Statistics · Updated November 2, 2026

Music Education Statistics 2026

Includes Ofqual's 2026 music exam entries and the Census Bureau's 2023 data on children's lessons

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  • 36sources from 20 publishers
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Compiled by the House of Octave research desk from the Arts Education Data Project, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Ofqual data.

In the 2018-19 school year, 92% of U.S. public school students had access to music education, but only 48% took part, according to the Arts Education Data Project. In high school, just 18% were enrolled in a music course. In November 2024, 84% of public schools offered music as a standalone class.

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Key findings

  1. 92%

    In the 2018-19 school year, 92% of U.S. public school students had access to music education during the school day, according to the Arts Education Data Project's national status report.

    Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019: Analysis Metrics · 2018-19 data

    Details
  2. 3,609,698

    An estimated 3,609,698 U.S. public school students in 8,486 schools had no access to music education in the 2018-19 school year, according to the Arts Education Data Project's national projection.

    Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019: Analysis Metrics · 2018-19 data

    Details
  3. 84%

    In November 2024, 84% of U.S. public K-12 schools offered music as a standalone class during the regular school day, according to the National Endowment for the Arts' analysis of the NCES School Pulse Panel survey of principals.

    National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Education in U.S. Public Schools: Insights from the November 2024 School Pulse Panel Survey (NCES data) · 2024-25 data

    Details
  4. 48%

    In the 2018-19 school year, 48% of U.S. public school students participated in music education during the school day, according to the Arts Education Data Project.

    Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019: Analysis Metrics · 2018-19 data

    Details
  5. 18%

    In the 2018-19 school year, 18% of U.S. public high school students were enrolled in a music course, compared with 81% of elementary and 47% of middle school students, according to the Arts Education Data Project.

    Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019 summary · 2018-19 data

    Details
  6. 26.8%

    In 2023, 26.8% of the 50.2 million U.S. children aged 6 to 17 took lessons after school, such as music, dance or language lessons, according to the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation.

    U.S. Census Bureau, A Child's Day: Parental Interaction, Extracurricular Activities, and School Engagement: 2023 (P70-212) · 2023 data

    Details
  7. 43.7%

    In 2023-24, 43.7% of U.S. children aged 6 to 17 (about 21.4 million) took part in organized activities or lessons such as music, dance, language or other arts in the past 12 months, according to the National Survey of Children's Health.

    Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (HRSA MCHB), 2023-2024 National Survey of Children's Health interactive data query · 2023-24 data

    Details
  8. about 50%

    About 50% of secondary school students who engaged in music activities had dropped out by the time they turned 17, according to a 2021 longitudinal survival analysis of students in the UK and Germany published in PLOS ONE.

    Ruth and Mullensiefen (2021), Survival of musical activities. When do young people stop making music? PLOS ONE 16(11): e0259105 · 2015-2019 data

    Details
  9. 1 year ahead

    In the same 2020 British Columbia study, highly engaged instrumental music students were on average academically over 1 year ahead of their peers in exam scores, a comparison of groups that chose music, not a randomized test of music lessons.

    Guhn, Emerson and Gouzouasis, Journal of Educational Psychology 112(2), 2020 (ERIC record EJ1240937) · Grade 7 to 12 school records (published 2020) data

    Details
  10. 54 studies, 6,984 children

    A 2020 multilevel meta-analysis by Sala and Gobet in Memory & Cognition covered 54 studies with 6,984 children and found that once study design quality is controlled for, the overall effect of music training on cognitive skills and academic achievement is null; small effects appeared only in studies without random allocation and without active control groups.

    Sala and Gobet, Memory & Cognition 48, 2020 · 2020 data

    Details
  11. 4,635

    Provisional entries for A level music in England fell 4.9%, from 4,875 in summer 2025 to 4,635 in summer 2026, according to Ofqual.

    Ofqual, Provisional entries for GCSE, AS and A level: summer 2026 exam series · 2026 data

    Details

How many U.S. students have access to music education?

Most U.S. public school students attend a school that offers music, but millions do not. Gaps are widest in charter schools, high-poverty schools, city schools and small schools.

