VoluMe 16, nuMBer 1 asca 71SCHOOL COUNSELORS .docx

VoluMe 16, nuMBer 1 | asca 71
SCHOOL
COUNSELORS:
CLOSING ACHIEVEMENt
GAPS ANd
wRItING RESULtS
REPORtS
Charged with closing the achievement gap
for marginalized students, school counselors
need to be able to identify gaps, develop
interventions, evaluate effectiveness, and
share results. This study examined100
summary results reports submitted by school
counselors after having received four days
of training on the ASCA National Model.
Findings indicate that school counselors
were able to identify gaps and develop
interventions but needed additional training
to evaluate outcomes and report findings.
Charged with closing the achievement gap for underserved and
marginalized students, today’s professional school counselors
must demonstrate that their school counseling program is
making a difference and closing gaps in achievement (American
School Counselor Associa-tion [ASCA], 2012; Educa-tion
Trust, 2003). School counselors are aware that not all students
have the same
resources; therefore, they must
analyze data to discover inequities,

develop programs or interventions to
address these inequities, and measure
their results to determine the effective-
ness of the programs or interventions
(ASCA, 2012). By documenting how
the school counseling program is help-
ing to narrow the achievement gap
with school counseling interventions,
school counselors are moving “from
the periphery of the school’s mission
to a position where the educational
community views [school counselors]
as critical to student success” (ASCA,
2005, p. 53).
School counselors must receive
training in order to implement
data-driven comprehensive school
counseling programs (Dimmit,
Carey & Hatch, 2007). Wilkerson
and Eschbach (2009) found that
graduate students in school counsel-
ing programs perceived themselves
as better prepared to implement the
ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2012)
after receiving training developed by
the Education Trust. School coun-
selors need to receive training on the
ASCA National Model just as teach-
ers receive professional development
when new concepts are introduced
(Dahir, Burnham, & Stone, 2009).
Although comprehensive developmen-
tal programs were first implemented
in the 1970s, the data skills needed to

Julie hartline is a school counseling and
advisement consultant with Cobb County
School District. E-mail [email protected]
cobbk12.org debra C. Cobia is associate
dean of the College of Education,
University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Ga.
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1177%2F2156759
X1201600109&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2018-02-15
72 asca | Professional school counseling
implement a comprehensive program
are not taught in all school counselor
education programs. Consequently, the
need exists for training and opportuni-
ties for professional development for
practicing school counselors in the
understanding and implementation
of a comprehensive school counseling
program based on the ASCA National
Model. Unfortunately, such opportuni-
ties still are not widely available (Dim-
mitt et al., 2007).
Within a comprehensive, data-driv-
en program, school counselors deliver
intentional guidance interventions,
also referred to as “closing the gap”
activities, and measure the impact of
these interventions on student achieve-
ment via the linkage between change
in attitude, skill, and/or knowledge
and the change in achievement or

achievement-related data (Dimmitt
et al., 2007, p 39; Hatch & Holland,
2004). The basic idea behind closing
the gap or intentional guidance is that
“some kids need more” (Dimmitt et
al., 2007, p 39; Hatch & Holland,
2004). To determine equity issues
within the school, school counselors
must disaggregate and examine school
data (Dimmitt et al., 2007; Hatch
& Holland, 2004). Once he or she
identifies gaps, the school counselor
provides counseling interventions for
under-performing groups of students
to close the gaps. School counselors
document the results of closing the
gap interventions via the causal link-
ages of change in achievement and
achievement-related data (ASCA,
2012), and this evaluation provides
valuable information as to whether
the intervention narrowed the achieve-
ment gap and whether the interven-
tion should be continued, modified, or
discontinued (Dimmit et al., 2007). It
is imperative for today’s professional
school counselor to perform inten-
tional guidance activities and to collect
data to demonstrate that gaps in the
areas of achievement, opportunity, and
information have been closed for all
students (Dahir et al., 2009).
The purpose of this study was to
determine whether school counselors

who had been trained to implement
data-driven, comprehensive school
counseling programs based on the
ASCA National Model were able to
design, implement, and evaluate an
intentional intervention to close an
achievement gap for a specific group
of students in their schools. This study
also sought to determine in what
ways, if any, the academic success of
students was improved as a result of
the implemented interventions.
mEthod
The first author conducted a qualita-
tive examination of school counselor
closing the gap reports in order to
determine whether school counselors
were able to design, implement, and
evaluate an intentional intervention to
close the achievement gap for a spe-
cific group of students in their schools
after having participated in four days
of training. This section presents the
training process, participants, proce-
dures, and data collection and analysis
procedures.
ASCA National Model training
A four-day training regarding the
components of comprehensive school
counseling programs based on the
ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2012)
was provided for all K-12 school

