Mrs. Moseley's thoughts on Data in School Counseling Programs
Do all counselors use data to drive decisions at BHS?
"We certainly hope so"
- Range in the office
- New vs. old
- Effective vs. ineffective
How frequently does data impact your decisions?
- All the time, always an undertone
- Use evidence and research when speaking with parents about attendance
- 1/4 of 9th graders are going to fail
- use data to break cycles, lead to decisions to place students at alternative schools to increase chances for success
- Being aware of data, school status
- Title I
- 100% Free/Reduced Lunch
- Education is not the priority
- New data every year
Do you collect data before and after classroom guidance lessons?
Yes, look at effectiveness in terms of grades, students wanting to discuss the topics covered in lesson.
Do you feel that data should be used more frequently in the counseling program?
"It certainly can't hurt."
- Factual data
- Special populations (middle schoolers missing a year)
- SPED
- challenging to measure
- Willing to learn
- PLC and NBLC
- NBLC (separate school)-> transfer, not a drop out
- PLC -> no EOC data included in BHS total
- Manipulated data presented
What interventions have you implemented based on data?
- Science department -> tutoring after school
- 8th grade scores to determine placement in classes
- Parent conferences
- Teacher conferences
- Run articles to community for guide parents in what they can do students.
- Focus on students lacking data
What are the benefits of data based programs?
"Having students become more successful with whatever path they choose and ultimately graduating from high school."
Being able to show a measurable difference from baseline data.
How do you use data to drive your school counseling program?
- To ID at-risk students
- attendance, grade, discipline referrals
- School Improvement Team
- grades and test scores at-risk for not meeting graduation requirements
- from data should increase 1-on-1 sessions and core curriculum lesson
- Lexile scores to group homerooms
- Once a week for 30 mins all faculty employ practices to increase scores-> increased grad rates and post-secondary success
- Reinforce faculty initiatives to promote student success
- PSAT data to ID AP potential -> enrollment in AP classes, encourage everyone to enroll
What are the benefits of evidence-based practices?
- Knowing they work on some populations, however....
- Have to alter lesson for each classroom based on population.
How you present it
How you determine if it's effective
- Not all practices work with all individuals, have to be able to flex.
Background
Has been in education for 32 years
Was a school teacher (15 years) prior to becoming a Counselor (19 years) at the High School level.
HOPE paid for "Guidance Counselors" to go to Grad School ('94-'96).