Percent of public school students with no access to music education, by school type, poverty level and locale, 2018-19 school year. Poverty is the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals (low under 25%, high over 75%). Source: Arts Education Data Project, National Arts Education Status Report 2019.
  • Charter schools 34%
  • Traditional public 6%
  • High-poverty 14%
  • Low-poverty 5%
  • City 13%
  • Suburb 5%
  • Town 8%
  • Rural 7%

Source: Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019 summary. Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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Charter schools34%
Traditional public6%
High-poverty14%
Low-poverty5%
City13%
Suburb5%
Town8%
Rural7%

Access means a student attends a school that offers at least one music course; it does not mean the student takes music (see participation below). The Arts Education Data Project (AEDP) figures count students, use 2018-19 course records from 17 states (18 million students), and project the no-access totals nationally. The NCES School Pulse Panel figures count schools, not students, and come from a November 2024 principal survey. The AEDP 2019 report, published in 2022, is the newest national student-level study.

How many students take music in school?

About half of U.S. public school students take a music class. Participation is near universal in elementary school, where many states require music, and drops sharply in high school, where music becomes an elective.

Percent of public school students enrolled in at least one music course, by school grade level, 2018-19 school year. Mixed schools span grade bands, such as K-8. Source: Arts Education Data Project, National Arts Education Status Report 2019.
  • Elementary 81%
  • Middle 47%
  • High 18%
  • Mixed 41%

Source: Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019 summary. Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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Elementary81%
Middle47%
High18%
Mixed41%

Participation counts students actually enrolled in a music course, which is lower than access. The AEDP website's metrics page gives 48% for music participation; the AEDP summary PDF rounds the same measure to 49%. NAEP figures are student self-reports for eighth-graders only. The 82% high school figure covers all fine arts, not music alone. State figures come from each state's own Arts Education Data Project or education department release; most states publish only in interactive dashboards, so only states with a quotable recent figure are listed.

How many U.S. schools offer music, and how has that changed?

Nearly every U.S. public elementary and secondary school offered music in the last federal survey of arts education, and access barely moved over the decade it covered. Schools serving the poorest students were the least likely to offer music and offered fewer music courses.

Percent of U.S. public schools offering music instruction, by level and survey year (elementary: instruction designated specifically for music during regular school hours). Source: NCES, Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools (NCES 2012-014).
  • Elementary 1999-2000 94%
  • Elementary 2009-10 94%
  • Secondary 1999-2000 90%
  • Secondary 2008-09 91%

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10 (NCES 2012-014). Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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Elementary 1999-200094%
Elementary 2009-1094%
Secondary 1999-200090%
Secondary 2008-0991%
Percent of U.S. public schools offering music, by share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (appendix table B-26a, figures 8 and 11)
Free/reduced lunch shareElementary 1999-2000Elementary 2009-10Secondary 1999-2000Secondary 2008-09
All schools94%94%90%91%
0 to 25%96%97%89%96%
26 to 50%98%97%94%95%
51 to 75%93%94%87%86%
76% or more87%89%89%81%

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10 (NCES 2012-014)

These are the most recent federal figures of their kind: NCES has not run its Fast Response Survey System arts survey since 2009-10. They measure schools that offer music (access), not the share of students enrolled. Secondary school course and staffing figures refer to 2008-09 because the fall 2009 survey asked about the previous school year. Poverty is measured by the share of a school's students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

How many music teachers are there?

Federal surveys count K-12 music teachers together with other arts teachers, so the national figure covers all arts. Music is the most consistently staffed arts subject in schools that offer it.

Percent of U.S. public schools offering each arts subject that had a full- or part-time teacher or specialist teaching it, November 2024. Source: National Endowment for the Arts analysis of the NCES School Pulse Panel.
  • Music 91%
  • Visual arts 88%
  • Media arts 76%
  • Drama/theater 72%
  • Dance 65%

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Education in U.S. Public Schools: Insights from the November 2024 School Pulse Panel Survey (NCES data). Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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Music91%
Visual arts88%
Media arts76%
Drama/theater72%
Dance65%

NCES teacher surveys group music with art, dance and drama as arts teachers, so no federal count of K-12 music teachers alone is published. The BLS figure covers college and university art, drama and music teachers only, not K-12 teachers. Tennessee's count is a state figure from course records.

