The Effect of Music Education on the Resilience of At-Risk High School Students

The achievement gap is a contentious educational issue that is linked to the poor performance of at-risk students. In this study, at-risk students include those with Limited English Proficiency, low socioeconomic status, minority status, and adversary exceptionalities. Although at-risk students typically score below average, some students are resilient to these risks. Resilience is important because it can help raise academic achievement and reduce the achievement gap. This study quantitatively assesses the reading and GPA achievements of 5275 students in relation to music enrollment, to see if music participation is related to increased resilience. Descriptive analysis revealed gaps in achievements between at-risk and non-at-risk students. Graphs are used to show these gaps and their relationship to music enrollment. The results show that minority students and students of low socioeconomic status have higher scores when they are also enrolled in music. For example, the White-Hispanic achievement gap is reduced by almost 75% when Hispanic students take music courses. This suggests that music can play a role in increasing resilience in these groups of students. This research strengthens the need for music education as a means of increasing resilience, which is related to higher test scores and a smaller achievement gap.