counselors and at least one adminis-
trator from 116 schools in a subur-
ban district of a large metropolitan
area in the Southeast. The schools
included 18 high schools, 26 middle
schools, and 72 elementary schools.
Approximately 300 school counselors
and a minimum of 116 administra-
tors made up 116 school counseling
teams; each team was required by the
district school counseling supervisor
to attend all four days of training. One
third of the schools received training
each academic year over a three-year
period from 2007-2008 to 2009-2010.
Although the objectives of the train-
ing remained consistent from year to
year, some modifications were made
to training procedures (e.g., including
more peer examples in years two and
three and the order in which topics
were presented).
During the first day of training, the
school counseling teams developed
mission statements and statements of
philosophy, cross-walked the ASCA
National Standards (ASCA, 2004),
established program goals, discussed
the use of calendars in the manage-
ment of programs, were introduced
to data concepts, and examined their
own school data to determine criti-
cal areas of need. Further, teams were
asked to identify at least one gap in
achievement within their schools and

to discuss potential interventions to
close the gap.
Following day one of training, par-
ticipants attended a two-day work-
shop conducted by Dr. Trish Hatch,
co-author of the ASCA National
Model (ASCA, 2012). Dr. Hatch’s
training focused on the components
of the ASCA National Model, data
concepts, guidance curriculum action
plans, intentional guidance action
plans, results reports, and advocacy.
An additional day of training later in
the academic year covered the estab-
lishment of an advisory council; the
development of management agree-
ments; the integration of technology
via the utilization of an online calen-
dar; the time analysis tool of School
Counselor Accountability and Task
tOdAy’S PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELORS
MUSt dEMONStRAtE tHAt tHEIR SCHOOL
COUNSELING PROGRAM IS MAkING A dIFFERENCE
ANd CLOSING GAPS IN ACHIEVEMENt.
Analysis Program (SCAATAP); other
technology programs such as Excel;
a discussion of the Georgia Keys
(Georgia Department of Education,

2010), which provides a framework
for Georgia schools to make improve-
ments; and the process of applying to
become a Recognized ASCA Model
Program (RAMP). RAMP is a desig-
nation given by the American School
Counselor Association that recognizes
exemplary data-driven, comprehensive
school counseling programs.
Procedures
Once trained, each school counseling
team was expected to provide a clos-
ing the gap intervention annually and
to write a closing the gap summary
results report that identified the gap
targeted for change, the intervention
implemented to close the gap, and
a measure of the effectiveness of the
intervention using the results report
template provided by the district (see
Appendix A). These reports were sub-
mitted to the district school counseling
supervisor who shared the outcomes
with the district superintendent and
other stakeholders who provided
support for the training. One hundred
school teams submitted 33 reports in
August 2009 and 67 reports in August
2010. Sixteen trained school teams
out of 116 failed to submit reports in
years 2009 and 2010; therefore, 100
closing the gap summary reports were
analyzed for this study.
The first author, who was a prac-

ticing school counselor and the lead
school counselor at a high school in
the district, was asked by the district
level supervisor to co-train the school
counselors in the district during the
2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic
years after her program became the
first in the district to receive RAMP
in the spring of 2008. Both the first
author and the district level supervisor
were interested in the effectiveness of
the training. The first author assumed
primary responsibility for evaluating
the results reports, which the teams
were required to submit to the district
in August 2009 and 2010, to deter-
mine whether school teams were able
to design, implement, and evaluate
a closing the gap intervention after
having received training. The first au-
thor and district level supervisor also
wanted to determine future training
needs for the counselors in the district.
The content analysis of these summary
reports was completed as the disser-
tation for the first author’s doctoral
program. The district level supervisor
informed the school counselors that
the reports would be reviewed for this
study, and the 100 submitted reports
were examined by the first author.
the Closing the Gap report rubric
Summary closing the gap reports were
examined using a rubric that was