What does the national music assessment show?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress tested U.S. eighth-graders in music in 2016, and the average score was not significantly different from 2008. Scores differed widely by gender, family income and race, and only a minority of students played in a school band or took private lessons.

Average NAEP music responding score of U.S. eighth-graders by student group, 2016 (0-300 scale; lunch eligibility = National School Lunch Program). Source: NCES, 2016 Arts Assessment summary data tables.
  • Female 155
  • Male 140
  • Asian/Pac. Islander 162
  • White 158
  • Hispanic 135
  • Black 129
  • Not lunch-eligible 160
  • Lunch-eligible 134

Source: NCES, 2016 Arts Assessment Report Card: Summary Data Tables (music, grade 8). Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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Female155
Male140
Asian/Pac. Islander162
White158
Hispanic135
Black129
Not lunch-eligible160
Lunch-eligible134

NAEP has not assessed music since 2016, so these are the newest national results. Scores are on a 0-300 scale and measure responding to music (listening, analysis, notation), not performing. Questionnaire results are percentages of students; the full-time specialist figure comes from school administrators and is reported as the share of students in schools that had one. NAEP results show associations, not causes.

How many children and adults take music lessons?

Many U.S. school-age children take after-school lessons such as music, dance or language, and children in higher-income families are about twice as likely to take them. Among adults, far fewer take music classes in a given year, though the share has risen since 2002.

Percent of U.S. adults who took music classes or lessons in the past 12 months, 2002-2022. Source: NEA, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (Table 18).
0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 2002 1.4% 2008 2012 2017 2022 3.8% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 2002 1.4% 2012 2022 3.8%

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, By All Means, the Arts: A Full Report of the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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20021.4%
20080.5%
20122%
20172.7%
20223.8%
Percent of U.S. children aged 6 to 17 who took lessons after school (music, dance, language, etc.), 2023
GroupTook lessons
All children 6 to 1726.8%
Ages 6 to 1127.7%
Ages 12 to 1725.9%
Family income below poverty15.3%
100 to 199% of poverty18.1%
200% of poverty or higher31.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, A Child's Day: Parental Interaction, Extracurricular Activities, and School Engagement: 2023 (P70-212), Table 2 and Figure 3

The two federal child surveys of after-school lessons, Census SIPP and the National Survey of Children's Health, do not count music on its own. Census SIPP asks whether a child takes lessons after school (music, dance, language and similar), while the National Survey of Children's Health asks about any other organized activities or lessons in the past 12 months (music, dance, language or other arts), a broader question, which is why its figure is higher. NEA adult figures cover classes or lessons taken in the past 12 months, not lessons ever taken.

When do students stop music lessons?

Long-term tracking of secondary school students finds that dropping out of music lessons and other music-making is uncommon before age 15 and then climbs steeply, with about half of musically active students stopping by 17. In the United States, only a minority of high school students take any band, choir or orchestra course.

Estimated share of musically active secondary school students still active, by age (Kaplan-Meier survival probability x 100), UK and Germany, 2015-2019. Source: Ruth and Mullensiefen (2021), PLOS ONE, Table 2.
0% 50% 100% 150% 10 100% 12 14 17 49% 0% 50% 100% 150% 10 100% 12 14 17 49%

Source: Ruth and Mullensiefen (2021), Survival of musical activities. When do young people stop making music? PLOS ONE 16(11): e0259105. Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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10100%
1198%
1294%
1392%
1491%
1586%
1672%
1749%

The dropout study followed students in the UK and Germany, not the United States, and was observational: it shows when students stop and which traits are associated with stopping, not what causes it. Dropout means a student reported none of five music activities (ensemble, playing with friends, playing at special occasions, group or individual lessons) in a year after reporting at least one. The sample skews young and only some students were tested more than once. The U.S. high school figure measures course enrollment, not quitting.

Do music students do better in school? What the research shows

Large observational studies find that students who take music score higher in school. Experiments that randomly assign children to music lessons find small effects or none, so the higher scores are not proof that music causes them.

