Data in School Counseling

001Welcome to this webinar about data and school counseling. Thank you for being here. We will explore in this presentation strategies and resources for using data in school counseling programs. Let's get started. The presentation slides in PDF form are also located on the TEA school counselor web page which is linked on the third from last slide. Feel free to pause this webinar for a moment so that you can go to the school counseling web page and access the presentation PDF in the resources section there. Let's begin with a brief introduction. My name is Stephanie Learner and my role at TEA includes serving as the primary point of contact for Texas school counselors. I develop resources and conduct trainings to support the effective implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs. Before joining TEA in 2020, I was an

002elementary and secondary school counselor for about 12 years in Central Texas. You can reach me at my email, Stephanie.ex.gov. That is at the second bullet on the slide. The objectives for this presentation are to identify strengths and opportunities for data use in your own program and to explore strategies and resources for using data in your program. So school counseling starts with data. What does this mean? Well, for school counselors, sharing program data with stakeholders may enable you to limit non-counseling [clears throat] duties so you have time for counseling students and implement a comprehensive school counseling program. Um, according to Texas Education Code 33.005, which is linked on the slide if you need to take a look at it, resources for this stakeholder collaboration are available. Um, there are step-by-step instructions for engaging stakeholders on page

003117 of the Texas model for comprehensive school counseling programs. Um, which I've also linked in green on the slide there. Um, another resource is appropriate school counselor duties are listed on page 119 of the Texas model and there are statutory expectations for counselor duties which are in Texas education code 33.006. 006. Um, also linked on the slide in the fifth bullet. Um, regular meetings with administrators are key to facilitating this collaboration. Um, in these meetings, you would want to discuss three topics. um what you're doing and that's where you're going to bring your data, what you're supposed to be doing and that's where you will reference in every meeting your Texas model and then what your administrator wants you to be doing and um having discussions about you know campus goals, mission statement, um so

004on and so forth. And we'll we'll cover a lot of this in the presentation today. So let's take a look at the school counseling laws and how um we can use data to support them. So Texas Education Code 33.005 005 is called comprehensive school counseling programs and it states that a school counselor shall work with a school faculty and staff, students, parents, and the community to plan, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive school counseling program that conforms to the most recent edition of the Texas model for comprehensive school counseling programs, also known as the Texas model. The school counselor shall design the program to include four main components. So that would be a guidance curriculum to help students develop their full educational potential including their interests and objectives. Responsive services um the component to intervene on

005behalf of any student whose immediate personal concerns or problems put them at continued educational, career, personal or social um risk. the individual planning system to guide a student as the student plans, monitors, manages and manages their own educational, career, personal and social development. And finally, the system support component um which we have on the slide in number four. The system support component is divided into two types of tasks. foundational activities to establish, manage, and evaluate the school counseling program and indirect services um to collaborate with staff, families, and community on behalf of the student and their development. Let's take a look now at the law for school counseling duties and where the 8020 falls into this law. So, Texas Education Code 33.006 states that the primary responsibility of a school counselor is to counsel students

006to fully develop each student's academic, career, personal, and social abilities. The 8020 policy is addressed in subsection D of this statute, which you could see on the slide. Um, it states it's except as provided by subsection E, the board of trustees of each school district shall adopt a policy that requires a school counselor to spend at least 80% of their total work time on duties that are components of a counseling program developed under section 33.005. You can find the full list of 33.006 duties. um at the blue link at the top of the slide. Uh sub subsection H of this statute which is um listed on the listed within the blue link. So subsection H of this statute states that each school district shall annually assess the district's compliance with the policy adopted under subsection

007D and on request by the commissioner provide a written copy of the assessment to the agency own or before the date specifi specified by the commissioner and the commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. So let's take a look at these rules. This 8020 rule is all about school counseling data. Um let's let's jump in. So the commissioner's rules concerning counseling public school students annual assessment of school district compliance is linked at the top of the slide in blue. They implement the statutory requirement for school districts to annually assess um compliance with their district policy requiring a school counselor to spend at least 80% of the school counselor's total work time on duties that are components of a counseling program. The rules do two things. They require each district school counselor to track and

