprehension. It would be useful to test again at subsequent intervals to determine how
much of the material was retained.
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4.5 Data Instruments To Be Used
At the end of the teaching period, a simple survey questionnaire will be administered. The
Student Survey will have Yes/No answers and the Teacher survey will have open-ended
questions. Sample questions include:
Survey Instrument For Students
 Do you think you learned more with Quaver’s Program?
 Would you like your school to keep Quaver’s Program?
 Do you think you would be more interested in music with Quaver?
 Are you now more interested in learning to play a musical instrument?
 Do you appreciate the uses of math now more than before?
 Do you like math better now that you see how it goes with music?
 Would you like more music examples taught in your math class?
Survey Instrument For Teachers
 Were the Quaver Resources helpful to you? How?
 Were your students more involved when you used the Quaver Resources? Explain
 How did your students react to the math applications of the program? Explain
 Was your school properly equipped to use the Quaver resources? How?
 Have you received comments from parents about the program? Which Ones?
 What areas do you think could be improved in Quaver’s Program? List
Survey Instrument for Parents (Optional)
 Has your son or daughter talked to you about Quaver and QuaverMusic.com?
 Does your son or daughter seem more interested in music now?
 Have your son or daughter’s grades improved in math or music?
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6. Evaluation
In addition to the survey, the test scores of the students with and without Quaver will be
compared in each school. This provides a more statistically valid quantitative foundation for the
impact of the program. The test scores could also include grades awarded. Below is a simplified
report to be produced from the test results.
Music Theory
Grade Level: 1
Grade Level: 2
Grade Level: 3
Grade Level: 4
Grade Level: 5
Grade Level: 6
Grade Level: 7
Grade Level: 8
Quaver Score
Traditional Score
Difference
Percent Change
Music History
Grade Level: 1
Grade Level: 2
Grade Level: 3
Grade Level: 4
Grade Level: 5
Grade Level: 6
Grade Level: 7
Grade Level: 8
Quaver Score
Traditional Score
Difference
Percent Change
Basic Math
Grade Level: 1
Grade Level: 2
Grade Level: 3
Grade Level: 4
Grade Level: 5
Grade Level: 6
Grade Level: 7
Grade Level: 8
Quaver Score
Traditional Score
Difference
Percent Change
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The results of the surveys will be analyzed for both students and teachers and assessed for
statistical significance.
With permission, we will also send a survey home to the parents to see if the students are
mentioning their experiences at home and whether they are using QuaverMusic.com to explore
music.
5. DETAILED PROJECT TIMELINE
In this section we describe the tasks to be performed for the project. First, we describe the
project staffing.
5.1 Project Staffing
We have enlisted all music teachers in the district to participate in the project. The music
teachers include:

[Insert teachers and names of schools here]
In addition, if the project is approved, we will recruit one teacher in each school to represent
the math standards to be met and to help with the development of the tests to be
administered. To date, the following teachers have volunteered to be a part of this project.

[Insert teachers and names of schools here]
Finally, the team at QuaverMusic.com has offered to assist us should we have any questions or
concerns in the course of our project.
5.2 Project Tasks
The project will last from [Insert dates] with ongoing, annual application afterwards.
PHASE I: STARTUP – [Insert dates]
The startup phase has three principal tasks.
Task 1: Purchase and Install Quaver Program – A purchase order will be sent to
QuaverMusic.com Customer Service and the program mailed to us ASAP. Quaver personnel will
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show us how to install the web-based program on our system and provide the proper access
codes.
Task 2: Receive Instruction From Quaver Music – The QuaverMusic.com will provide all the
instructions we need to use the program effectively and offer customer service help where
needed.
Task 3: Finalize Research Design – Based on the feedback from the committee, we will adjust
the research design to make sure all concerns are addressed.
PHASE II: IMPLEMENTATION – [Insert dates]
Once the setup is complete we will be ready to start the program.
Task 1: Divide Classes Into Quaver and Non Quaver – this will be done in each school for
selected lessons. The classes will alternate for Music Theory and Music History. That is, one set
of classes will receive Quaver’s Program for Music Theory and the other set of classes for Music
History.
Task 2: Teach Music Theory Using and Not Using Quaver Resources – Each teacher will teach
the appropriate material to the selected classes in their schools. The experiment does not have
to last the entire two months but could last two to four weeks to obtain valid results. This way
the teachers would not have to prepare two entirely different lessons plans for the day for the
duration of the project.
Task 3: Teach Music History Using and Not Using Quaver Resources – Again, each teacher will
teach the appropriate material to the selected classes in their schools.
Task 4: Teach Some Aspect of Music Theory in Math Class – This will be done to see if the
students are more interested in math when the application of the material is tied to music and
also to determine if the students retain more from the lessons.
PHASE III: EVALUATION – [Insert dates]
After the teaching is completed, or during the teaching as appropriate, surveys and tests will be
administered.
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Task 1: Finalize Survey Instruments – We will make sure that the survey instruments are
understood by prospective students, teachers, and parents by testing them on a pilot group.
Task 2: Conduct Surveys – All the students will complete the survey in class. The teachers will
complete the survey and we will explore the best way to administer the survey to parents –
whether by sending the survey home or surveying parents during fall and spring conferences.
Task 3: Analyze Results and Report
All the results from the surveys and tests will be compiled, analyzed and presented in a Final
Report for the project. Recommendations will also be provided on the lessons learned.
6. ITEMS TO BE PURCHASED
The items to be purchased include the complete Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music Kit. The kit
consists of 15 DVDs with 30 episodes of 12 to 15 minutes in length. Also includes are detailed
Teacher Guides for each of the 30 lessons. The kit comes with a one-year free license to access
all 20 Online Quaver Classrooms – this is where we’ll find the interactive whiteboard activities,
Quaver quizzes, song tracks, and Teacher Toolbox materials. The annual license renewal fee is
$8 per episode classroom, or $240 per kit.
Also included is social media support where the teachers can interact on Facebook, Twitter, and
QuaverQmunity.com to share ideas with other teachers. The Quaver team will provide
customer support throughout the license period.
For a complete description go to www.quavermusic.com/parentteacher
[Insert # of kits] Quaver Kits @ $995 = #
Shipping
Total
$14.95 per kit = #
$#
($# per student)
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