  • 112,916 students

    A 2020 study in the Journal of Educational Psychology by Guhn, Emerson and Gouzouasis used population-level school records for 112,916 public school students in four cohorts (Grades 7 to 12) in British Columbia, Canada, and found that music participation was related to higher Grade 10 and 12 exam scores after controlling for Grade 7 achievement, language background and neighborhood income. It is an observational study.

    Guhn, Emerson and Gouzouasis, Journal of Educational Psychology 112(2), 2020 (ERIC record EJ1240937) · Grade 7 to 12 school records (published 2020) data [24]

    #
  • 1 year ahead

    In the same 2020 British Columbia study, highly engaged instrumental music students were on average academically over 1 year ahead of their peers in exam scores, a comparison of groups that chose music, not a randomized test of music lessons.

    Guhn, Emerson and Gouzouasis, Journal of Educational Psychology 112(2), 2020 (ERIC record EJ1240937) · Grade 7 to 12 school records (published 2020) data [24]

    #
  • 36.38%

    Transcript data from the federal Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, analyzed by Kenneth Elpus in the Journal of Research in Music Education (2013), showed that 1.127 million students (36.38% of the U.S. class of 2004) graduated high school with at least one course credit in music.

    Elpus, Journal of Research in Music Education, 2013, using NCES Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ERIC record EJ1015076) · 2004 data [25]

    #
  • 15,630 students

    In Elpus's 2013 analysis of a nationally representative sample of 15,630 U.S. students (class of 2004), music students did not outperform non-music students on the SAT once demographics, prior achievement, time use and attitudes toward school were statistically controlled.

    Elpus, Journal of Research in Music Education, 2013 (ERIC record EJ1015076) · 2004 data [25]

    #
  • 38 studies, 3,085 participants

    A 2017 meta-analysis by Sala and Gobet in Educational Research Review pooled 38 experimental studies (1986 to 2016) with 3,085 children and young adolescents, and concluded that music training does not reliably enhance their cognitive or academic skills.

    Sala and Gobet, Educational Research Review 20, 2017 · 2016 data [26]

    #
  • d = 0.09 vs 0.23

    In the 2017 Sala and Gobet meta-analysis, the effect of music training was d = 0.09 (not statistically significant) in randomized samples and d = 0.23 in non-randomized samples, meaning the better-designed studies found less benefit.

    Sala and Gobet, Educational Research Review 20, 2017 · 2016 data [26]

    #
  • 54 studies, 6,984 children

    A 2020 multilevel meta-analysis by Sala and Gobet in Memory & Cognition covered 54 studies with 6,984 children and found that once study design quality is controlled for, the overall effect of music training on cognitive skills and academic achievement is null; small effects appeared only in studies without random allocation and without active control groups.

    Sala and Gobet, Memory & Cognition 48, 2020 · 2020 data [27]

    #
  • g = .234

    Bigand and Tillmann (Memory & Cognition, 2022) reanalyzed the Sala and Gobet 2020 data, separating near transfer from far transfer, and obtained a small but statistically significant effect of music training (g = .234), concluding that music may allow small far-transfer effects.

    Bigand and Tillmann, Near and far transfer: Is music special?, Memory & Cognition 50, 2022 · published online 2021, volume 2022 data [28]

    #
  • 34 samples, 5,998 participants

    A 2022 meta-analysis by Román-Caballero and colleagues in Educational Research Review, limited to programs teaching children and adolescents to play instruments, pooled 34 independent samples with 5,998 participants (all pre-post designs with a control group) and found a small but significant benefit, while noting that well-conducted studies are still scarce.

    Román-Caballero, Vadillo, Trainor and Lupiáñez, Educational Research Review 35, 2022 · 2022 data [29]

    #

Keep two kinds of study apart. Observational studies (Guhn 2020, Elpus 2013, the SAT profiles) compare students who chose music with students who did not, so family background and prior achievement can explain part or all of the gap. Meta-analyses of training experiments (Sala and Gobet 2017 and 2020, Bigand and Tillmann 2022, Román-Caballero 2022) test whether music lessons cause gains in non-music skills. Their authors disagree on whether the effect is small or zero; none finds a large effect.