008document using a standardized tracking tool the time spent on work duties performed by the school counselor throughout the year. And the rules also identify the elements that district assessments must include and the documentation to be included in annual requests by TEA for district assessments. So now that we have um at least a basic understanding of the school counseling statutes and we've established that program data impacts implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program, let's take a little self assessment to identify strengths and opportunities for data use in our own programs. So here we're going to rate our counseling practices on a scale from one, which would be not at all, to five, which means it occurs all the time. First, read over the questions and write your number one to five for each question on the

009line. Next, add up all of your numbers to find your total test score and write it on the bottom of the line. For example, number one says, "Do you audit your school counseling program at least twice annually?" So, if I do this, I might um put a five as my rating on the line. If I've never done this audit, if I don't know what it is, um I might put a one on the line. And if I audit my program maybe once a year, I might put a three on the line. So go ahead and pause this webinar now so that you can fill out the self assessment. Once you have all your numbers on your lines, add them up and write the sum on the total score line at the bottom of the slide.

010Now you're going to use your total score from the previous slide to determine your data category. Once you have determined your data category, consider pausing the webinar again to reflect on what strength and opportunities for data you noticed as you filled out the self- assessment. If you are viewing this webinar with a colleague, take some time to discuss how you feel about the data category you are in with your colleague. So now that you have identified your data areas to strengthen, let's take a look at each assessment item as a data task and learn more about it. You can also feel free to skip ahead to the data tasks that you most want to build or strengthen. Um data tasks can be completed in any order. So the first assessment question was, do you audit

011your school counseling program multiple times per year? Um, this task gets at the idea of assessing your current program by completing a counseling program audit. So some strategies for this uh data task would be completing the audit two to three times a year. So that might be the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, and the end of the year. You can find the audit at the bottom of the slide under resources. Um, another strategy is to use your audit absence responses to help inform the goals of your counseling program. In addition, you can compare your audit results from the beginning and end of the year to make program modifications as needed. For example, use your positive changes like absent to present responses to build in more of the same to your program

012and use negative changes like present to absent responses to revise your program. As mentioned, you can find the program audit in the Texas model pages 172 to 178. The Texas model audit as well as the ASA program assessment are both linked on the bottom of the slide. Self- assessment question two was, do you complete an annual administrative conference with your principal or supervisor and then meet regularly throughout the year with them to discuss your program progress and percentages. This assessment question covers the data task of having regular meetings with your principal or supervisor to discuss key points of your program using the school counseling program agreement document. Some strategies for this task are to bring a completed draft of your school counseling program agreement document to the first meeting with your principal so that you

013can quickly review it with your principal and then modify it based on their ideas. Also discuss with your administrator, your principal what percentage of total work time you will spend on counseling duties per Texas education code 33.006. and how you will divide that time into the four counseling components, guidance, curriculum, responsive services, system support, um individual planning. These are all listed in Texas Education Code 33.005 as we discussed um when we talked about the law. Finally, also as we discussed in an earlier slide, set up regular meetings throughout the year with your principal to discuss um program activities, resources, and outcomes that are based on data, the Texas model, and maybe most importantly the needs of the campus. You can find some resources for this data task, um such as the Texas model use of

014time log linked at the bottom of the slide. Okay, self- assessment question three was, do you analyze school data to make school counseling program decisions? And this assessment qu question covers the data task of examining your school data regularly to choose and reflect upon counseling activities and interventions. Some strategies for this task are to compile and analyze key data points to determine student needs such as attendance data reports, um passing or failing grade reports and or standardized test score scores. The Texas model pages 57 to 67 which is linked in resources at the bottom of the slide has steps for how to collect and analyze this school data. Keep in mind that if you are a data beginner identify only two to three key data points to focus on so that you don't get overwhelmed.

