2. What others are saying
“Most counselors are not used properly. Most are
glorified record keepers rather than change agents.
Counselors should not only be schedule
oriented, but student success oriented. Counselors
should be the link between academic success and
applying knowledge to real-life experience”.
College
Board, 2009
4. The New Question
How are students different BECAUSE of school
counseling services?
5. The New Essential Question
How has student achievement INCREASED as a
result of what counselors do?
6. WHAT IS A COMPREHENSIVE
COUNSELING PROGRAM?
By definition, a comprehensive program is an all-
inclusive far-reaching programmatic approach to
school counseling. It is designed to assist ALL
students in the following three areas:
Academic
Personal/Social
Career Development
7. Delivery of services
Guidance Curriculum
Individual Planning
Responsive Services
System Support
8. Guidance curriculum
The Guidance Curriculum is the teaching
component of the comprehensive counseling
program. It consists of developmentally sequenced
activities presented systematically through
classroom and small group settings.
9. Individual Planning
In this component, school counselors coordinate
systematic activities that help ALL students plan,
monitor and manage their own learning. These
activities are generally delivered on an individual
basis or by working with individuals in small groups
or advisement groups.
10. Individual Planning topics
Examples of topics within the component are:
Test score review, interpretation and analysis
Promotion and retention information
Career decision making
Yearly course selection
Financial aid
Interest inventories
Exit interviews and surveys
Four-year or six-year plans
Social Skills
Test-taking skills
College selection
11. RESPONSIVE SERVICES
The Responsive Services component is designed to
meet the immediate needs and concerns of
students. The overall focus is
prevention/intervention through activities and
programs that are developed in response to
students’ needs.
12. System Support
System Support includes activities that maintain and
enhance the school counseling program.
Counselors use their leadership and advocacy skills
to promote systematic change by contributing in the
following areas:
1. Professional Development
2. Consultation and Collaboration
3. Program Management and Operation
14. Making Data Work
(Four Step Process)
Design-What is your question?
Ask-How will you answer your question?
Track-How will you make sense of the data?
Announce-How will you use your findings?
15. Design
(What is your question?)
What do you want to evaluate and why? What do
you want to know? Does your question align with the
school’s mission statement?
During this process, it is a good idea to look at the
data of your school and identify trends. This
information will help you design your question.
16. Suggestions for Clarifying the question
How will the data be used to reduce barriers to
learning or increase student achievement?
How does addressing this question or issue relate to
the school or school counseling program’s mission
statement?
17. Sample questions
Does group counseling focusing on study skills help
students improve standardized test scores?
Does small-group counseling with targeted sixth-
graders having three or more discipline incidents
reduce referrals?
18. ASK
(How will you answer your question?)
What information or data do you need to answer the
question?
Does the data already exist?
What data-collection methods will you use?
19. Three Types of Data
Process Data
Perception Data
Outcome Data
20. Process Data
Process data: answers the question, “What did you do
and for whom?”
Examples of process data include:
Ten sixth-graders participated in a study skills group
that met eight times for 50 minutes.
Twenty sixth-graders participated in a conflict resolution
lesson during large group guidance for 50 minutes.
21. Four Types of Surveys used to collect
perception Data
Pre/Post Test: Given before and after an intervention to
determine knowledge gained or to measure a change in
perspective.
Needs Assessment: Given to students or stakeholders
to gather their perception of student or program needs.
Program/Activity Evaluation: Given after an
intervention or activity to gather participants’ opinions
about the value of the intervention or activity.
Opinion Survey: Given to students or stakeholders to
understand their perceptions of the school counseling
program or activities.
22. Perception Data
Perception data: answers the
question, “What do people think they
know, believe or can do?”
Examples of perception data include:
100 percent of ninth-graders understand graduation
requirements and have completed a graduation
plan.
69 percent of all students report feeling safe at
school.
50 percent of all students know the difference
23. Outcome Data
Outcome data: shows the impact of an activity
or program and answers the question, “So
what?”
Examples of outcome data include:
Graduation rate improved from 75 percent to 81
percent.
Average attendance increased from 80 percent to 92
percent.
Bullying referrals decreased from 40 percent to 30
percent.
24. Track
(How will you make sense of the Data?)
Track: What can you learn from the data? How can
you organize the data so you can answer your
questions and others can understand it? How will
you present your data? Would charts or graphs be
useful?
25. The following charts show the knowledge gained after a conflict resolution lesson.
Question: Every conflict has some type of resolution.
Pre-Test Post-Test
15%
26%
True
True
False
74%
False
85%
26. Announce
(how will you use your findings?)
Announce: What do the results mean? What are
the recommendations? How will you use your
findings? What are the implications?
Use the Data To:
Improve, modify or change services provided to
students.
Evaluate existing practices.
Demonstrate school counselor effectiveness.
27. Implications/Recommendations
The counseling department will implement a school
wide anti-bullying prevention/intervention program.
The counselor will conduct follow up lessons to
check if students are using the conflict resolution
model to resolve daily conflicts.
The counselor will offer parent training between
conflict resolution and bullying.
28. “PEOPLE NOT PROGRAMS”
Remember, as school
counselors we are a
unique entity within the
world of education. We
are trained to always be
thoughtful and deliberate
in what we do. We are
taught to evaluate
research, examine
results, and self-reflect to
determine what students
need to be successful.
29. references
American School Counselor Association (2005). The ASCA
National Model: A Framework for School Counseling
Programs, Second Edition. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Young, A., & Kaffenberger, C. (2009). Making Data Work (2nd
ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCA National Model Publication.
Whitaker, T., (2004). What Great Teachers Do Differently.
Larchmont, New York: Eye On Education, Inc. Publisher.
A Closer Look at the Principal-Counselor Relationship.
(2009, May). College Board Advocacy. Retrieved from
http://nosca.collegeboard.org/research-policies/principal-
counselor