developed by the first author (see Ap-
pendix B). The reliability of the rubric
as an instrument to be used in this
study was established through peer ex-
amination. Independent raters used the
rubric to score completed closing the
gap summary reports to see whether
two people could agree on the quality
of the reports. The first author and a
counselor educator, the first author’s
dissertation chair, scored five results
reports independently. The scores were
compared to determine any discrep-
ancies. For four of the five reports
scored, the ratings given independently
by the first author and the dissertation
chair were identical. For one report,
there was a discrepancy in ratings for
elements one and three with ratings
of 1 assigned by the dissertation chair
and ratings of 2 assigned by the first
author. The authors resolved these
discrepancies through discussion and
reached an agreement regarding how
all elements of the report should be
rated.
Analysis of results reports
The first author analyzed the 100
reports based on a rubric to deter-
mine whether counselors identified
an achievement gap based on data,
developed a quality intervention,
and measured outcomes. The reports
were first sorted based on whether

the intervention was led by a school
counselor or another party. If the re-
port indicated that a school counselor
played a primary role in the design
and implementation of the interven-
tion, the report was rated with a 3. If
the report indicated that the school
counselor participated in the interven-
tion under the direction of another
party, the report was rated with a
score of 2. Reports on interventions
that were conducted by a party other
than the school counselor were given a
rating of 1.
The next step in data analysis
involved rating each report based on
three elements of the plans. The first
element determined whether school
counselors were able to use school
data to identify an achievement gap in
their schools. Items from the closing
the gap summary report, including the
purpose of the project and the num-
ber of students served, were used to
determine the score for this category.
A rating of 3 was given to the reports
that indicated that school data were
used to identify a group of students for
whom a gap existed. Reports on in-
terventions for a group of students for
whom a gap may have existed with-
out the gap being identified based on
data or the data being discussed in the
report received scores of 2. Reports on

interventions for students for whom a
gap did not exist were rated a score of
1 for this element.
ONCE tRAINEd, EACH SCHOOL COUNSELING tEAM
wAS ExPECtEd tO PROVIdE A CLOSING tHE GAP
INtERVENtION ANNUALLy ANd tO wRItE A CLOSING
tHE GAP SUMMARy RESULtS REPORt.
The second element of the reports
rated was whether the school counsel-
ors were able to develop and imple-
ment an appropriate intervention to
close the achievement gap. The sum-
mary report sections of the purpose
of the project, the duration of the
project, the ASCA domain, the setup
of the project, and how the project
was assessed were used to determine
the answer to this question. To receive
a score of 3, the counselors had to
provide interventions that addressed
the identified needs, were based on
one or more of the ASCA domains
(academic, career, or personal/social),
were conducted over a sufficient
period of time to close the gaps, and
had the means to determine success
based on perception data (change in
attitude, knowledge, and/or skill) and
results data (change in achievement-
related indicators and/or achieve-

ment). The reports on interventions
that were based on an ASCA domain,
were designed to close an achievement
gap, and used either perception or
results data to determine whether the
intervention was successful received a
rating of 2. A score of 1 was given to
reports on interventions that were not
for the purpose of closing an achieve-
ment gap and that did not have a
method of assessment.
The third element of the reports
that was scored based on the rubric
was whether the school counselors
were able to measure the outcomes of
the intervention. This question was
answered by examining the summary
of findings, the conclusions drawn,
and the future plans from the reports.
If the report included both clear per-
ception and results data with logical
conclusions and realistic future plans,
it was rated with a 3 for this element.
The reports that included perception
and/or results data with at least one
conclusion and some future plans
received a score of 2. Reports that in-
cluded outcome data and conclusions
without any future plans received
ratings of 1.
Whether the outcomes of the inter-
ventions were positive did not im-

pact the rating of the reports for this
portion of the study as the purpose
was to determine whether counselors
had the skills to identify gaps, provide
interventions, and measure outcomes.
However, the first author also main-
tained an audit trail by recording a
journal page for each report to deter-
mine if and how the academic success
of students had been improved as a re-
sult of the implemented interventions.
These notes were also used to identify
themes and patterns that emerged.
rESultS
Based on a review of 100 school
counseling closing the gap summary
reports, the authors reported the fol-
lowing results. Table 1 presents the
percent of school counselor reports
receiving a score of three for each
criteria element. Eighty-eight reports
(88%) indicated that the school
counselors designed and delivered
interventions to close achievement
gaps (x̄ = 2.84). Of the 100 reports
reviewed, 48 (48%) indicated that
school counselors used data and
reported on the data used to identify
a group of students for whom a gap
existed (x̄ = 2.25). Thirty-five (35%)
were able to develop and implement
an appropriate intervention to close an

