Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests. A UCLA professor, Dr. James Catterall, led an analysis of a U.S. Department of Education database. In the study called "NELLs88," the database was used to track more than 25,000 students over a period of ten years. The study showed that students involved in music generally tested higher than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. The study also noted that the musicians scored higher, no matter what socioeconomic group was being studied.
- Dr. James Catterall, UCLA, 1997

You Don't Want to Miss This! 

Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where the musicians play instruments made from trash.

Cateura, Paraguay is a town essentially built on top of a landfill. Garbage collectors browse the trash for sellable goods, and children are often at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs. When orchestra director Szaran and music teacher Favio set up a music program for the kids of Cateura, they soon had more students than they had instruments.