015Um, another strategy is to review the same data points at the middle and the end of the year. Compare them to determine where student gains or losses occurred and if program goals were achieved. You can find some resources for this data task, such as a school data summary linked at the bottom of the slide. Self assessment question four was, is your school counseling program aligned with your school's mission statement and your school improve improvement plan? Um, this assessment question covers the data task of working with your school admin to align your counseling program with the school mission statement and the school improvement plan. Um, some strategies for this task are to use your campus mission statement as a template to create your own counseling program mission statement. Also, collaborate with your principal in your regular

016principal counselor meetings to ensure your school counseling program contributes to the school improvement plan goals and discuss with your principal the anticipated impact of this as well. You can find some resources for this data task linked at the bottom of the slide such as page 48 of the Texas model and um the ask a publication making data work which I'm showing here. Self- assessment question five was do you have two to four school counseling program goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound. These are also known as smart um goals. This assessment question covers the data task of identifying two to four smart goals for the school counseling program. Some strategies for this task are to use student, staff, and parent needs assessment data to create counseling program goals. This results in goals

017that are based on the needs of all school stakeholders. Keep in mind that all student questionnaires now need parent permission before using. We will go into more detail on needs assessments as its own data task in a later slide in this presentation. Another strategy is to build your program on smart goals that will serve a student need identified in school data. Identify which data points um will indicate success and how you'll collect them. and then finally analyze designated data points at the middle and end of the year to monitor progress and determine if goals are met. You can find some resources for this data task linked at the bottom of the slide. Pages 57 to 68 of the Texas model linked there at the bottom um actually give you stepbystep directions and task boxes for

018how to turn your campus data into counseling program smart goals. You can also find examples of counseling program goals in the comprehensive school counseling program plan example which is located in the resources section of the school counseling web page. Um, I've linked that web page on the third from last slide. I'll point it out when we get there. Consider taking a moment here to pause the webinar and reflect on what has sparked your interest so far. Um, or if you're watching this webinar with a colleague, take a minute to talk with them about the slide question. Self- assessment question six was do you use process perception and outcome data to assess program components. This assessment question covers the task of the data task of using these three data types to together to assess the effectiveness

019of school counseling interventions. Let's go over a brief explanation very brief um of each of these three data types and I will also give you an example of each. So first process data are the number or percentage of students involved in a specific counseling service or intervention. For example, 350 students received a guidance lesson on the topic of stress reduction. You might measure process data with your counseling office student signins or your program balance logs which can be found on page 125 of the Texas model. Second, we have perception data which are the self-report showing what individuals think they know, believe or can do. For example, the change in an individual students scaled rating on the statement, I believe that making mistakes can help me improve before and after a growth mindset intervention. So, scaling

020um with the student before and after that intervention and then compiling that data. Um you might measure perception data with group or individual sessions student evaluations. Third, we have our outcome data, which is the impact of counseling inter of a counseling intervention on student behavior or academics. So, for example, in the second semester, third graders who attended the school is cool support group had an average attendance increase of 10%. You might measure outcome data with discipline referrals or attendance reports, etc. You can find some resources for this data task linked at the bottom of the slide. These resources will give you more information on each data type because as I mentioned, we just very briefly went over each one right now. Um, and these resources will also give you charts for listing your program results

021related to each data type. Self- assessment. Um question seven was do you collect perception data through needs assessments or other surveys? And this data task covers um conducting needs assessments among staff, caregivers, parents, maybe students to identify needs that the school counseling program can address. Some strategies for this task are to discuss using staff, student, or parent needs assessments with your principal to inform your programming. The Texas model has needs assessments on page 64, but keep in mind that all student questionnaires need parent permission before administering per Texas Education Code 26.009. Review your needs assessment results with your principal and use your needs assessment data to create your counseling program goals. The Texas model has details on how to effectively do this in their data section pages 57 to 67. Self assessment question 8 was

022do you collect data on all your school counseling program activities? Um, this data task gets at beginning the process of determining program effectiveness by collecting data on all counseling activities. Some strategies for this task are to give brief informal exit tickets at the end of each lesson or session and to check for understanding and identify knowledge gained. You can also identify areas of student growth or challenge or by asking for staff and parent feedback. Another strategy is to request an endofear staff evaluation of the counseling program to determine activities to continue or revise. Also, using end-of-ear surveys to collect data on the effectiveness of the current counseling program is a helpful strategy. Finally, you might conduct pre and post tests for guidance lessons, for group sessions, for individual counseling work. But remember that all student