tHE AUtHOR ANALyZEd tHE REPORtS tO dEtERMINE
wHEtHER COUNSELORS IdENtIFIEd AN ACHIEVEMENt
GAP BASEd ON dAtA, dEVELOPEd A qUALIty
INtERVENtION, ANd MEASUREd OUtCOMES.
RUBRIC SCORES FOR SCHOOL COUNSELING
PROGRAM CLOSING tHE GAP SUMMARy REPORtS
Score*
Criteria 3 2 1 x̄
Counselor Led Intervention
Total 88 8 4 2.84
Elementary 59 2 1
Middle 20 5 0
High 9 1 3
Identification of an Achievement Gap
Total 48 29 23 2.25
Elementary 33 15 14
Middle 10 10 5
High 5 4 4
Quality of Intervention
Total 35 36 29 2.06
Elementary 27 19 16
Middle 4 11 10
High 4 6 3
Quality of Results
Total 12 77 11 2.01
Elementary 11 45 6
Middle 0 20 5
High 1 12 0
Note. n = 100

Rubric scores: 3 = exceeds; 2 = adequate; 1 = emerging or not
met
tABLE 1.
achievement gap (x̄ = 2.06). Twelve re-
ports (12%) reported outcomes of the
intervention based on both perception
and results data, drew logical conclu-
sions, and made realistic future plans
based on the outcomes (x̄ = 2.01).
Of the 100 reports scored, 71 (71%)
lacked sufficient information to fully
explain the interventions delivered and
the results found. Items that were not
adequately described on the reports
included details regarding the identi-
fied gaps, specifics on the interven-
tions, descriptions of the outcomes,
explanations of the activities provided,
and elaboration on the conclusions
and summary. The reports also often
used unfamiliar acronyms, making it
difficult for an outside reader, includ-
ing all stakeholders, to gain a full
understanding of the intervention and
its outcomes.
Of the reviewed school reports,
92 (92%) indicated definite gains in
outcomes based on perception and/or

results data as a result of the inter-
ventions. Specifically, 54 out of 92
(59%) of the schools reported gains
as measured by perception data, and
79 out of 92 (86%) of the reports in-
dicated that the intervention impacted
student success via achievement or
achievement-related data. Forty-two
of the 92 (46%) schools that reported
gains showed gains in both types of
assessment data on their reports. Table
2 indicates the types of outcome data
counselors used to report gains for
each targeted intervention category.
diSCuSSion
Overall, a majority of the school
counselor teams reported that they
designed and implemented closing the
gap interventions in their schools, a
promising outcome since this is an es-
sential skill for school counselors who
implement and manage comprehensive
school counseling programs. How-
ever, most teams failed to fulfill all the
requirements necessary to produce
a quality closing the gap summary
results report in the areas of identifica-
tion of a gap, quality of intervention,
and quality of results.
The ability to identify a group of
students for whom a gap exists is an
important skill for school counselors

in order to advocate for equity and
access for all students. However, fewer
than half of the reports included the
data used to identify gaps. School
counselors who were trained in years
two and three were more likely to
include in their reports the school data
used to identify the gaps. This may
be due in part to modifications that
were made in the training from year
to year as areas in need of improve-
ment were gleaned; however, it may
have also occurred because the later
trainings included more peer examples
of closing the gap projects since school
counselors are more likely to trans-
late training into actual practice if
they receive peer training (Holcomb-
McCoy, Gonzalez, & Johnston, 2009).
NUMBER OF REPORtS tHAt INdICAtEd GAINS By tARGEtEd
AREA ANd tyPE OF OUtCOME dAtA
Gains in Results Gains in Both
Targeted Area of and/or Perception Gains in Gains in Results
and
Achievement Gap Data* Results Data Perception Data
Perception Data
n % n % n % n %
Test Scores 42 46 40 51 26 48 24 57
Grades 17 18 15 19 9 17 7 17
Discipline/Behavior 15 16 12 15 7 13 6 14

