Proposed Rhode Island
Performance Evaluation System
for School Counselors
Using ASCA’s Performance
Standards
Monica Darcy, Tom Dukes, Jean Greco, Karl Squier
With contributions made by Patricia Nailor
ASCA Annual Conference
Boston, Massachusetts
July 4, 2010
Welcome

Session goal: Describe process
we have followed in developing a
draft for school counselor
performance evaluation in Rhode
Island
Session Outline

Background: important influences on
the process

Thinking Steps: Competencies and
Performance Standards

Validation process of new standards

Contextual information in RI

Draft of school counselor evaluation
process
How Did We Get Here?

Influences on counselor education
program
Core Questions

What is it counselors do?

How do we know what our candidates
can do?

What resources do we have to determine
this?
–
ASCA National Model
School Counselor Performance Standards
 School Counselor Competencies

Where Did We Turn for
Candidate Evaluation?
 1st Effort = School Counselor Performance
Standards

Problem : Includes professional and
program standards
 Many areas not addressed in evaluation tools
 2nd effort= Higher education pre-service standards
Problem: Graduate candidates should be evaluated
as if they were counselors in the field

State approval feedback was critical
Then …?
 3rd effort = School Counselor
Competencies

Rating forms developed for
faculty and field supervisors:
Section III – Delivery
 4th effort= ASCA Performance
Standards
Standards cannot be easily
evaluated
Shift in Focus

Input from varied constituents

Our goal: design a simple and
elegant system for evaluating
what school counselors do
So….. We Dug Deeper into
Existing Documents


Competencies, for example, include
–
Practitioner
–
Supervisor
–
Programs
–
Ethical standards
–
Position statements
Conclusion: about 50/50 split of competencies
for counselor practitioners and counseling
program or administrator/supervisor functions
And…

Professional standards are linked to
Model, but the Model defines a quality
program

Indicators are not action oriented

Not results based or measurable

Impact of a counselor is not measured
in any of these
So…

Look again at Performance Standards
The Golden Standard - #13

The professional school counselor is a
student advocate, leader, collaborator
and a systems change agent

Reorganized Standards 1-12 into 13.1
to 13.7
First Outline – ASCA Performance
Standards Organized in Standard 13

1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12
13.1

2,10
13.2

6
13.3

8,9
13.4

7
13.5

4.2, 5
13.6

8,11,12
13.7
Proposed Standards
and Competencies
For Rhode Island
Professional School Counselor
Evaluation System
Guiding Principles

Evaluation criteria must focus on
individual competency rather than
program effectiveness

Counselors have a rigorous evaluation
based on the standards of excellence
for their profession
Guiding Principles:
Measure Impact of School Counselors on:

Student achievement in three
developmental domains

School reform initiatives

School leadership and governance

Helping district demonstrate
accountability defined in state and
national legislation and regulatory
language
Proposed Standards
1. Promotes the academic, career, and personal/
social development of every student
2. Advocates for equitable opportunities
for every student
3. Assumes a leadership role within the school
community
4. Collaborates to support the success of all
students
5. Utilizes data to promote student success
and systemic change
Standard 1 Competencies
A. The professional school counselor
contributes to planning the school
counseling program.
B. The professional school counselor
contributes to implementation of the
school counseling program.
C. The professional school counselor
contributes to evaluating the school
counseling program.
Standard 2 Competencies
A. The professional school counselor monitors student
progress through examining student achievement data
and achievement related data
B. The professional school counselor disaggregates data to
determine which groups of students are under-served,
under-performing and underrepresented populations
C. The professional counselor initiates activities and
interventions designed to close the achievement gap
D. The professional school counselor identifies and
addresses barriers that hinder school success
E. The professional school counselor promotes a school
climate in which access and support for rigorous
preparation for every student is expected
Standard 3 Competencies
A. The professional school counselor
contributes his/her developmental and
clinical expertise to system support and
operations
B. The professional school counselor
participates in school wide initiatives.
C. The professional school counselor
integrates expertise with other
professionals to influence educational
change.
Standard 4 Competencies
A. he professional school counselor demonstrates effective
interpersonal relationships with students, staff, parents or
guardians, and community
B. The professional school counselor consults effectively with
families, parents or guardians, teachers, administrators, and
other relevant individuals to support academic, career, and
personal/social development.
C. The professional school counselor interfaces with
community, education and human service organizations to
support student transitions and academic success
D. The professional school counselor incorporates feedback
from other stakeholders, supporting organizations, and
individuals to improve program design and delivery
Standard 5 Competencies
A. The professional school counselor
gathers, analyzes and reports meaningful
process, perception and results data.
B. The professional school counselor
utilizes data to inform practice
C. The professional school counselor uses
data for ongoing refinement of the
school counseling program
D. The professional school counselor
utilizes data to promote systemic change
and advance educational reform
Alignment with Legislation
and Regulations
Need for Alignment

