Accountability: a M.E.A.S.U.R.E of the impact school counselors have on student achievement.

All educators, including school counselors, must share accountability for student achievement. Accountability requires systematically collecting, analyzing, and using critical data elements to understand the current achievement story for students, and to begin to strategize, impact, and document how the school counseling program contributes toward supporting student success.

M.E.A.S.U.R.E. is a seven-step process that assists school counselors in delivering a data-driven school counseling program that supports the accountability component of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model (ASCA, 2003). M.E.A.S.U.R.E. is an acronym to for Mission, Elements, Analyze, Stakeholders, Unite, Reanalyze, and Educate that helps school counselors to connect to the Mission of their school; examine critical data Elements that are part of their schools' report cards; Analyze those critical data elements to see which elements their program can positively impact; identify internal and external Stakeholders who can collaborate to impact the data; Unite with these stakeholders to form partnerships and assign strategies; and Reanalyze to determine which strategies should be replicated, redesigned or discarded. Finally, school counselors present their successes and Educate a wide audience as to how their program contributed toward moving critical data elements.

M.E.A.S.U.R.E. supports school counselors in their efforts to garner more support for their programs and to widen their sphere of influence in helping all students be successful learners. With an accountable, data-driven school counseling program, school counselors are seen as powerful partners and collaborators in school improvement and central to the mission of schools.

   Our school improvement plan emphasizes
   improving opportunities for our students after
   they finish high school. The school counselors
   of this district work very hard, but tallying the
   number of counseling sessions and classroom
   presentations doesn't give me what I need to
   show how school counselors are contributing
   to both our building's and district's academic
   success goals. Promotion rates are down and
   have seriously impacted the choices our students
   have for education after graduation.
   Where is the data to show that school counseling
   efforts have made a difference in helping
   our students achieve academically?

      (School board member discussing fiscal
   concerns and how to balance the budget.)

ACCOUNTABILITY: EVERY SCHOOL COUNSELOR'S CHALLENGE

Accountability governs 21st century school buildings and systems. Principals and teachers work in an accountability-driven environment. The 21st century approach for working in schools and standards-based reform have dramatically changed the way every educators works in schools to improve student performance. Historically, school counselors have not been held to the same accountability standards as other educators and were rarely included in school and district conversations as to their contributions to school improvement. Challenges such as these are reminders for all educators, especially school counselors, to rethink their traditional methods of demonstrating accountability. When school counselors operate around the premise that they are key players in the academic success story for students, then school counseling programs are viewed as integral to student achievement. School counselors can fully participate in all aspects of the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001). Sharing accountability for student success is a driving force for transforming and/or re-framing the work of school counselors across the nation.

School counselors traditionally have offered time-on-task data or a numerical summary of the different types of activities delivered as a means to assess and evaluate the impact of a school counseling program. Presenting the numbers of students seen individually, in groups, or in classrooms is no longer enough. Legislators, school boards, administrators, and faculty, who are enveloped in accountability issues, may not see the work of school counselors as an effective utilization of financial resources to improve student achievement. School improvement is focused on closing the achievement gap and moving critical data elements in a positive direction. By examining their practice and looking carefully at their way of working, school counselors can articulate and communicate how their contributions positively impact student achievement and thus share accountability for school improvement with other faculty members.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: IT'S EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY

This most recent national election confirms education's position as a top domestic priority (Lewin, 2002). After much bipartisan Congressional debate for continued comprehensive educational reform, the No Child Left Behind Act(2001) has as its primary purpose the intent to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers. This requires strong measures of accountability and demonstrated results. Student progress and achievement is published annually in school district report cards. Parents receive annual information about the quality of their local schools, the qualifications of the teachers, and their children's progress in key subjects. Additionally, statewide and system reports must include performance data disaggregated according to race, gender, and other criteria to demonstrate how well students are achieving and documentation of the progress made towards closing the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and other groups of students.

Today's educational agenda speaks to high expectations for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. Merely legislating requiring a change in expectations for students will not produce the desired outcomes. The federal, state, and local emphasis on accountability essentializes the need for school counselors to also demonstrate how the school counseling program contributes to the school success agenda and commitment to closing the gap.

THE REAL MEANING OF ACCOUNTABILITY

   School improvement is hard work. But if
   schools are not constantly improving and
   growing in their capacity to meet the needs of
   today's students, then they are losing ground
   and failing in their mission of service to young
   people. (Fitzpatrick, 1997)

Accountability is about sharing responsibility to collectively remove barriers that impede learning and involves all of the critical players in a school setting. Accountability is the result of intentional efforts to close the achievement gap and meet the goals of school improvement. How do school counselors fit into an accountability system that is traditionally embedded in teaching and the improvement of student learning?

