School Counselor Accountability: A MEASURE of Student Success Carolyn B. Stone, Ed.D. University of North Florida Carol A. Dahir, Ed.D. New York Institute of Technology

is driving the education agenda...

It’s Part of the ASCA National Model

Accountability is not just: Counting tasks……. Reporting numbers……. Accounting for time……. Needs assessments……. Pre- and Posttests………. These are important to DO but take the next step!

IN GOD WE TRUST… ALL OTHERS BRING DATA Brad Duggan, President & CEO, National Center for Education Accountability (2002)

With our colleagues focused on school improvement, the question we might be asked is: How does the school counseling program impact student achievement?

No Child Left Behind (2001) (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) ESEA Goal 1 By , all students will reach high standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics. ESEA Goal 2 All limited-English students will become proficient in English and reach high academic standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics. ESEA Goal 3 By , all students will be taught by highly qualified teachers.

No Child Left Behind (2001) Elementary and Secondary Education Act ESEA Goal 4 All students will be educated in learning environments that are safe, drug free, and conducive to learning. ESEA Goal 5 All students will graduate from high school.

Connecting School Counselors to NCLB Integral to Goals 1, 2, 4, 5 Integral to School Improvement School Counselors – are here!

School systems, state departments of education, and organizations that have an interest in the work of school counselors continue to seek evidence that school counseling programs are accountable, promote student achievement, and address an advocacy agenda for equity in educational opportunities. (Stone & Dahir, 2004)

MEASURE... shows how you identify and positively impact the critical data elements that are the important barometers of student success.

MEASURE: A Six-Step Accountability Framework Mission Elements Analyze Stakeholders-Unite Results Educate

Mission - Connect to the Mission of School When school counselors focus their efforts on the mission of school improvement, they widen educational opportunities for every student and can positively impact student achievement.

Your school's success is measured by results, which are those critical data elements that are important to the internal and external stakeholders. Elements - Identify Critical Data Elements

What Situation in Your School Are You Concerned About? Attendance Graduation Rate Promotion Rate Multiple Failure Rate Postsecondary Going Rate Standardized Test Scores Drop Outs

LOOK AT YOUR DATA Identify an important school improvement issue to which you can contribute. Share your “issue” with your colleagues.

Analyze - Critical Data Elements Which critical data elements need to be carefully discussed and disaggregated?

What do the data tell you? What else do you need to know? How can the school counseling program impact these important data elements? DISCUSSION

What We Can Learn from the Data 53% mobility rate 80% of our students qualify for Title I services daily attendance rate is low at 82% 77% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch

Example: Here’s the % of students with 2 or more failures.

When we analyzed and disaggregated the data element, we discovered that not all groups were performing equitably!

Stakeholders-Unite to Take Action How do we work together to move the data and improve student achievement?

Everyone Can Contribute – Let’s Fill in the Blanks Counselor (s) Example: Work with 9 th graders on transition and adjustment issues. Administrators Teachers Students Parents Higher Education Members Business Partners Community Members

Results Look at your results. Think about your success or what you may want to adjust next. Drop what did not work. Enhance what did work.

Results Example: # of Students with 0 Failures We Did It!

T.E.A.M T ogether Each Accomplishes More

Educate Others as to the Results School counselors can show the positive impact the school counseling program has on student achievement and on the goals of your school’s improvement plan.

CREATE an Accountability Report Card! Describe: Who are you? What do you do? How well do you do it?

School Counselor Paradigm Shift From: To: Monitoring only process and measuring services delivered Focusing on results and measuring outcomes connected to school improvement

Students are either advantaged or disadvantaged by what we do. Pat Martin, National Center for School Counselor Advocacy, 2005

If we are seen as sitting on the side, we must move ourselves to front and center!

Homework  Talk to Your Principal  Meet with Your Colleagues and Present Your Plan  Find Your Data Wizard  Present Your Ideas to Your Faculty  Ask Colleagues to Collaborate and Team with You  Monitor Your School’s Data  Send Me Your MEASURE Draft  Demonstrate “Measure-able” Success  Publicize and Share Your Efforts  CELEBRATE!

WEB RESOURCES Education Trust (data slides; Achievement in America PowerPoint) EZAnalyze National Center for Educational Statistics (student's classroom) ASCA Tools for School Improvement