Students of the arts continue to outperform their non-arts peers on the SAT, according to reports by the College Entrance Examination Board. In 1997, SAT takers with coursework/ experience in music performance scored 52 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 37 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Scores for those with coursework in music appreciation were 62 points higher on the verbal and 42 points higher on the math portion. Data for these reports were gathered by the Student Descriptive Questionnaire, a component of the SAT that provides information about students' academic preparation.

**Sources: The College Board, Profile of SAT Program Test Takers for 1996 and 1997.

-- This article was obtained at the 1998 MENC National Conference in Pheonix. The author is unknown. It is posted as I received it and is not used for any financial gain. --