When school counselors focus their efforts on the mission of school improvement they widen educational opportunities for every student and can positively demonstrate the impact student achievement by:

* Raising student aspirations

* Helping students acquire resiliency and coping skills for school and life success

* Managing and accessing resourceS for student support

* Collaborating with faculty to share the responsibility for student progress

* Engaging students in educational and career planning that present students with a wide variety of quality postsecondary opportunities

* Working intentionally toward closing the gap in student performance

Measurable success resulting from a concerted effort on the part of school counselors to expand educational opportunities can be documented by an increased number of students completing school with the academic preparation, the career awareness, and the personal/social growth essential to choose from a wide range of substantial postsecondary options, including college (Education Trust, 1997).

The American School Counselor Association's National Standards for School Counseling Programs (Dahir, Sheldon, & Valiga, 1998) and the American School Counselor Association's National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (ASCA, 2003) emphasize the importance of school counselors delivering accountable school counseling programs that carefully consider local demographic needs and the political climate of the community. The four main components of the Model are:

1. The foundation of the program requires the implementation of the belief and mission that every student will benefit from the school counseling program.

2. The delivery system defines the implementation process and the components of the comprehensive model (i.e., guidance curriculum, individual planning with students, responsive services, and system support).

3. The management system presents the organizational processes and tools needed to deliver a comprehensive school counseling program. These processes and tools include: agreements of responsibility, use of data, action plans for guidance curriculum and closing the gap, and time and task analysis

4. The accountability system helps school counselors demonstrate the effectiveness of their work in measurable terms such as impact over time, performance evaluation, and a program audit.

The National Model (ASCA, 2003) speaks to the importance of having an accountability system and an organizational framework that documents and demonstrates "how are students different as a result of the school counseling program?" A commitment to accountability shifts public perception from questions such as "what do school counselors really do?" to showing how school counselors are key players in the academic success story for students and are partners in student achievement.

BELIEFS INFORM BEHAVIORS

The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) challenges the beliefs and attitudes of all educators to support all students to achieve high standards and additionally to identify and eradicate systems and ideologies that have the potential to impact negatively upon student opportunities. School counselors working together with the principal can bring attention to the faculty the importance of creating safe and drug-free communities. Breaking Ranks (National Association of Secondary School Principals, 1997) elevated the leadership and vision of the building principal through the establishment of learning communities to address closing the gap and creating climates of caring in our secondary schools. School counselors are critical players in this learning community.

School counselors who embrace membership in the learning community and a leadership mindset act on their beliefs and advocate for the removal of institutional and environmental barriers that impede success in school. As advocates advancing a social justice agenda, school counselors purposely promote equitable access to quality education for all students. Counselor behaviors begin with a commitment to a programmatic approach that is systemic in impact; grounded in social justice, advocacy, and equity; aligned with the state system and building mission; and collaboratively developed and delivered.

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School counselors can influence the school climate to ensure that high standards are the norm in a safe and respectful environment. The use of data will effectively identify institutional and environmental barriers impeding student success. School counselors can initiate, develop, and coordinate prevention and intervention systems that are designed to improve the learning success for students who are experiencing difficulty with challenging academic coursework. Viewing the world of schools through an accountability lens helps school counselors to act on their belief system and assume a leadership role to identify and rectify issues that impact every student's ability to achieve at expected levels.

WHY USE DATA?

Data inform and challenge our thinking to determine the need for systemic change, confirm progress, and reveal shortcomings in student performance. Closely examining critical data elements in the areas of attendance; socio-economic impact on class enrollment, graduation and postsecondary planning rates; and standardized testing results as examples not only identifies the needs of students but also the school/system-wide issues that impact success.

By using data, school counselors also can present a picture of the current situation of student needs and issues and examine the practices that can lead to higher levels of success.

Disaggregating data, that is separating out the data by variables such as ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, or teacher assignment, is very important in the analysis of student performance. The disaggregation of data makes it possible to determine how policy and practices affect issues of equity, enabling all school counselors to work closely with building administrators and faculty to close the achievement gap. School counselors who focus their efforts on moving data in a positive direction demonstrate a strong commitment to sharing the responsibility and accountability for student outcomes.

