Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
This is the ninth in a series of weekly articles about the challenges facing our school district, and the measures proposed to meet those challenges.
Much attention has been given to the performance of students within the classroom, and no doubt much more attention and discussion on that topic is yet to come. Lately, most of the focus in improving the academic success of students has focused on the traditional “three R's” of reading, writing, and arithmetic. One can add science and technology to that mix and you have the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum that has become so popular in recent years. While STEM education is certainly a large slice, it can hardly be considered the entirety of the “educational pie.” Research shows that student participation in extra-curricular activities such as athletics, music, drama, and the other arts are also important “slices” of a well-rounded education. In fact, there is a significant body of research that suggests that participation in extra-curricular activities actually improves academic success in other areas.
According to a research paper entitled The Effects of Extra-curricular Activities on the Academic Performance of Junior High Students, by Kimiko Fujita, “Total extra-curricular activity participation is associated with improved grade point average (GPA), higher educational aspirations, increased college attendance, and reduced absenteeism.” In another research article, Extra-curricular Activities: The Path to Academic Success?” published in the December 1999/January 2000 issue of Educational Leadership, the author John Holloway noted, “The researchers (John Mahoney and Robert Cairns) strongly believe that involvement in extra-curricular activities may support the at-risk student by maintaining, enhancing, and strengthening the student-school connection.”
Holloway also cited research that showed, “Athletic participation reduces the probability of school drop-outs by 40 percent.” Another study examined students, both male and female, who participated in soccer. These students played soccer during the soccer season, but did not participate in any other extra-curricular activities outside the soccer season. The study found that the students maintained a higher GPA during the soccer season than during the off-season when they were not participating in any extra-curricular activities.
A study conducted by Daniel Intolubbe-Chmil at the University of Colorado, compared the overall GPAs of students who participate in marching band with those who don't. The study compared grades in math, science, and overall grades for males and females, white and non-white students. Across the board, in every category, the students in band had a higher GPA than those who were not in band. In the conclusion to his study, Intolubbe-Chmil noted, “Disparity in opportunity arises from systemic inequities related to socio-economic status, such inequity perpetuated in part through our educational system. Closing this opportunity gap is one of the biggest challenges education and policy-makers face today. [Participation in] music and arts is by no means the single solution to this, but [it] has potential to facilitate advancement in education contexts, when STEM programs stagnates growth, and particularly among at-risk youth. The disparities in achievement are the result of disparities in opportunity, which reflect an explicit dissonance of resources across socio-economic boundaries. This dissonance can be alleviated through the provision of educational programs and initiatives that target the root of development, such as music and arts.”
The connection between extra-curricular activities and academic achievement is not limited to band and sports. Other activities, such as drama also have a profound effect on academic achievement. According to the American Alliance for Theatre and Education:
Students involved in drama performance coursework or experience outscored non-arts students on the 2005 SAT by an average of 65 points in the verbal component and 34 points in the math component.
Drama activities improve reading comprehension, and both verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
Drama helps to improve school attendance and reduce high school dropout rates.
A 2005 Harris Poll revealed that 93 percent of the public believes that arts, including theatre, are vital to a well-rounded education.
Drama can improve skills and academic performance in children and youth with learning disabilities.
“In addition to having higher standardized test scores than their peers who do not experience the arts, students who participate in drama often experience improved reading comprehension, maintain better attendance records, and stay generally more engaged in school than their non-arts counterparts. Schools with arts-integrated programs, even in low-income areas, report high academic achievement.”
Holloway concludes his article with some sage advice for school administrators and policy-makers. “All the cited research suggests that extracurricular activities provide all students—including at-risk and gifted students—an academic safety net. The researchers echo Susan Gerber's (1996) comment, that 'eliminating the opportunity for such participation eliminates the last link to fostering a sense of belonging to school that some students have.'
Educational decision-makers must look at the consequences of denying students the right to participate in order to get them to 'work harder in the classroom.' These kinds of exclusionary policies may well damage overall achievement and work against those students who could benefit most directly from involvement. Instead of cutting these programs when faced with budget squeezes, school districts might find that these activity programs are worth their weight in gold because they help students stay in, and succeed at, school.”