Especially in middle and high schools, school counselors are seeing the benefit of data-driven conversations with students to help them make decisions about their academic experience and future life goals. Because many counselors use platforms, surveys, assessments, and other tools, the data that are available to them are rich and useful. Using data sources not only makes counseling easier, it makes counseling more effective. And, the very first bullet point on the National ASCA Model about counseling programs is that they “are based on data-informed decision making.”

There are an infinite number of data sources that can be used. From internal survey results to SAT scores, counselors have access to data that can drive their decision-making regarding everything from whole school initiatives to individual student goal-setting. Counselors who look at data regularly say that they want to see as much of the data as possible in one place where it can most easily be interpreted, and they want customizable reports with simple to use filters for narrowing down their search or identifying students quickly. In working with counselors around the world, we find that they are primarily interested in reviewing data in the following 7 key areas of student growth and support. 

#1. Student Assessments and Survey Results 

The first key area of data usage for counselors is assessment and survey results. Ranging from test scores, strength assessments, and custom built surveys, results from important tests (like SAT and ACT) as well as assessments (like an Interest Profiler) can help counselors make decisions and provide recommendations to their students. When counselors have readily available access to test scores, they can point students in the right direction regarding interventions that can improve scores. When counselors have survey and assessment results at their fingertips, they can know more about the values, personality, and intelligences of their students, providing them with insight to do their jobs better. 

Moreover, when counselors can review results with students by looking at the data together, they can teach students how to interpret the data on their own. This not only helps the students to make more informed decisions, but it builds a durable skill–data analysis and goal setting–that students desperately need for life and work. One of the critical features of making this practice most successful is when students and their counselors have portals and platforms where all of the data is housed so that everyone has the same access to the same information. This also makes the use of assessment and survey results more straightforward for those who are somewhat reluctant about their skills with examining the data. 

#2. Career Interests

The second key area of data usage that schools from kindergarten through college are using–now more than ever–is student career interest results. Especially when students have access to career exploration tools, counselors can tailor their conversations and lessons based on the interests that their students have in life and work. This starts with the notion that students should be exploring different career areas as early as elementary school so that they can see themselves as being successful in the future with a quality job and so that they can find purpose in what they’re learning in school as connected to what they need to know as graduates. 

When counselors have access to students’ career interests, not only can they help students to make a plan, they can also provide them with further information about the career. This includes things like the level of education that a student would need to attain a certain career, the types of jobs that are related to their interest, what they can expect as work activities, where the jobs are located, and which programs and certificates are necessary. Equipping students with this level of information about their career interests is only obtainable when we know what their career interests are, hence the reason to collect that data in the first place. And, the earlier we start to collect the data, the better we can help students with an understanding of what’s available to them as coursework in school, how to create a four-year plan in high school that sets them up for success, and what they need to do upon graduation to make their dreams come true. 

#3. College Planning

Not every student has aspirations to go to college, but data-driven counselors know which do and which don’t. They also know that if students aren’t going to attend college, they’re going to need a viable post-secondary plan that awards them a quality industry credential. The fact is that two- and four-year colleges and universities offer the best chance at a sustainable economic means. Many of the credentials that provide entry into the economy through the trades or other technical jobs are earned at 2-year vocational and community colleges. 

Counselors who have the data about what students want to do after graduation are able to steer them in the right direction. In some cases, there are students who want to go to college but don’t think they can afford it; counselors can show them options for free and low-cost college experiences. In other cases, there are students who want to go into the military, a specialized field where a 4-year degree is required, and other choices that students make for when they graduate. The point is that when counselors have data about what students want to do when they graduate, they can help students to make the best decision for themselves. Data-driven counselors can make sure that students are getting the right information so that students have the best chance at being successful. 

#4. Personal Goals and Quality Experiences

One of the hallmarks of data-driven counseling is goal-setting. The fact remains that goal-setting is a skill and students need support to set SMART goals for their decisions about school and life. When students set goals, and counselors and other educators can see those goals, they can use that data to guide students toward selecting the right coursework while they’re in school and the right programming for when they graduate. 

One key area of data-driven decision-making for students is to link them with the right afterschool programs, job experiences, athletics, volunteer opportunities, and more. A fully engaged student has a number of experiences that they can put on their resume. Whether it be logging work-based learning hours for a specified requirement or finding service learning opportunities to bolster their application for a particular award or scholarship, counselors who use data regularly know the benefit of having information about students’ interests, their goals, and the opportunities that are available in the community. 

#5. Post-Secondary Statistics

The future of data-driven counseling is the ability to use various forms of data to track students’ after they graduate to learn more about how their plans are actually unfolding. Many schools and districts are already doing this work as best they can, but the data sources aren’t always easy to find and use. Most K-12 systems don’t interface with students after they graduate, but innovative schools are already finding new ways to do so. One of the places where we can see rich data about students after they graduate (in the US) is through the use of the National Student Clearinghouse. 

There are numerous benefits in knowing what our graduates are doing in the years after they leave the school system. Counselors have said that they had large percentages of students going to certain colleges and universities only to find out that students weren’t persisting from their freshman to sophomore year. This could be a problem at the university level with support for students or it might be a problem with the preparation they received to do well. Either way, it’s great data to inform counselors as to whether they should continue recommending certain schools or to look deeper into why students aren’t completing their degree. This is only one example of what can be done with postsecondary statistics, and it’s the next step that K-12 institutions will take on our journey to using data to drive our program of work as counselors. 

#6. Scheduling Needs

One of the most important pieces of data for any counselor at every level is to know which courses need to run, how many students are tallied per course or teacher, and the number of requests that have been made for a particular course. Knowing the number of course requests that have been placed for AP Pre-Calculus, for example, makes scheduling far easier in terms of the number of sections and teachers needed for each course in the catalog.  

Beyond the master schedule, counselors are also tasked with providing small group instruction, consultation, and support for both academic and social and emotional needs. This means that they’re constantly developing new schedules for small groups, which requires the use of many data points–from their own calendar of events to their students’ availability within the academic day. Managing these meetings throughout the weeks and months of the school year is nearly impossible unless counselors are tuned into what the data reveal and, hopefully, have access to the data in a central location. 

#7. Time with Students

Many states and regions require a time tracking system for counselors to account for the time that they meet with students versus the interventions and administrative tasks that pull them away from their time with kids. ASCA’s position statement indicates that school counselors should spend at least 80% of their time in direct and indirect services to students and 20% or less of their time in program planning and school support. For school counselors to have a good grasp of how they are spending their time, they need a system to review and track the data and then adjust accordingly. 

Data-driven counseling is not just about student data. It’s also about counselors themselves and the types of work that counselors are responsible for as well as reporting mechanisms for how their time is spent in schools. Counselors and other school support staff can easily get tied up in putting out fires all day rather than being proactive with all of the important duties, such as college and career planning with students. 

Conclusion 

These are obviously not the only 7 ways in which counselors are using data. The variations of data management and analysis are endless. What matters is that data usage is a critical tool for counselors who want to make sure that students are on a path to success within the school system and beyond. It makes the most sense when the data are all housed in the same place and can be easily accessible by counselors, students, parents, colleges and universities, and industry partners so that everyone is not gathering different data and trying to make sense of it in silos. 

All of this can be done within MaiaLearning; if you want to schedule a demo click here.