Empowering students
“While literacy is about the creation of new knowledge, it is also about the creation of empowered students. Literacy does...
Increased knowledge of current events
“What’s more, a growing body of evidence suggests that argumentation itself is a powerful way to gain knowledge. When students...
Stronger critical literacy skills
The NYCUDL (New York City Urban Debate League) is part of a national network that teaches young people (86% students of color...
21st-century learning skills
“Competitive debate is one of the great equalizers of educational opportunity. In a number of respects, competitive urban debate is...
Increased knowledge in current events, civics and the world around themselves
“I was recruited to join a policy debate team. Not the most popular activity to do, I stayed on the...
Better presentation literacy skills
“According to TED curator Chris Anderson, public speaking matters more than ever. In his book TED Talks, Anderson writes: ‘As a...
Improved literacy skills
The Department of Education evaluated our debate program in partnership with the Middle School Quality Initiative during the 2013-2014 and...
Improved critical reasoning skills
“Arguing, in fact, has been claimed by cognitive scientists to be not just central to human thinking and reasoning but...
Doubles Out of School Time Learning
A typical debater engages in an additional 597 academic instruction hours each year or 85 extra school days, which is...
Decreased drop-out rates
“For the students who are most at-risk of dropping out, the statistics are bleak. Only forty-three percent graduate on time. But seventy-two...