School Counselors and College/Career-Ready California Schools
By Loretta Whitson, Caroline J. Lopez and Jacob Olsen | January 2018
Background
For years, public education in California was dominated by the California Standardized Assessment (CST); a single source of measurement in determining the effectiveness of schools. As time went on, many people, including California decision makers, came to a similar conclusion: it is ludicrous to think one annual source of measurement would be enough in determining a “good” school. What's more, this myopic approach had classroom teachers continuously teaching to the test, leaving many school counselors on the sidelines groveling for time with students.
Moreover, state and national decision makers became increasingly concerned over the number of college graduates needed to fill future job openings and the lack of high school graduates prepared to enter college (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013; Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2010). Several efforts have been made to solve the lack of college and career ready students. One such effort is the adoption of the Common Core in 2010. Many of the framers of the Common Core were touting it as the solution for increasing college readiness; however, most of us in the school counseling profession understood that rigorous coursework alone is not enough (Whitson, 2014). Michelle Obama recognized this and in 2014 launched the Reach Higher campaign, which continues to make headway in preparing more students for college.
Research
Studies have emerged pointing to effective strategies for improving college and career readiness including the value of school counselors. For example, school counselors contribute to important aspects of students’ college and career readiness including increasing graduation rates and ACT scores (Carey & Harrington, 2010a, 2010b); increasing postsecondary application and enrollment (Belasco, 2013; Bryan, Holcomb, Moore, & Day, 2011; Hurwitz & Howell, 2013); and increasing FAFSA completion and college attendance rates (Owen & Westlund, 2016). Furthermore, school counselors have been found to play a critical role in addressing college and career readiness barriers among traditionally underserved student populations (Beck, Rausch, Lane, & Wood, 2016; Jones, Van Belle, Johnson, & Simmons, 2014). Students from low-income backgrounds who have a series of meetings with their school counselor are more likely to go to college than students who meet with their counselor only once (Havlik, 2018). Studies also have pointed to the value of early interventions starting at the elementary level (Knight, 2015; Mariani, Berger, Koerner, & Sandlin, 2017) and whole-child approaches to school accountability in the areas of college and career readiness (ACT, 2017). Furthermore, numerous publications gained public attention and appear to have had a strong influence on the evolution of California's new accountability system (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2015).
The California School Dashboard
Beginning in 2013, California adopted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which provided funds and measured school effectiveness in eight strategic areas, many of which were connected to the expertise associated with school counselors training and knowledgebase (Lopez & Whitson, 2016). In 2017, LCFF gave way to the California School Dashboard. The Dashboard comprises indicators and standards to help identify a school's strengths, weaknesses, and areas in need of improvement. The Dashboard is the school’s and district’s public profile so it is receiving enormous attention within schools and districts across the state. The baseline data released in November 2017 has district and site administrators beginning to wrap their heads around implications and strategies for improvement.
This data will serve as a foundation for subsequent annual measurements. Next year’s assessment measures could be much different because added to the baseline measurements is a continuous improvement factor. Most everyone agrees that whole child measurement areas are a welcome addition to California’s school accountability system and a needed first step forward in measuring college and career readiness.
College and Career Dashboard Specifics
High school graduates are now being evaluated based on meeting at least one of the following measures in the prepared level.
To emphasize the State of California’s commitment to college and career success, Governor Brown released his budget proposal for 2018-19 a few weeks ago. This proposal is encouraging with funds being maintained for Cal Grant awards for students at $9,084. The budget also proposes $46 million to implement the California College Promise to waive some or all community college fees. In addition, there is a proposed increase of $212 million to Proposition 98 General Fund for K-12 Career Technical Education programs.
What School Counselors Can Do
School counselors’ preparation to lead their schools in college and career strategies is an important area of interest for California school counseling leaders, and CASC is beefing up its support by providing state and regional professional development in these areas. We hope that when school districts connect the dots in understanding the value of comprehensive school counseling programs to increasing their College/Career Dashboard measurements, they will hire more school counselors, thus decreasing the student-to-school-counselor ratios. This is a good time for school counselors to draw attention to their areas of expertise. It is also important to guard against districts’ belief that utilizing untrained individuals is adequate for getting desired college and career readiness-related results.
In the next few months, districts will be in the process of reallocating funds to meet the Dashboard assessment measures. We are encouraging school counselors to consider action towards influencing local decision makers in expanding their comprehensive school program, and, in particular, hiring more school counselors to address the new college and career assessment area in California schools. Some strategies include:
Beck, M. J., Rausch, M. A., Lane, E. D., & Wood, S. M. (2016). College, career, and lifestyle development with students who are LGBQQ: Strategies for school counselors. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 10(4), 197-210. doi:10.1080/15538605.2016.1233838
Belasco, A. A. (2013). Creating college opportunity: School counselors and their influence on postsecondary enrollment. Research in Higher Education, 54, 781-804. doi:10.1007/s11162-013-9297-4
Bryan, J., Holcomb, C., Moore, C., & Day, N. (2011). School counselors as social capital: The effects of high school college counseling on college application rates. Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, 190-199.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2013). Overview of projections to 2022. Monthly Labor Review, December 2013.