Attendance 10 11 10 13 4 7 4 10
Other** 8 9 2 3 8 15 1 2
Total 92 92 79 79 54 54 42 42
Note. N = 100
* Gains reported in this column include all reports that reported
any type of gain, whether perception data only, results
data only, or perception and results data. (For example, 42
reports indicated gains in results and/or perception data for
interventions targeting test scores. Forty of those 42 reported
gains in results data with 24 of those 40 reporting gains in
results and perception data and the other 16 of the 40 reporting
gains in results data only. Twenty six reports indicated
gains in perception data with 24 of those 26 showing gains in
perception and results data and two of the 26 indicating
gains in perception data only.)
** Eight schools that reported gains submitted reports on
interventions to impact other factors beyond test scores,
grades, discipline/behavior, and attendance. Five of the eight
interventions targeted problem-solving, one report targeted
student organizational skills, and two reports targeted student
reading goals and homework completion.
tABLE 2.
OF tHE 100 REPORtS SCOREd, 71 LACkEd SUFFICIENt
INFORMAtION tO FULLy ExPLAIN tHE INtERVENtIONS
dELIVEREd ANd tHE RESULtS FOUNd.

Although most counselors were able to
identify a group of students in need of
an intentional guidance activity, they
were not as skilled at explaining or un-
derstanding the data used to identify
that gap.
Another finding of this study is
that most school counselors do not
assess and document changes using
both perception and results data.
Counselors must create a causal link
between the school counseling activity
and student achievement via percep-
tion and outcome data (Dimmitt et
al., 2007). Although the counselors
received training on the different types
of data and the importance of creat-
ing a causal link, more than half of
the reports showed that the school
counselors failed to develop and assess
an intervention through the collec-
tion and analysis of all types of data.
While most reports included results
data, only a little over half reported
perception data. However, even those
that included perception data generally
only reported post-intervention data
and some counselors reported percep-
tion data as students’ perceptions such
as “were surprised to learn.” True
perception data requires the measure-
ment of attitude, knowledge, and/or
skill from both before and after the

intervention in order to determine
if a difference exists (Dimmitt et al.,
2007). Those who reported some
form of perception data often failed to
demonstrate a true understanding of
such data.
Equal in importance to utiliz-
ing school data to identify gaps and
developing quality interventions with
methods of assessment based on per-
ception and results data is the ability
to accurately report the details of this
endeavor. However, the majority of
the reports lacked sufficient detail and
this made it difficult to understand the
interventions provided and the results
found.
Ultimately, the most important out-
come of the training was the demonstra-
tion of how student academic success
is being improved by school counselor
interventions. With the majority of
schools reporting gains, students appear
to be different as a result of the work
of school counselors. Although some
counselors still need assistance in using
data to identify and define achievement
gaps, developing interventions to close
the gaps, and reporting outcomes via
both perception and results data, almost
half of the schools were able to imple-
ment a counseling intervention that

could be linked to actual improvements
in achievement or achievement-related
student gains by showing improve-
ments in student attitude, skill, and/or
knowledge from before and after the
intervention.
limitationS
Lack of sufficient details impacted
the various elements of the reports;
therefore, the first author could not
determine the quality of many of the
interventions provided and outcomes
reported. Possibly affecting the sum-
mary results reports were the counsel-
ors’ abilities to write quality reports,
the time designated or allowed for
writing the reports, and the importance
that the counselors placed on writing
the reports; therefore, the reports may
not truly represent the outcomes of the
interventions. As a consequence, this
study may represent more of a measure
of whether school counselors have the
ability to present findings and write
summary results reports than their abil-
ity to impact achievement gaps.
An additional limitation of this
study is that the evaluation of the
reports and the use of the rubric was
a subjective process completed by the
first author. As with any subjective
process, the possibility of error exists
and may have occurred with the scores

assigned to the various elements of the
rubric for the reports. These errors
would impact the validity of this study.
imPliCationS
Based on their interviews with school
counselors, Astramovich, Coker, and
Hoskins (2005) recommend con-
tinual training in evaluation methods
that provide “hands-on practice and
application of evaluation skills” (p.
53). Overall, the review of reports
indicates that, in spite of four days
of training, participants need further
training and more hands-on prepara-
tion in school data usage and evalu-
ation. For many school counselors,
identifying gaps based on data, as well
as assessing and documenting changes
based on perception and results data,
is a new skill set since the majority of
them were not educated in these areas
in their graduate level preparation
for the profession. Initial exposure
to these new concepts is simply not
enough for most school counselors.
As with the development of any new
skill, both time and repeated exposure
to the use of data and the measure-
ment of outcomes via perception and
results data are needed to become
proficient in this area. School counsel-
ors need continual training, feedback,
and mentoring to master these skills
and they would benefit greatly from
examples of how their peers are

