Who Takes Music With Them When They Transition to High School?

Abstract

According to music educators, persistence beyond a student’s initial enrollment in middle and high school music is a problem; however, there has been little research to substantiate this claim. Although several recent large-scale, longitudinal studies of initial selection into music classes have been conducted, longitudinal studies on who persists (vs. quits) in music—especially from middle to high school—are overdue. We prospectively followed a large (n = 3,393), ethnically diverse (62% Hispanic, 29% Black), predominately low-income (77% free/reduced-price lunch) sample of eighth-grade middle school music students to high school (ninth grade) to understand predictors of persistence. Overall, only 24.5% of students taking a music elective in eighth grade continued to do so in ninth grade (band = 20.4%, chorus = 21.8%, guitar = 12.3%, orchestra = 20.4%). Initially more academically competent students (higher eighth-grade grade point average and reading and math scores) and students with disabilities were more likely to persist with music from eighth to ninth grade. Predictors varied somewhat by music type. A multigroup analysis showed moderation across music types with respect to the effect of gender, gifted status, and math on music persistence (e.g., high math scores predict band but did not predict other music-type persistence). Implications for music educators and researchers are discussed.