023surveys and assessments need parent permission before administering. It is helpful to start basing your programming on school and district data rather than student input data. You can find some resources for this data task linked at the bottom of the slide. Self- assessment question nine was do you analyze all the data collected on your counseling program activities. This assessment question covers the data task of analyzing your um collected data to evaluate activity effectiveness and plan accordingly. Some strategies for this data task are to discuss with your administrator what tools are available to safely collect, store, and analyze also visualize your program data. Once you have determined the best tools to use, organize your collected data into charts and graphs to identify trends, connections, exceptions, and changes in your data. If your data shows that an activity

024fosters student growth, keep doing it. If your data shows an activity that isn't working, revise or remove it. Finally, use Microsoft Excel or similar tools to help in your data analysis. You can find some resources for this data task linked at the bottom of the slide. The Texas model has data analysis guidance that you can follow on pages 38 to 40 and pages 106 to 108. Also as mentioned Microsoft Excel is particularly helpful in analyzing data. So I have linked the Microsoft Excel guide at the bottom of the slide. You can use the guide either in a very simple manner to analyze and show your data or alternately if you are an Excel superstar you can use um the formulas in the guide to show much more complex data analysis. um if that's the way

025you want to go. Self- assessment question 10. Do you share your school counseling program data with school administration, staff, and community to promote transparency and engagement? This question um covers the crucial data task of sharing school counseling program data to affect positive change by engaging community staff and administration. Some strategies for this task are to meet regularly with your counseling colleagues, to review program data and goals, and to monitor key data points with your principal at your regular meetings. Um, the last strategy is one of the most important in this entire presentation, which is to share your program successes and challenges through regular brief counselor data presentations to staff. Working with your principal to find 10 minutes throughout the year will work wonders for showing school staff the importance of campus counseling um program. The

026importance of the campus counseling program. In these brief presentations to staff, you will generate so much staff buyin when they see from your 10-minute presentation during the faculty meeting that the school counseling program is actually improving their students academic achievement, their students behavior, attendance, and so much more. You can find some resources for this data task linked at the bottom of the slide. The track your time and share your data webinar um from school counselor of the year Dr. Guyana Virgil gives a live demo of how to use and share information from a use of time calculator. And you can find the webinar by putting the title um track your time and share your data. Put that title into your search engine. Um, you can also find a Texas model version of the use of

027time calculator at the last link on this slide. Feel free to email me or the CAST team if um you would like an example of one of the brief staff presentations that I mentioned in the third bullet on this slide. Take a moment now to pause the webinar to reflect on the counseling program you have in place in order to answer the two questions that are on the slide. If you are watching with a colleague, discuss with them how you could incorporate these data tasks into your existing program and which task might be the most challenging for you or for your colleague or multiple colleagues. Let's review the main topics that we've covered today. We assessed our data strengths in our areas of challenge and we explored strategies and resources for infusing datadriven practices into

028our own counseling programs. This slide has our main school counseling trainings and materials that we offer from TEA. The first bolded resource has the comprehensive school counseling program plan example where you can find some counseling program goals that we discussed back in data task 5. The second bolded resource on this slide is the best path to compliance with school counselors spending at least 80% of their work time on appropriate counseling duties. um at that second bolded link, especially take a look at the recording, the FAQs, and the district compliance resource there. Those will be especially helpful with compliance. The third bolded resource um has our TEA school counseling webpage link where you can find other information, resources, and webinars. Um, as I mentioned uh a few times throughout the presentation, this slide actually has an

029activity to map out your own school counseling data plan. Um, feel free to follow the four steps on the slide in order to make your own data plan. um whether it might cover um a month, a few weeks, or even turn out to be possibly a year-long data plan, it can all be mapped out here with this slide. And that brings us to the end of this webinar. Thank you so much for attending. Please reach out at the email on this slide if you have any questions and have a great day.