1. ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier Data Is Our Friend The Need for a School Counseling Data Management System

2. 2 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier What Do You Think of When You Hear the Word Data?

3. 3 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier What Is Data?  Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions. (www.dictionary.com)

4. 4 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier Uses of Data  Monitor student progress  Target interventions  Evaluate interventions and programs  Plan programs  Identify needs  Describe problems  Measure results and outcomes  Assess cost- effectiveness  Change systems  Discover patterns  Identify best practices  Make decisions

5. 5 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier 3 Types of Data  Process ― What did you do for whom?  Perception ― What do people think they know? What do they believe? What can they do?  Results ― What are the outcomes?  Process ― What did you do for whom?  Perception ― What do people think they know? What do they believe? What can they do?  Results ― What are the outcomes?

6. 6 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier School Counseling Data Management System  A systematic approach to producing, organizing, analyzing and reporting data on the impact of implementing comprehensive school counseling programs  The SCDMS establishes correlations between the counseling program (e.g., curriculum, responsive services, targeted interventions) and key school-wide indicators (e.g., attendance, academic achievement, discipline)  A systematic approach to producing, organizing, analyzing and reporting data on the impact of implementing comprehensive school counseling programs  The SCDMS establishes correlations between the counseling program (e.g., curriculum, responsive services, targeted interventions) and key school-wide indicators (e.g., attendance, academic achievement, discipline)

7. 7 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier Requirements for Establishing a SCDMS  Determine what data needs to be gathered (e.g., who needs what data for what purposes)  Determine data gathering processes and instruments  Develop comprehensive plans for data gathering and reporting  Report data to demonstrate the impact of school counseling on student success and the health of the school community  Determine what data needs to be gathered (e.g., who needs what data for what purposes)  Determine data gathering processes and instruments  Develop comprehensive plans for data gathering and reporting  Report data to demonstrate the impact of school counseling on student success and the health of the school community

8. 8 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier Consequences of Not Focusing on Data  The time when people believe we are doing a good job simply because we say so is gone and will never return  Failure to report meaningful data marginalizes counselors in the school community and diminishes our credibility  Failure to use data for decision-making harms students  Failure to demonstrate our valuable contribution to student success through data can cost us our jobs  The time when people believe we are doing a good job simply because we say so is gone and will never return  Failure to report meaningful data marginalizes counselors in the school community and diminishes our credibility  Failure to use data for decision-making harms students  Failure to demonstrate our valuable contribution to student success through data can cost us our jobs

9. 9 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier Critical Priorities  We recommend that districts focus on producing data for: ― The RI Commissioner of Education’s Review Process ― Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC)  Responding to these two reporting opportunities has the greatest potential for demonstrating that school counseling is making a significant contribution to student success and school improvement  We recommend that districts focus on producing data for: ― The RI Commissioner of Education’s Review Process ― Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC)  Responding to these two reporting opportunities has the greatest potential for demonstrating that school counseling is making a significant contribution to student success and school improvement

10. 10 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier Commissioner’s Review  The Commissioner’s Review Process requires districts to demonstrate how they are using comprehensive school counseling programs to support student success  Counselors need to get involved in providing their districts with information about the impact of school counseling on student success  The Commissioner’s Review Process requires districts to demonstrate how they are using comprehensive school counseling programs to support student success  Counselors need to get involved in providing their districts with information about the impact of school counseling on student success

11. 11 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier SPARC  Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC)  We view SPARC’s as one of the most powerful data reporting tools available to school counselors  We highly recommend that all schools produce an annual SPARC  We recommend EZAnalyze as the primary tool for processing data and generating graphs  Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC)  We view SPARC’s as one of the most powerful data reporting tools available to school counselors  We highly recommend that all schools produce an annual SPARC  We recommend EZAnalyze as the primary tool for processing data and generating graphs

12. 12 ©2007 Dr. Karl Squier Data Is Our Friend  We cannot demonstrate that school counselors are accountable without meaningful data that shows the positive impact of our work  Do not be afraid of data  Embrace data as a powerful tool for improving our practice and promoting our vital contribution to student success  We cannot demonstrate that school counselors are accountable without meaningful data that shows the positive impact of our work  Do not be afraid of data  Embrace data as a powerful tool for improving our practice and promoting our vital contribution to student success