Where the most-shared music education statistics come from

The graduation, attendance and SAT figures that circulate on band flyers trace back to a 2006 survey of high school principals and to College Board test-taker profiles. Both describe correlations, not effects of music.

The graduation and attendance rates are school-level figures reported by principals in a 2006 Harris Interactive survey commissioned by MENC (now NAfME) and NAMM, an industry association; they compare schools, not students, and do not control for school funding or demographics. The SAT figures compare students who self-reported music coursework on the College Board questionnaire with students who reported no arts coursework. We could not locate the original College Board report behind the often-quoted "63 points higher on verbal, 44 on math" or "107 points" figures, so they are not used here; the 2006 College Board profile, which we did find, is shown instead.

How many students study music in college?

U.S. colleges award music degrees across more than a dozen specialties, led by general music and music performance. The newest NCES Digest table with music detail covers the 2021-22 academic year.

Bachelor's degrees conferred by U.S. postsecondary institutions in selected music fields, academic year 2021-22. Source: NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 318.30 (IPEDS).
  • Music, general 7,037
  • Music performance 3,936
  • Music teacher ed. 3,404
  • Music management 1,331
  • Music, other 761
  • Music technology 678
  • Theory, composition 665
  • Jazz studies 314
  • Voice and opera 289

Source: NCES, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 318.30. Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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Music, general7,037
Music performance3,936
Music teacher ed.3,404
Music management1,331
Music, other761
Music technology678
Theory, composition665
Jazz studies314
Voice and opera289

Totals for music are House of Octave calculations: the sum of the 17 music fields (CIP 50.09, from Music, general to Music, other) in NCES Digest Table 318.30. Music teacher education (counted under education), music therapy (health professions) and music management (arts management) sit outside those 17 fields and are not in that total. Newer IPEDS completions files exist, but this Digest table is the newest published table with field-level music rows.

Music education in England: the GCSE and A level decline

These figures are for England only. Entries for A level music have fallen in most years since 2014, and GCSE music entries are well below their mid-2010s level.

Provisional GCSE music entries in England, summer 2014 to summer 2026. Source: Ofqual provisional entries data tables (summer 2019, 2021 and 2026 releases).
0 20K 40K 60K 2014 42,770 2017 2020 2023 2026 34,120 0 20K 40K 60K 2014 42,770 2018 2022 2026 34,120

Source: Ofqual, Statistics: entries for GCSE, AS and A level (provisional entries data tables). Chart: House of Octave, free to reuse with a link to this page.

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201442,770
201543,370
201641,860
201738,745
201835,895
201934,990
202034,865
202135,400
202234,130
202330,115
202432,615
202534,555
202634,120
Provisional entries for GCSE music and A level music, England, summer exam series 2014 to 2026. Ofqual data tables from the summer 2019 (2014 to 2019), 2021 (2020 to 2021) and 2026 (2022 to 2026) releases.
YearGCSE musicA level music
201442,7707,345
201543,3706,780
201641,8606,245
201738,7455,640
201835,8955,485
201934,9905,155
202034,8655,035
202135,4005,045
202234,1305,305
202330,1154,945
202432,6155,005
202534,5554,875
202634,1204,635

Source: Ofqual, Statistics: entries for GCSE, AS and A level (provisional entries data tables)

All figures are Ofqual provisional entries for England, counted in April before the summer exams and rounded to the nearest 5; final JCQ results figures differ slightly and some JCQ tables cover the whole UK. Exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 and grades were assessed by schools, but entries were still recorded. Reformed GCSE music (graded 9 to 1) was first examined in 2018.

Methodology

Every figure on this page comes from the organization that collected the data or ran the study: the Arts Education Data Project (AEDP, run by Quadrant Research with the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ofqual, the College Board and the peer-reviewed journals named on each stat. We quote each source's own words in our records and link the exact report, table or article. Figures we worked out ourselves, such as music degree totals summed across NCES fields, say they are House of Octave calculations.

Music education statistics mix several measures, and they give very different answers. Access means a student attends a school that offers music; participation means the student is enrolled in a music course. AEDP counts students from state course records (2018-19, 17 states, projected nationally), while the NCES School Pulse Panel counts schools from a November 2024 principal survey. NAEP figures are eighth-graders' own answers from 2016. Census and National Survey of Children's Health figures cover lessons of any kind (music, dance, language), not music alone. We keep each measure separate and label it.