Every high school collects data on each year's graduating class. As shown in the table above, when the data is disaggregated by ethnicity it clearly depicts limitations of student opportunity after high school. What contributed to this over time? How do you, the school counselor, want this picture to look next year, and in subsequent years? How can your intentional and focused efforts measure the results of a concerted effort to contribute toward positively improving, these results?

A M.E.A.S.U.R.E. FOR SUCCESS

Accountability requires us to show that school counselors collaborate with faculty to positively influence student achievement. M.E.A.S.U.R.E. is an acronym to help you remember:

Mission

Elements

Analysis

Stakeholders

Unite to Strategize

Reanalyze

Educate

M.E.A.S.U.R.E. is a seven-step accountability process that requires school counselors to collaborate and team with administrators and faculty to identify and positively impact the critical data elements that are the important barometers of student success (Stone & Dahir, in press). M.E.A.S.U.R.E. supports the accountability component of the ASCA National Model (2003) by helping school counselors move from a "counting tasks" system to aligning the school counseling program with standards-based reform. School counselors demonstrate how they too are accountable for results and contribute to student achievement.

Step One: Mission--Connect to the Mission of School

Student success in rigorous academics is at the heart of every school's mission statement. The first step is the alignment of the school counseling program to the mission of the school and to the annual goals of the school improvement plan. By connecting what they do with school improvement, school counselors are focused on helping every student graduate high school fully prepared to participate in the 21st century society and economy. School counselors can now move from the periphery of school improvement to holding a key position on the principal's site-based leadership team.

Step Two: Elements--Identify Critical Data Elements

A school's success is measured by results, which are those critical data elements that are important to the internal and external stakeholders. School systems routinely collect and store academic and demographic data in a retrievable form. Critical data elements can usually be found on the school's report card. Each school's site-based school improvement leadership team, identifies and examines critical data elements that collectively all stakeholders can impact. School counselors also can collect other important pieces of information in the areas that contribute to achievement such as course enrollment patterns, or data related to attendance and truancy. Building principals can encourage and support school counselors to play a pivotal role in this process.

By disaggregating data by gender, ethnicity, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status and in other ways that relate to a particular situation. Assurances are built into the system that all are included in the analysis. Disaggregated data guarantees that no group of students will be left out of the analysis nor be barred from opportunities (Stone & Turba, 1999). In this example, let us begin by identifying not only who is accessing postsecondary education but also who is not.

Step Three: Analyze Critical Data Elements

What else do school counselors need to know to better understand student's situations? Disaggregating data will help better understand the profile of students who do and who choose not to continue education after high school. For example, if only 50% of students access postsecondary option than it is important that school counselors and other members of the leadership team identify the barriers that contribute to or impact student aspirations. Analysis may be informal or formal as counselors begin to examine patterns over time beginning with achievement and attendance at the secondary level. It provokes the question, "are there any institutional or environmental barriers that may be adversely impacting the data elements and impeding student achievement?".

Step Four: Identify Stakeholders to Help Step Five: Unite To Strategize

School counselors can play a critical role in creating a collaborative environment. Building principals can support school counselor initiative to bring together those who need to be involved in addressing this school improvement issue. All concerned members of the internal and external school community should be included. What existing school-community partnership can work toward a solution? School counselors can help to facilitate this process. Shared accountability is about teaming and collaborating with other stakeholders and avoiding an isolated resolution. School counselors can use their facilitation and group dynamics skills make this a reality.

Once the key players are in place, principals and school counselors unite with the stakeholders to develop an action plan that will:

1. Define their desired results

2. Decide what other information (data) is needed and gather and collect it

3. Determine the necessary strategies to positively impact the data

4. Identify the skills and resources needed

5. Identify who will be responsible for implementation of each component of the action plan

6. Develop a timeline and a process to assess interim progress

7. Decide on a means for documenting the overall effectiveness of the action plan in achieving the targeted goal

Step Six: Reanalyze

Principals know all to well the importance of demonstrating results. Did the results show that our strategies successfully changed the opportunities that our students have after high school? Did more students leave school with the capability to access postsecondary education? All planning models require us to reanalyze and refocus our efforts regardless of small success or great accomplishments. Reanalyzing helps us to closely examine what works best and what needs to be modified; refocusing means to replicate what is working and to develop new or different strategies for what did not work.

