The Impact of Music on Student Achievement in the Third and Fourth Grade Math Curriculum

The Impact of Music on Student Achievement in the Third and Fourth Grade Math Curriculum
Author: Ruth E. Albright
Publisher:
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2011
Genre: Interdisciplinary approach in education
ISBN:

Research indicates students who engage in music exhibit improved cognitive development. The quantitative study was conducted in a large suburban school district in Southeast Georgia. This study investigated the impact of music on student achievement when music is incorporated with the core academic subject of mathematics at the elementary level. This goal was accomplished by using a pretest-posttest control group design with a population of 51 third grade students and 51 fifth grade students through a series of analysis of covariance tests (ANCOVA). The t-test results showed statistically significant difference when comparing the experimental and control groups: t (26) = 6.11, p [greater than].000, t (23) = 3.73, p [greater than].001, t (26) = 6.01,p [greater than].000, t ((23) = 7.30,p [greater than].000. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used with the data to answer Research Question 2. Both groups showed significant difference. White students in both the control and experimental group outperformed black students in the experimental and control groups, F (7, 94) = 5.47, p [greater than].000. In answer to Research Question 3, when comparing the high socioeconomic group to the low socioeconomic group we find that many of the low socioeconomic groups scored higher than the high socioeconomic status groups F(7,94) = 6.03, p [greater than] .000 . It is recommended that future studies incorporate a power analysis to ensure sufficient sample size. The findings benefit teachers and students by presenting data supporting how the use of baroque and classical music playing along with music integration into the math curriculum is an important role in increasing student achievement in mathematics.

The Effects of Music on Basic Mathematics Fact Fluency for Third Grade Students

The Effects of Music on Basic Mathematics Fact Fluency for Third Grade Students
Author: Daniele Brock
Publisher:
Total Pages: 18
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

Gaps in achievement test scores continue to exist in students depending upon race, gender, income, and ethnicity according to the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an advocate for public schools. School districts and schools are struggling to close the achievement gap that exists. In the 2010-2011 school years, 34.4% of African American students in the third grade failed to pass the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in the research school. The participants in this study were enrolled in a Title I elementary school located in south east Georgia. The school system was comprised of one comprehensive high school (grades 9 through 12), one middle school (grades 4 through 8), two elementary schools, and one alternative school. The school district served approximately 1,689 students with 144 employees. Mathematics-related music did not have a significant effect on basic mathematics fact fluency. GRASP Mathematic Computational Fluency pre and posttest results were used to determine if there was academic growth for the treatment group when compared to the control group. According to the results from the study, mathematics-related music was not a valid intervention. The students in Group B who participated in the intervention did not make significant gains when comparing their pre (M = 21.95, SD = 7.62) and posttest (M = 23.89, SD = 8.23) scores to the control groups pre (M = 18.84, SD = 8.96) and posttest (M = 20.53, SD = 8.62) scores. Fourteen students in Group B only slightly improved their achievement scores while three students' scores decreased, and two students' scores stayed the same. In Group A, 15 students increased their achievement scores, while three students' scores decreased, and one student's score remained the same. To determine the effect size of mathematics-related music on students' basic mathematic fluency scores, Cohen's d calculations indicated the intervention had a medium effect (d = 0.41) on Mathematic Computational Fluency scores. An average student in the treatment group would be expected to outscore about 66% of the students in the control group. Mathematics-related music increased scores approximately 16%. The following are appended: (1) GRASP: 3rd Grade Computational Fluency Screener; (2) Third Grade Student Survey; and (3) Student Engagement Walkthrough Checklist.