implementing appropriate, counselor-
led interventions to close achievement
gaps and how peers are reporting the
outcomes based on perception and
results data. For many school coun-
ALtHOUGH MOSt COUNSELORS wERE ABLE tO
IdENtIFy A GROUP OF StUdENtS IN NEEd OF AN
INtENtIONAL GUIdANCE ACtIVIty, tHEy wERE NOt
AS SkILLEd At ExPLAINING OR UNdERStANdING
tHE dAtA USEd tO IdENtIFy tHAt GAP.
selors, the expectation to measure the
impact of an intervention is a para-
digm shift, which will require repeated
exposure and practice for full under-
standing to occur and self-efficacy to
develop.
However, in addition to the fact
that these topics need reinforcement
for school counselors, this evaluation
revealed an additional area of concern.
Writing results reports is a new skill
that school counselors must develop
and they need training on how to
do this. Accompanying training on
writing quality results reports, school
counselors need feedback on their own
reports. Both such training and feed-

back on written reports would result
in higher quality results reports that
could be shared with stakeholders.
ConCluSion
The findings of this study demonstrate
that school counselors who receive
training to implement comprehensive
school counseling programs can im-
pact student achievement. According
to gains reported on the summary re-
sults reports, the intentional interven-
tions delivered by counselors impacted
student test scores, grades, attendance,
and discipline/behavior. However, the
findings of this study also indicate
that the majority of school counselors
need additional training before they
can fully implement comprehensive,
data-driven procedures into their daily
practice. Given that it takes three to
five years to fully implement a compre-
hensive program (ASCA, 2005), pro-
viding continual training and support
for school counselors is important.
Counselors need additional support
in identifying gaps based on school
data, designing quality interventions,
evaluating the effectiveness of the
intervention by collecting and analyz-
ing perception and outcome data, and
adequately reporting outcomes. Pro-
viding this support will be important
as school counselors continue to build
comprehensive, data-driven school

counseling programs that address the
academic, career, and personal/social
developmental needs of students. n
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Earn CEUs for
reading this article. Visit
www.schoolcounselor.org
and click on Professional
School
Counseling to

learn how.
http://www.edtrust.org/dc/tsc
http://public.doe
http://www.schoolcounselor.org
School:
________________________________________________ Year:
_______________________________________________
Counselors and other researchers:
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
Purpose of Data Project:
_____________________________________________________
_________________________________
Grade Level(s):
_________________________________________ Domain(s):
__________________________________________
Duration of Project:
_____________________________________ Total Number of
Students Served: _______________________
Date(s) of Project:
_______________________________________

Procedures
How was your project set up?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
How was it assessed?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
results
Summarize the results of your project:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
Summary and Conclusions
What have you concluded from the data project?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
Future Plans
Based on the results of the data project, what is your next step?
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

__
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__
APPENdix A SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM CLOSING
tHE GAP SUMMARy
APPENdix B CLOSING tHE GAP RESULtS REPORt RUBRIC
Counselor led
intervention
The school counselor collected
data on an intervention that
was conducted by another
party.
The school counselor
participated in the intervention
under the direction of another
party.
The school counselor played
a primary role in the design
and implementation of the
intervention.
1
Emerging or Not Met

2
Adequate
3
Exceeds
The report failed to identify
students for whom a gap
existed.
The report identified a group
of students for whom a gap
existed.
Based on school data, the
report identified a group of
specific students for whom a
gap existed.
Identification of
an Achievement
Gap
An intervention for students
was designed with some
method to determine its
success.
An intervention based on an
ASCA domain was designed
and conducted to close an
achievement gap. A method of
assessment via perception or
results data was established to
determine if the intervention
was successful.

An intervention that addressed
the need and was based on one
or more of the ASCA domains
was designed and conducted
over a sufficient period of time
to close an achievement gap
for an identified population. A
method of assessment via both
perception and results data
was established to determine
if the intervention was
successful.
Intervention
The report identified outcome
data with conclusions but no
future plans.
The report identified
perception and/or results data.
At least one conclusion was
drawn from the findings with
some future plans.
The report identified clear
perception and results data.
Logical conclusions were
made based on the findings
and realistic future plans were
identified.
Results

VoluMe 16, nuMBer 1 asca 71SCHOOL COUNSELORS .docx

VoluMe 16, nuMBer 1 asca 71SCHOOL COUNSELORS .docx

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