Step Seven: Educate

Principals and counselors collaborating on an intentional and focused agenda demonstrate the positive impact of the work of school counselors in school improvement. Publicizing the results of an effective data-driven school counseling program to critical stakeholders is a vital step in the accountability model and important to success. Our stakeholders now have a deeper understanding about the contributions of school counselors to student achievement. School counselors, once viewed as working in isolation, are seen as leaders in systemic change and as partners in the challenge of dosing the gap. This "measure" of accountability moves critical data elements in a positive direction and shares responsibility for the results that are viewed as essential to the mission of school. It is also a moment to celebrate success and recognize the power of partnership.

M.E.A.S.U.R.E: DEMONSTRATING SCHOOL COUNSELING ACCOUNTABILITY

M.E.A.S.U.R.E is a process of utilizing readily available student information to target critical data elements and use specific strategies to connect school counseling to the accountability agenda for your school's improvement plan. Sharing accountability can be confusing at times and the results sometimes disappointing. Systematically collecting, analyzing, and using data to inform and guide the development and construction shows a commitment to:

* Focus on student achievement and contribute to the school and system's improvement goals

* Identify issues that stratify student opportunities

* Integrate conclusions and decisions on data, research, and professional standards

* Demonstrate a commitment to school improvement through sharing accountability for results by moving critical data elements.

Accountability shows that all educators, especially school counselors, intentionally and purposely act to close the gap. If administrators, faculty, and all stakeholders truly believe that all children can learn and achieve, then aligning the purpose of school counseling with the school improvement plan presents school counselors as champions and collaborators who encourage high aspirations and create opportunities for students to realize their dreams. Accepting the challenge of accountability propels school counselors to accept the responsibility of removing barriers to learning and achievement and raise the level of expectations for those students for whom little is expected.

School counselors working within an accountability framework can challenge the pervasive belief that socio-economic status and color determine a young person's ability to learn. Acting as agents of school and community change, school counselors can create a climate where access and support for quality and rigor is the norm. In doing so, underserved and under-represented students now have a chance at acquiring the education skills necessary to fully participate in the 21st century economy.

School counselors, who partner with principals and key stakeholders to embrace accountability, promote systemic change with the expressed purpose of furthering the academic success of every student (Stone. & Clark, 2001). Sharing accountability for school improvement with all stakeholders is a driving force for transforming the work of counselors in our nation's schools.

Table 1. Mission--Connect to the Mission of School

District or School Mission     School Improvement Issue

Academic success for every     Post secondary education rates are
students                       low; only 50% of our student access
                               college and other educational
                               opportunities after graduation.
                               Disadvantaged and underrepresented
                               students do not transition to a wide
                               variety of options after high school.

Table 2. Critical Data Elements

School             Critical data         What other
improvement        Element               information do
issue                                    you need to know?

Post secondary     50% of our            Which student groups
education rates    students are          are represented in the
are low; more      accessing post        50% accessing post
students need      secondary             secondary and in the
to access          educational           50% not accessing this
college and        opportunities,        option after high
other educa-       Goal: Students        school.
tional oppor-      accessing post
tunities after     secondary edu-
graduation,        cation rates will
                   increase by 10%.

How might you                How will you
want to disaggregate         gather this
this information?            information?

You can disaggregate         This infoma-
data in a number of          tion can be
ways: gender, ethnicity,     collected
SES, home location,          through the
teacher or counselor         student
assignments, course          information
taking patterns, by          management
feeder schools, etc.         system, school
                             report card,
                             etc.

Table 3. Analyze

School improvement           Critical data element
issue

Post secondary educa-        50% of our students are
tion rates are low; more     accessing post second-
students need to access      ary educational
college and other edu-       opportunities.
cational opportunities       Goal: Students access-
after graduation.            ing post secondary
                             education rates will
                             increase by 10%.

Analyze the data           Policies, practices,
                           barriers that impact
                           the critical data
                           element

The data revealed          The feeder middle
(among other impor-        school practice to
tant things) that of the   place every student
40% of your students       in Algebra a positive
seeking post secondary     practice that could be
education, the majority    replicated by the other
or 34% came from one       feeder schools.
particular feeder middle
school where all students
were assigned to the
algebra classes in 8th
grade and were supported
with mentors and
tutors to be successful.

Table 4. Stakeholder / Unite to Strategize

School Improvement Issue: Postsecondary education rates are low;
only 50% of our students access college and other educational
opportunities after graduation. Disadvantaged and underrepresented
students do not transition to a wide variety of options after high
school.

