Effects of pre-kindergarten music instruction on kindergarten reading and math scores for low SES ELL students

Learning gaps exist between economic and ethnic subgroups. This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of a pre-kindergarten music class on kindergarten math and reading scores. The research involved three metropolitan elementary schools where nearly 90% of the students participated in free and reduced lunch and approximately half of the students at the treatment school qualified to participate in ELL programs. After nine months of pre-kindergarten music, the treatment yielded statistically significant results in four of the measures.