National Counselor Survey Shows Opportunities, Challenges

Dec. 2011

Advocacy

In a national survey, 8 in 10 school counselors agreed that college and career readiness should be a school’s top priority, but just 30 percent of surveyed counselors believed this to be true at their school.

With financial support from the Kresge Foundation, the survey was conducted by Hart Research on behalf of the College Board’s National Office for School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA). Its findings come from more than 5,300 online interviews with middle and high school counselors across the United States. The results offer the perspectives of middle and high school counselors on measures of accountability and education policies and practices, as well as what challenges counselors face and what solutions might be found.

The results can be found in Counseling at a Crossroads: The Perspectives and Promise of School Counselors in American Education. Among the highlights:

• 74 percent of counselors rate as “unique” their role as student advocates who create pathways and support to ensure that all students have opportunities to achieve postsecondary goals.
• 42 percent of counselors say that their schools take advantage of this contribution.
• 62 percent of counselors believe that using transcript audits of graduation readiness is the most fair and appropriate way to assess their effectiveness.
• 21 percent of counselors believe that using state test scores is a fair and appropriate way to assess their effectiveness.
• 71 percent rate academic planning for college and career readiness as very important.
• 34 percent of counselors say that their school is successful at achieving this measure.

“School counselors are an integral part of our national strategy to raise the college completion rate and reclaim America’s place as the global leader in education,” said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. “Counselors are the wide-angle lens bringing together academics, extracurriculars, family life and career planning to match the right students to the right colleges. Their work is invaluable, and it’s time we start treating it that way.”

Using these survey results, as well as other significant research, NOSCA continues to advocate for school counselors and their students, offering helpful strategies for progress, including aligning the mission of counselors with the needs of students, targeting professional development dollars, testing performance-based measures of accountability, utilizing community support, and enacting and enforcing caseload requirements.

See the full report and learn more about NOSCA initiatives here.