The problem is the perceived academic shortcomings of America's public schools because of high stakes testing that is expected to increase along with limited funds and resources. The purpose of this study was to find the benefits of the extracurricular activity that students are already participating in at Paramount High School. This is a quantitative study looking at the cumulative GPA's, standardized test scores in mathematics, and standardized test scores in English/Language Arts of students involved in school athletics, music instruction, and non-participants. Athletes and music students outperformed their non-participating counterparts in all areas. Further study is recommended with a larger sample, over a longer duration of time, and with a wider array of measurements. (Contains 6 tables.)