Students report on Nashville SCOPE conference, debate standardized testing

Four Anderson County-area high school students told the board they found the TSBA Student Congress on Policies and Education (SCOPE) valuable for understanding how school policy is made and for practicing civil debate. Parker Davis, representing Harrison County High School, said the conference included a mock school board and debates on topics such as whether the ACT should replace standardized testing.

"It was super interesting meeting people from all over Tennessee," Parker Davis said, describing how hearing other perspectives changed some of his own views. He said his group debated whether the ACT should replace standardized testing and that preparing pros and cons sharpened his arguments.

A Clinton High School student who also attended said the conference helped participants learn about the roles of board members and superintendents and offered practical experience with policy votes and meetings. Another Clinton student, who said she is bilingual and is taking French, urged the board to consider the importance of world languages in preparing students for the workforce and noted that her mother teaches Spanish at Clinton High School.

Board members praised the students and encouraged them to promote the opportunity; the chair asked the board to "talk it up" so more students attend next year. The students recommended the conference for rising juniors as a chance to learn about school governance and to practice civil debate.

The remarks came during the meeting's student presentation segment; no board action was taken on the topics the students discussed.