submitted by froehlic@augsburg.edu
The Minnesota Urban Debate League, a program of Augsburg University, had attendance outcomes featured in a recent Newsweek article. Amy Cram Helwich, MNUDL Executive Director, unpacked the data in a recent editorial in Newsweek:
“Absenteeism is a strong predictor of decreased test scores, increased rates of dropping out, diminished health, and other negative outcomes. What solutions can address this increasing problem in education?
While the factors behind attendance are complex, from the Minnesota Urban Debate League’s perspective, debate is an outstanding method of keeping students engaged.
We’ve seen debaters have a dramatic increase in student attendance, compared to peers, in a controlled district-wide evaluation over the last two years (including a 66% increase in 2022-23 and 77% in 2021-22).”
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Plus, if you’re interested in learning more about our work, pay us a visit on campus or reach out to us at mnudl@augsburg.edu! We have lots of opportunities to volunteer, coach, judge debates, and support our work. https://mnudl.augsburg.edu/