Some of the most complete national sources are old because they have not been repeated: the NCES Fast Response Survey of arts education was last run in 2009-10, and NAEP last assessed music in 2016. We include them as the newest data of their kind and say so, next to newer measures where they exist.

On outcomes, we separate observational studies (which compare students who chose music with students who did not) from randomized experiments and meta-analyses (which test whether music lessons cause gains in other subjects). We report sample sizes and effect sizes and do not present a correlation as an effect. Popular figures that circulate without a source were traced to their original documents; where we could not find the original, as with the often-shared '63 points higher on the verbal SAT' claim, the figure is not on this page.

Spot an error or a newer figure? Tell us and we will correct the page and note the change.

Cite this page

Free to quote, chart or link in articles, reports and coursework. Please credit the original source for each figure and link to this page as the compilation.

House of Octave. (2026, November 2). Music Education Statistics 2026. https://houseofoctave.com/music-education-statistics/

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of students have access to music education?

In the 2018-19 school year, 92% of U.S. public school students had access to music education during the school day, according to the Arts Education Data Project. That left an estimated 3,609,698 students in 8,486 schools with no music. A newer school-level measure, the NCES School Pulse Panel, found 84% of public schools offered music as a standalone class in November 2024.

How many students take music in school?

About half. The Arts Education Data Project found 48% of U.S. public school students participated in music in 2018-19: 81% in elementary school, 47% in middle school and 18% in high school, where music is usually an elective. In 2016, 63% of eighth-graders said they took a music class (NAEP).

Which students are least likely to have music in school?

Students in charter schools, high-poverty schools and small schools. In 2018-19, 34% of charter school students had no access to music, against 6% in traditional public schools, and 14% of students in the highest-poverty schools had none, against 5% in the lowest-poverty schools (Arts Education Data Project). In November 2024, 68% of schools with fewer than 300 students offered music, against 93% of schools with 1,000 or more (NCES School Pulse Panel).

How many children take music lessons?

Census figures count lessons of any kind, not music alone. In 2023, 26.8% of U.S. children aged 6 to 17 took after-school lessons such as music, dance or language (Census Bureau). Children in families at 200% of the poverty threshold or higher took them at about twice the rate of children below the poverty line: 31.5% vs 15.3%. In 2016, 14% of eighth-graders took private instrument or singing lessons (NAEP).

Do students in music programs get better grades?

Students who take music tend to score higher, but the best experiments do not show that music causes it. A 2020 British Columbia study of 112,916 students found highly engaged instrumental music students were over 1 year ahead in exam scores, a comparison of groups that chose music. A 2020 meta-analysis of 54 experimental studies with 6,984 children found the effect of music training on cognitive and academic skills shrinks to about zero once study quality is controlled (Sala and Gobet).

Is it true that schools with music programs have a 90.2% graduation rate?

The figure is real but often misread. It comes from a 2006 Harris Interactive survey of U.S. public high school principals for MENC and NAMM: schools with music programs reported an average graduation rate of 90.2%, against 72.9% at schools without. It compares schools, not students, and does not control for funding or demographics, so it shows a correlation, not an effect of music.

At what age do most kids quit music?

In a 2021 PLOS ONE study of 3,303 secondary school students in the UK and Germany, about 50% of musically active students had stopped by age 17. An estimated 86% were still making music at 15, 72% at 16 and 49% at 17, so dropout peaks in the mid to late teens.

How many music teachers are there in the U.S.?

No federal survey counts K-12 music teachers on their own. About 251,000 arts teachers, including music, visual arts, dance and drama teachers, worked in U.S. public schools in 2020-21 (NCES teacher survey, analyzed by the National Endowment for the Arts). In November 2024, 91% of public schools that taught music had a music teacher or specialist.

