The School Counselor and Annual Performance Appraisal

ASCA Position

The annual performance appraisal of school counselors should accurately reflect the unique professional training and practices of school counselors working within a pre-K–12 school counseling program. These appraisals should be aligned to the role and responsibilities of the school counselors as articulated by ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies, the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, the school counseling program assessment and the school counselor performance appraisal from the ASCA National Model^®.
 

The Rationale

The overarching purpose of the school counselor performance appraisal is to enhance the positive impacts the school counselor and the school counseling program have on students’ success. Feedback and collaboration in the performance appraisal process should be based on the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies to ensure school counselors “design, implement and assess a school counseling program that improves life-readiness and academic success for each and every student” (ASCA, 2025a, p. 1) and are engaging in appropriate school counseling duties. 
 
Because many administrators have not received training on the ASCA National Model^® and how to appraise school counselor performance, part of school counselor advocacy includes informing school administrators and other educational partners about the role of the school counselor and that of the school counseling program (ASCA 2025a; Dahir & Geesa, 2022; Sabella et al., 2023). The annual administrator conference, as described in the ASCA National Model^®, is an essential practice to support the school counselor appraisal process. It ensures school counselors are better positioned to support student success in ways that align with appropriate school counselor roles and responsibilities (Dahir & Geesa, 2022; Geesa et al., 2023). Utilizing this process, there is a higher likelihood that the school counseling programs reflect the ASCA National Model^®(Geesa et al., 2023; Kirk et al., 2025; Sabella et al., 2023) and that school counselors experience greater job satisfaction (Lee, 2025). 
 
Because many administrators have not received training on how to evaluate school counselor performance, school counselors educate administrators about the appropriate role of the school counselor, ultimately to improve the school counseling program (Hatch et al., 2019). Annual agreements between administrators and school counselors can be mutually beneficial for understanding the school counselor role (Duslak & Geier, 2016). The ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies (2019b) and School Counselor Performance Appraisal template are designed to be used as planningtools when developing a sound school counselor assessment tool (ASCA, 2019a).

The School Counselor's Role

The role and responsibilities of the school counselor in pre-K-12 settings require that their performance is appraised in a manner that accounts for appropriate and professional school counseling duties (Beal, 2025).
 
The school counselor: 

• Completes the annual administrator conference, in collaboration with their school administrators, and references it during the annual school counselor performance appraisal 
• Consults with school administrators regarding ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies and advocates for its integration as a tool of the ASCA National Model^® (Dahir & Geesa, 2022; Geesa et al., 2023) in the performance appraisal process 

• Presents evidence of the school counseling program’s impact including access, life-readiness and academic achievement data (ASCA 2025a) 

• Collaborates with other school counselors, school administrators, district leadership, union representatives (as appropriate), departments of education, etc. to advocate for the alignment between the school counselor appraisal tool and appropriate school counseling roles (Geesa et al., 2023; Sabella et al., 2023; Young & Kaffenberger, 2018)

Summary

The annual performance appraisal of the school counselor, including the appraisal forms and tools used in the process, should reflect the current standards, competencies and the performance appraisal instruments of the school counseling profession.