Abstract Section

This experiment was based off of the topic of music’s effect on the brain, and more

specifically, reading comprehension. The question throughout the experiment was “what will the

reading comprehension test scores of subjects be if they are listening to music at a certain

volume?” The hypothesis was people listening to a higher volume of music while taking a

reading comprehension test will have a lower score than people listening at a lower volume.

4 different confidential surveys (made using Google Forms) were sent out to groups of

9th-grade students at the Galloway school. A total of 14 responses were recorded out of all

surveys. They were asked to take a reading comprehension test on

http://www.readingsoft.com/quiz.html​ and record their test scores while listening to a song.

Out of three volume groups, who each listened to the song “Don’t Stop Believing” by

Journey, the volume ten group (the highest volume) performed the best on the reading

comprehension test.

The data indicates that listening to louder music may improve reading comprehension

more than quieter music. This does not support the hypothesis that people listening to a higher

volume of music while taking a reading comprehension test will have a lower test score than

people not listening to music.

Subjects in the higher volume level group performed better than those in lower or no

volume groups. Reasons for this could be that the brain links music perception with meaning and

memory (Warren, 2008). However, The execution of the project could have been improved by

increasing the sample size of the results. Interesting follow-up projects could include testing

music’s effect on other areas of study, like math or science.