| High school counselors are rated poor to fair in helping students get into college and find financial aid.
Public Agenda Survey for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
A 2009 survey shows that high school counseling needs to be reformed drastically. While young adults that did pursue a post high school education rate their counselors poorly, there do seem to be some positive components.
75% stated they had a teacher or coach who "inspired them and motivated them to do their best."
67% report that they had a teacher who "took an interest in them personally and encouraged them to go to college."
Only 3% of young adults who graduated from high school report that they didn’t have a high school guidance counselor or never met with one to discuss their post-secondary plans. [1]
While these may seem positives, few are references to high school counselors. Many are comments about high school teaching staff.
High School Counselors Get Very Poor Reviews
The Public Agenda Survey results in high school counselors getting low ratings. 6 in 10 that started some form of education past high school rate their counselors fair or poor for helping them think about different careers. Young adults ages 22-30 that had some post-secondary experience were asked the following questions.
Helping you decide what school was right for you: 35% poor, 32% fair.
Helping you find ways to pay for college, like financial aid or scholarship programs: 33% poor, 26% fair.
Helping you think about different kinds of careers you might want to pursue: 29% poor, 33% fair.
Explaining and helping you with the application process: 29% poor, 25% poor. [1]
These statistics do not give high school counselors much confidence to continue doing what they have been doing.
Recommended Counselor to Student Ratios
The American School Counselor Association recommends a student to counselor ratio of 100:1 but states that the national average is more like 265:1. But, some states have a much higher ratio. California, for example, has a 1000:1 ratio. In Minnesota, Arizona, Washington, D.C. and Utah, the ratio is about 700:1. Some districts are cutting counselors for the 2010-2011 school year. Des Moines Iowa Public Schools are severely cutting counselors and there is a strong possibility that high school ratios will be 1,200:1, which could be the highest in the nation.
Defending High School Counselors
In a perfect world, high school counselors could focus on helping students enter college. However, that is not the case. Counselors are busy with other duties:
Administrative tasks
Discipline issues
Crisis counseling
Scheduling
Lunchroom duties
Study hall duties
Standardized testing
Attendance
Truancy
Substitute teaching
Some counselors even teach high school classes for college credit. With all this on their plates, it is no wonder that the ratings are poor.
Counselors Struggle to Help Students Unlikely to Go to College
6 out of 10 students come from homes where parents have not attended college. (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2006) Many students feel they are a face in the crowd. Among those students, counselors are rated very low.
48% are less likely to say they chose their college because they believed that it would help them get a good job on graduation.
32% are less likely to say that they chose their college on the basis of financial aid that was offered to them.
46% are more likely to say that they would have gone to a different college if money were not an issue.
41% are less likely to say that they chose their college on the basis of its academic reputation.
39% are less likely to go to college directly after high school.
Obviously, this system can be improved.
How to Improve the High School Counseling System
Why are counselors rating so poorly even when ratios are reasonable? The college admissions information is not taught to counselors in graduate school. Counselors graduate from college with a Master’s degree without being taught about financial aid and the college admissions process. They learn on the job and many students suffer while they are learning.
Colleges should add the college entry process to the curriculum for future counselors. Students should not have to hire expensive private college consultants to help them with the college admissions process. High school counselors should know this information and help students within the building.
With the current budget cuts in schools, counselors are seen as less than vital members of the staff and being cut heavily. Since that is the case, this process is not going to improve any time soon. While counselors are getting the poor ratings, perhaps the school boards that made the cuts and administrators that assigned multiple duties in addition to being a college coach should share the blame. And, colleges that train counselors should change the curriculum to match the real world needs after graduation.
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