The Effects of Background Music on Learning Disabled Elementary School Students’ Performance in Writing

Abstract

This study investigated effects of background music on writing performance of nine 6th grade students at one suburban public elementary school in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A quantitative A-B-A design was utilized, and results from graded writing prompts with and without background music over 21 weeks were compared. Group Mean gain was higher in the music (treatment) phase than in the final phase (returning to baseline), indicating that background music improved writing ability of learning disabled students overall. Scores dropped instantly and markedly in the first weeks that music was added and removed, indicating that consistency in routine may be more essential to academic performance for learning disabled students than the presence or absence of background music.