Points System
Verify and track your achievements!
Verify and track your achievements! NSDA Honor Society recognizes middle and high school students for participation in speech and debate competitions, as well as, community service, public speaking, and leadership activities. NSDA Members receive merit points for their training accomplishments, which accumulates in the NSDA membership system.
How Do I Earn Points?
Member can earn points by attending any of our tournaments or tournaments that are listed as verified on our website. After you attend, one of our staff members will enter the points into your account, so that you can see your points as you earn them, and the total number of points earned.
Debate
| Debate Result | Merit Points Earned |
|---|---|
| Winning a round of Debate | NSDA Events*: 6 in HS, 4 in MS non-NSDA Events: 4 |
| Losing a round of Debate | NSDA Events: 3 in HS, 2 in MS non-NSDA Events: 2 |
*NSDA “Main” Debate Events are Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, World Schools Debate, and Big Questions
Congress
| -pt scale | 30-pt scale | 60-100-pt scale | Merit Pts/speech | Tourn. place | Merit Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 28-30 | 97-100 | 6 | 1st | 24 |
| 6-7 | 23-27 | 90-96 | 5 | 2nd | 23 |
| 4-5 | 18-22 | 84-89 | 4 OR | 3rd | 22 |
| 3 | 13-17 | 77-83 | 3 | 4th | 21 |
| 2 | 8-12 | 70-76 | 2 | 5th | 20 |
| 1 | 1-7 | 60-69 | 1 | (and so forth) |
Speech
| Rank | Rating | Rating | Rating | Grade | Merit Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Superior | 25 | 95-100 | NSDA Events*: 6; non-NSDA Events: 5 | |
| 2 | Excellent | 24 | 90-94 | NSDA Events: 5; non-NSDA Events: 4 | |
| 3 or | Good/Exceeds Expectations | 20-23 | 71-89 | A | NSDA Events: 4; non-NSDA Events: 3 |
| 4 | Fair/Meets Expectations | 15-19 | 42-70 | B | NSDA Events: 3; non-NSDA Events: 2 |
| 5 or lower | Average/Does Not Meet Expectations | 14-Oct | 10-41 | C | NSDA Events: 2: non-NSDA Events: 1 |
| 0-9** | 0-9 |
*NSDA “Main” Speech Events are: Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, Humorous Interp, Dramatic Interp, Duo Interp, Program Oral Interp, and Informative Speaking
**Severe deficiency, and therefore, not worth any points
How Many Points Do I Need For Degress?
The more points you earn the higher degree you get!
The more points you earn the higher degree you get!
| Degree | Points |
|---|---|
| Member | Less than 25 points |
| Merit | 25 |
| Honor | 75 |
| Excellence | 150 |
| Distinction | 250 |
| Special Distinction | 500 |
| Superior Distinction | 750 |
| Outstanding Distinction | 1,000 |
| Premier Distinction | 1,500 |
| Donus D. Roberts Recognition (Coaches) | 10,000 |
| 1st Diamond (Coaches) | 15,000 and 5 years |
| Additional Diamonds (Coaches) | each 15,000 and 5 years |