Debate 1
Offered in Fall Semester ONLY.
Introduces students to competitive debate, focusing on National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) events. Students will build critical thinking, research, and public speaking skills through speech writing, argumentation, and practice rounds. Emphasis is placed on improving communication, argumentative writing, fostering confidence, and learning about Speech and Debate events. Competing in debate tournaments outside of school hours is OPTIONAL.
Debate 2
Offered in Spring Semester ONLY (Debate 1 Prerequisite)
This course helps students strengthen their debate skills by focusing on NSDA events through practice and tournament participation. Students will improve research, argumentation, and speaking techniques while learning to adapt strategies in competition. Emphasis is placed on clear communication, critical thinking, and delivering effective, well-structured arguments in advanced debate rounds. Competing in debate tournaments outside of school hours is REQUIRED.
Debate 3
Year Long Course (Debate 2 Prerequisite)
This course is designed for experienced debaters aiming to compete at the highest levels of high school debate. With high expectations for research, argumentation, and performance, students will refine their skills through rigorous practice and tournament participation. Emphasis is placed on leadership, professionalism, and excellence in communication. This course awards English credit for Seniors. Competing in debate tournaments outside of school hours is REQUIRED.
A 10-year longitudinal study of participants in Chicago shows that high school students who debate have higher 12th-grade grade point averages (GPAs), are more likely to graduate high school, and are more likely to be college ready in reading and English than those who do not participate in debate after adjusting for self-selection into the activity (Mezuk, 2009; Mezuk, Bondarenko, Smith, & Tucker, 2011). Follow-up analysis found that high school debaters have higher social, civic, and school engagement (Anderson & Mezuk, 2015), and are more likely to matriculate to college (Shackelford, Ratliff, & Mezuk, 2018) than non-debaters. (Shackelford, Daniel. "The BUDL Effect: Examining Academic Achievement and Engagement Outcomes of Preadolescent Baltimore Urban Debate League Participants." Educational Researcher XX, no. X (2019): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19830998.)
Overall, debaters were 3.1 times more likely to graduate from high school (95% confidence interval: 2.7–3.5) than non-debaters, and more likely to reach the college-readiness benchmarks on the English, Reading, and Science portions of the ACT. This association was similar for both low-risk and at-risk students. Debate intensity was positively related to higher scores on all sections of the ACT. Findings indicate that debate participation is associated with improved academic performance for at-risk adolescents. (Anderson, Susannah, and Briana Mezuk. "Participating in a Policy Debate Program and Academic Achievement among At-Risk Adolescents in an Urban Public School District: 1997–2007." Journal of Adolescence XX, no. X (2012): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.04.005.)
When compared to non-debaters, debaters are 5x more likely to enroll in a top 10 college, 5.5x more likely to enroll in a top 25 college, and are 2.125x more likely to enroll in a top 50 college. (Based on 1,963 surveys collected from the NSDA class of 2019. 2021_Flyer_StudentImpactData-2.pdf)
Participating in speech and debate gives you a competitive edge in careers that require strong communication, critical thinking, and persuasion skills. Some of these careers include:
Law (attorneys, judges, legal analysts)
Politics & Public Service (politicians, policy advisors, speechwriters)
Business & Marketing (executives, sales representatives, consultants)
Journalism & Media (reporters, broadcasters, content creators)
Education (professors, teachers, academic researchers)
Public Relations (spokespersons, PR managers, campaign strategists)
In this 2014 Forbes article, the author makes the argument that when looking for leaders of a company, companies should always look for debaters.