Texas Counselors Speak Out in National Survey from the College Board

Dec. 2011

Southwestern News

Texas House Rep. Joaquin Castro

Counselors, administrators, political leaders and other education supporters gathered in Austin, Texas, in November to learn more about the findings of a national survey of school counselors and to celebrate policies that support them.

The event featured a panel of educators and advocates, including College Board President Gaston Caperton; Patricia Martin, associate vice president at the College Board; Texas House Rep. Joaquin Castro; Michael Kaprelian, president of the Texas School Counselor Association; Raymund Paredes, Texas commissioner of higher education, and others.

In addition to gaining insight from these speakers, participants also learned what more than 5,000 counselors from across the United States had to say about their schools, their mission and their students. 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 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 the challenges counselors face and what solutions might be found.

Eight 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.

Results are included 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 of counselors 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.