Carey, J. C., & Harrington, K. M. (2010a). Nebraska school counseling evaluation report. Amherst, MA: Center for School Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation.
Carey, J. C., & Harrington, K. M. (2010b). Utah school counseling evaluation report. Amherst, MA: Center for School Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation.
Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2010). Help wanted: Projections of job and education requirements through 2018. Lumina Foundation.
Havlik, S. (2018, January 4). The hidden homelessness among America's high school students. Retrieved from http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/The-hidden-homelessness-among-America-s-high-12474769.php
Jones, K. R., Van Belle, L. A., Johnson, G. V., & Simmons, R. W. (2014). Beyond the common core and the politics of education reform: The role of school counselors and teachers in facilitating the college and career readiness of urban students. Advances in Education in Diverse Communities: Research, Policy & Praxis, 10, 45-70. doi:10.1108/S1479-358X20130000010003
Knight, J. L. (2015). Preparing elementary school counselors to promote career development: Recommendations for school counselor education programs. Journal of Career Development, 42(2), 75-85.
Lopez, C. J. & Whitson L. (September/October, 2016). School counselors: Collaborating for LCAP goals. Leadership Extra. Association of California School Administrators.
Mariani, M., Berger, C., Koerner, K., & Sandlin, C. (2017). Operation occupation: A college and career readiness intervention for elementary students. Professional School Counseling, 20, 65-76.
National Forum on Education Statistics. (2015). Forum guide to college and career ready data. (NFES 2015-157). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Owen, L., & Westlund, E. (2016). Increasing college opportunity: School counselors and FAFSA completion. Journal of College Access, 2(1), 3.
Whitson, L. A. (2014). Perceptions of change factors: A qualitative study of the operative forces influencing school counselors in the change process. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1649232599?accountid=7285
Loretta Whitson, Ed.D., is the executive director of the California School Counselor Association and part of the California delegation for Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative. She represents school counselors on the California Coalition for College and Career Readiness. Caroline J. Lopez, Ph.D., and Jacob Olsen, Ph.D., are assistant professors in the School Counseling program at California State University Long Beach.
For years, public education in California was dominated by the California Standardized Assessment (CST); a single source of measurement in determining the effectiveness of schools. As time went on, many people, including California decision makers, came to a similar conclusion: it is ludicrous to think one annual source of measurement would be enough in determining a “good” school. What's more, this myopic approach had classroom teachers continuously teaching to the test, leaving many school counselors on the sidelines groveling for time with students.
Moreover, state and national decision makers became increasingly concerned over the number of college graduates needed to fill future job openings and the lack of high school graduates prepared to enter college (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013; Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2010). Several efforts have been made to solve the lack of college and career ready students. One such effort is the adoption of the Common Core in 2010. Many of the framers of the Common Core were touting it as the solution for increasing college readiness; however, most of us in the school counseling profession understood that rigorous coursework alone is not enough (Whitson, 2014). Michelle Obama recognized this and in 2014 launched the Reach Higher campaign, which continues to make headway in preparing more students for college.
Research
Studies have emerged pointing to effective strategies for improving college and career readiness including the value of school counselors. For example, school counselors contribute to important aspects of students’ college and career readiness including increasing graduation rates and ACT scores (Carey & Harrington, 2010a, 2010b); increasing postsecondary application and enrollment (Belasco, 2013; Bryan, Holcomb, Moore, & Day, 2011; Hurwitz & Howell, 2013); and increasing FAFSA completion and college attendance rates (Owen & Westlund, 2016). Furthermore, school counselors have been found to play a critical role in addressing college and career readiness barriers among traditionally underserved student populations (Beck, Rausch, Lane, & Wood, 2016; Jones, Van Belle, Johnson, & Simmons, 2014). Students from low-income backgrounds who have a series of meetings with their school counselor are more likely to go to college than students who meet with their counselor only once (Havlik, 2018). Studies also have pointed to the value of early interventions starting at the elementary level (Knight, 2015; Mariani, Berger, Koerner, & Sandlin, 2017) and whole-child approaches to school accountability in the areas of college and career readiness (ACT, 2017). Furthermore, numerous publications gained public attention and appear to have had a strong influence on the evolution of California's new accountability system (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2015).
The California School Dashboard
Beginning in 2013, California adopted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which provided funds and measured school effectiveness in eight strategic areas, many of which were connected to the expertise associated with school counselors training and knowledgebase (Lopez & Whitson, 2016). In 2017, LCFF gave way to the California School Dashboard. The Dashboard comprises indicators and standards to help identify a school's strengths, weaknesses, and areas in need of improvement. The Dashboard is the school’s and district’s public profile so it is receiving enormous attention within schools and districts across the state. The baseline data released in November 2017 has district and site administrators beginning to wrap their heads around implications and strategies for improvement.