Sources

  1. Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019: Analysis Metrics artseddata.org
  2. National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Education in U.S. Public Schools: Insights from the November 2024 School Pulse Panel Survey (NCES data) arts.gov
  3. Arts Education Data Project (Quadrant Research and SEADAE), National Arts Education Status Report 2019 summary drive.google.com
  4. National Endowment for the Arts, Snapshots of Arts Education in Childhood and Adolescence (NCES ECLS-K:2011 and HSLS:09 data) arts.gov
  5. Arts Education Data Project Report, Tennessee (Quadrant Research, 2026) artseddata.org
  6. Arizona Department of Education findings, published by the Arizona Commission on the Arts: Arts Access and Participation in Arizona Schools azarts.gov
  7. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10 (NCES 2012-014) nces.ed.gov
  8. National Endowment for the Arts and NASERC, Indicator D.2: Who Teaches the Arts in Schools? (NCES NTPS data) arts.gov
  9. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary data.bls.gov
  10. NCES, The Nation's Report Card: 2016 Arts Assessment, Grade 8 Music, Overall Results nationsreportcard.gov
  11. NCES, The Nation's Report Card: 2016 Arts Assessment, Grade 8 Music nationsreportcard.gov
  12. National Center for Education Statistics, Three Key Findings from the 2016 NAEP Arts Assessment nces.ed.gov
  13. NCES, 2016 Arts Assessment Report Card: Summary Data Tables (music, grade 8) nationsreportcard.gov
  14. NCES, The Nation's Report Card: 2016 Arts Assessment, Grade 8 Music, Student Group Scores and Score Gaps nationsreportcard.gov
  15. NCES, The Nation's Report Card: 2016 Arts Assessment, Grade 8 Music, Opportunities and Access nationsreportcard.gov
  16. U.S. Census Bureau, A Child's Day: Parental Interaction, Extracurricular Activities, and School Engagement: 2023 (P70-212) www2.census.gov
  17. U.S. Census Bureau, America Counts story: Girls Take Lessons, Join Clubs More Often Than Boys But Boys Play More Sports (SIPP data) census.gov
  18. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (HRSA MCHB), 2023-2024 National Survey of Children's Health interactive data query nschdata.org
  19. National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Participation Patterns in 2022: Highlights from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, Figure 13 arts.gov
  20. National Endowment for the Arts, By All Means, the Arts: A Full Report of the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts arts.gov
  21. Ruth and Mullensiefen (2021), Survival of musical activities. When do young people stop making music? PLOS ONE 16(11): e0259105 journals.plos.org
  22. Ruth and Mullensiefen (2021), Survival of musical activities. When do young people stop making music? PLOS ONE 16(11): e0259105, Table 2 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  23. Elpus and Abril (2019), Who Enrolls in High School Music? A National Profile of U.S. Students, 2009-2013, Journal of Research in Music Education 67(3) (ERIC abstract) eric.ed.gov
  24. Guhn, Emerson and Gouzouasis, Journal of Educational Psychology 112(2), 2020 (ERIC record EJ1240937) eric.ed.gov
  25. Elpus, Journal of Research in Music Education, 2013, using NCES Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ERIC record EJ1015076) eric.ed.gov
  26. Sala and Gobet, Educational Research Review 20, 2017 livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk
  27. Sala and Gobet, Memory & Cognition 48, 2020 link.springer.com
  28. Bigand and Tillmann, Near and far transfer: Is music special?, Memory & Cognition 50, 2022 link.springer.com
  29. Román-Caballero, Vadillo, Trainor and Lupiáñez, Educational Research Review 35, 2022 doi.org
  30. MENC and NAMM, Music Makes the Grade (Harris Interactive survey of principals, 2006), archived copy of menc.org PDF web.archive.org
  31. NAMM, press release on the NAMM and MENC study conducted by Harris Interactive, October 30, 2006 namm.org
  32. College Board, 2006 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report, Table 19 (Arts and Music) secure-media.collegeboard.org
  33. House of Octave calculation from NCES, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 318.30 (IPEDS Completions) nces.ed.gov
  34. Ofqual, Provisional entries for GCSE, AS and A level: summer 2026 exam series gov.uk
  35. Ofqual, Provisional entries for GCSE, AS and A level: summer 2023 exam series gov.uk
  36. Ofqual, Statistics: entries for GCSE, AS and A level (provisional entries data tables) gov.uk

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