Stakeholder       Unite to Strategize         Completion    Measurable
                                              Date          Results

School            Implement a career
Counselors        awareness program
                  for every student in
                  the school to help
                  them see the
                  interrelationship
                  between postsecondary
                  education and
                  their future economic
                  opportunities.

                  Advocate for a
                  systemic change
                  in course enrollment
                  patterns to support
                  more students to access
                  higher level academics.

                  Use data and anecdotal
                  information about
                  student success in
                  higher level academics
                  to try to change
                  attitudes and beliefs
                  about widening
                  opportunities for higher
                  level academics.

Teachers          Social studies teachers
                  have students research
                  their career goal and
                  project how their career
                  path fits with the
                  economic trends and
                  business climate.

                  English teachers have
                  students write essays
                  for scholarships.

                  Mathematics teachers
                  integrate financial aid
                  calculations into lessons.

Administrators    Provide professional
                  development for the
                  faculty on raising
                  aspirations.

School            Provide additional group
Psychologists     and individual counseling
                  to high risk students on
                  motivation and problem
                  solving.

School Social     Work with parents/
Workers           caretakers on the
                  importance of attendance
                  for school success.

Clerical Staff    Monitor student progress
                  in submitting
                  applications for
                  postsecondary admissions.

School Clubs      Invite community leaders
                  in to talk about career
                  opportunities and the
                  education and skills
                  needed to be successful
                  in the work environment.

                  Help close the information
                  gap by sponsoring
                  awareness activities
                  regarding postsecondary
                  opportunities.

Parents           Assist in establishing a
                  tutoring program.

                  Create a phone chain to
                  call parents to remind
                  them of important school
                  events.

Volunteers        Work with individual
                  students on the power of
                  financial aid to impact
                  their future.

Business          Assist in establishing a
Partners          mentoring program. Provide
                  site visits to their
                  businesses. Help organize
                  and participate in career
                  fairs.

Community         Assist in establishing a
Agencies          mentoring program. Run
                  evening and Saturday
                  programs with school
                  personnel for parents
                  and students on raising
                  aspirations, homework
                  help, technology
                  awareness, etc.

Colleges and      Host "college for a day"
Universities      programs for elementary
                  and middle school
                  students.

                  Offer diagnostic academic
                  placement testing to
                  tenth and eleventh
                  graders.

                  Provide targeted
                  interventions for
                  underrepresented
                  populations.

Table 5. Reanalyze

School Improvement Issue            Critical data dement

Post secondary education            50% of our students are
rates are low; only 50% of our      accessing post secondary
students access college and         educational opportunities
other educational opportunities     Goal: Students accessing
post secondary education            post secondary education
after graduation.                   rates will increase by 10%.

Timeline      Results

September     Post secondary education
to June       rates increased by
              8% but fell short of the
              goal of 10%.

Table 6. Educate

Who                  What                    When

All stakeholders     Share results and       At the opening of school
                     targeted strategies     and publicize progress
                                             throughout the school
                                             year.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2003). The American School Counselor Association national model: A framework for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Dahir, C. A., Sheldon, C. B., & Valiga, M. J. (1998). Vision into action: Implementing the national standards for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association.

Education Trust. (1997). Working definition of school counseling. Washington, DC: Author.

Fitzpatrick, K. (1997). School improvement: Focusing on student performance. Schaumburg, IL: National Study of School Evaluation.

Lewin,T. (2002, November 10).The election education. New York Times, p. WK3.

National Association of Secondary School Principals. (1996). Breaking ranks: Changing an American institution. Reston, VA: Author.

Stone, C., & Clark, M. (2001). School counselors and principals: Partners in support of academic achievement. National Association of Secondary School Principals Bulletin, 85 (624), 46-53.

Stone, C., & Dahir, C. (in press). School counseling: Vision to action. Ohio: Merrill Prentice-Hall.

Stone, C., & Turba, R. (1999). School counselors using technology for advocacy. The Journal of Technology in Counseling, 1(1.) Retrieved from http://jtc.colstate.edu/vol1_1/advocacy.htm

U.S. Department of Education. (2001). No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (H.R.1). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

Carol A. Dahir, Ed.D., is an assistant professor, Counselor Education, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY. E-mail: [e-mail]

Carolyn B. Stone, Ed. D., is an associate professor, Counselor Education, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL

M.E.A.S.U.R.E., the seven step process, is excerpted from Stone, C., & Dahir, C. (in press). An introduction to school counseling: Vision to action. Ohio: Merrill Prentice-Hall.