This data will serve as a foundation for subsequent annual measurements. Next year’s assessment measures could be much different because added to the baseline measurements is a continuous improvement factor. Most everyone agrees that whole child measurement areas are a welcome addition to California’s school accountability system and a needed first step forward in measuring college and career readiness.
College and Career Dashboard Specifics
High school graduates are now being evaluated based on meeting at least one of the following measures in the prepared level.
- Students successfully completing A-G, approved CTE sequence, or both
- Students meeting college standard on AP /1B / dual credit coursework
- 4-year graduation rate
To emphasize the State of California’s commitment to college and career success, Governor Brown released his budget proposal for 2018-19 a few weeks ago. This proposal is encouraging with funds being maintained for Cal Grant awards for students at $9,084. The budget also proposes $46 million to implement the California College Promise to waive some or all community college fees. In addition, there is a proposed increase of $212 million to Proposition 98 General Fund for K-12 Career Technical Education programs.
What School Counselors Can Do
School counselors’ preparation to lead their schools in college and career strategies is an important area of interest for California school counseling leaders, and CASC is beefing up its support by providing state and regional professional development in these areas. We hope that when school districts connect the dots in understanding the value of comprehensive school counseling programs to increasing their College/Career Dashboard measurements, they will hire more school counselors, thus decreasing the student-to-school-counselor ratios. This is a good time for school counselors to draw attention to their areas of expertise. It is also important to guard against districts’ belief that utilizing untrained individuals is adequate for getting desired college and career readiness-related results.
In the next few months, districts will be in the process of reallocating funds to meet the Dashboard assessment measures. We are encouraging school counselors to consider action towards influencing local decision makers in expanding their comprehensive school program, and, in particular, hiring more school counselors to address the new college and career assessment area in California schools. Some strategies include:
- Measuring the impact of the school counseling program on California Dashboard data indicators (A-G or CTE completion, AP /1B / dual enrollment and success, and 4-year graduation rates).
- Presenting at district board meetings on the role of the school counselor in college and career readiness.
- Serving on Pathway/CTE leadership teams.
Beck, M. J., Rausch, M. A., Lane, E. D., & Wood, S. M. (2016). College, career, and lifestyle development with students who are LGBQQ: Strategies for school counselors. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 10(4), 197-210. doi:10.1080/15538605.2016.1233838
Belasco, A. A. (2013). Creating college opportunity: School counselors and their influence on postsecondary enrollment. Research in Higher Education, 54, 781-804. doi:10.1007/s11162-013-9297-4
Bryan, J., Holcomb, C., Moore, C., & Day, N. (2011). School counselors as social capital: The effects of high school college counseling on college application rates. Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, 190-199.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2013). Overview of projections to 2022. Monthly Labor Review, December 2013.
Carey, J. C., & Harrington, K. M. (2010a). Nebraska school counseling evaluation report. Amherst, MA: Center for School Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation.
Carey, J. C., & Harrington, K. M. (2010b). Utah school counseling evaluation report. Amherst, MA: Center for School Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation.
Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2010). Help wanted: Projections of job and education requirements through 2018. Lumina Foundation.
Havlik, S. (2018, January 4). The hidden homelessness among America's high school students. Retrieved from http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/The-hidden-homelessness-among-America-s-high-12474769.php
Jones, K. R., Van Belle, L. A., Johnson, G. V., & Simmons, R. W. (2014). Beyond the common core and the politics of education reform: The role of school counselors and teachers in facilitating the college and career readiness of urban students. Advances in Education in Diverse Communities: Research, Policy & Praxis, 10, 45-70. doi:10.1108/S1479-358X20130000010003
Knight, J. L. (2015). Preparing elementary school counselors to promote career development: Recommendations for school counselor education programs. Journal of Career Development, 42(2), 75-85.
Lopez, C. J. & Whitson L. (September/October, 2016). School counselors: Collaborating for LCAP goals. Leadership Extra. Association of California School Administrators.
Mariani, M., Berger, C., Koerner, K., & Sandlin, C. (2017). Operation occupation: A college and career readiness intervention for elementary students. Professional School Counseling, 20, 65-76.
National Forum on Education Statistics. (2015). Forum guide to college and career ready data. (NFES 2015-157). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Owen, L., & Westlund, E. (2016). Increasing college opportunity: School counselors and FAFSA completion. Journal of College Access, 2(1), 3.
Whitson, L. A. (2014). Perceptions of change factors: A qualitative study of the operative forces influencing school counselors in the change process. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1649232599?accountid=7285
Loretta Whitson, Ed.D., is the executive director of the California School Counselor Association and part of the California delegation for Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative. She represents school counselors on the California Coalition for College and Career Readiness. Caroline J. Lopez, Ph.D., and Jacob Olsen, Ph.D., are assistant professors in the School Counseling program at California State University Long Beach.