School counselor evaluation must be
aligned with state and federal
legislation and regulations

Counselor evaluation must be aligned
with national requirements (e.g.,
NCLB)

Counselor evaluation must also be
aligned with state regulations and
Department of Education initiatives
Counselors in Rhode Island Are a
Driving Force in Policy Development

Self-advocacy

Enlisting the help of those who support
comprehensive school counseling programs
in public education

Participating in dialog about policy language

Providing potential policy language to policy
makers

Attending and speaking at key meetings (e.g.,
RI Board of Regents)
RI Basic Education Program—1

Each LEA shall ensure that schools will
implement strategies for creating
personalized environments to optimize
learning.

Each LEA shall establish PK-12 protocols
for communication and record sharing that
will facilitate successful transition from
grade to grade, school to school, district to
district, and high school to post-secondary
opportunities
RI Basic Education Program—2
 Establish structures by which every student
is assigned a responsible adult, in addition
to a school counselor (where applicable),
who is knowledgeable about that student’s
academic, career, and social and personal
goals
 Establish protocols for the development,
implementation and student-based
monitoring of Individual Learning Plans
RI Basic Education Program—3
 Each LEA shall establish and maintain a
Comprehensive School Counseling
Guidance (CSC) Program, including
guidance and counseling services, available
to all students in grades K-12.
 Each LEA shall ensure that the CSC
Guidance program shall be developed and
delivered in accordance with the Rhode
Island Framework for Comprehensive K-12
School Counseling Programs
RI Basic Education Program—4
 Support each student in meeting the
American School Counselor Association
(ASCA) standards in the academic, career,
and personal and social domains;
 Be a coordinated effort among the
professional counseling staff and the rest of
the educational community; and
 Include services to be provided to students
at each developmental stage and specify
how the services will be provided to all
students
Rhode Island Diploma System
(Middle and High School Regulations)
 Personalization – Every middle level and
high school student is assigned a
responsible adult, in addition to a school
counselor. This adult is knowledgeable
about that student’s social/emotional,
academic, and career goals and supports
his or her progress towards graduation.
 Each student, beginning no later than entry
into sixth grade, shall have an individual
learning plan (ILP).
The Commissioner’s Review
RI Educational Accountability System

The Commissioner’s Review, Rhode
Island’s school accountability system,
requires districts to provide
compelling evidence that student
learning experiences are more
personalized and that a high quality
comprehensive school counseling
program is being successfully
implemented.
RIDE’s Reform Agenda

Effective teachers
in every classroom

Effective leaders in
every school

Teachers and
leaders work
within a system
based on student
need
Four Areas of Reform

Improve Student
Achievement

Close the
Achievement Gap

Increase High
School Graduation
Rates

Raise College
Enrollment
RI Educator Evaluation System
Standards Requirements

Base evaluation primarily on evidence of
impact on student growth and academic
achievement
 Differentiate four levels of effectiveness
 Conduct annual evaluation of all
educators
 Ensure transparent, fair evaluation
process
 Involve teacher and principal involvement
in development process
Educator Evaluations
Primary Factor (51%):
 Data on student
growth and
achievement
Three Additional
Required Factors:
 Quality of
instruction
 Demonstration of
professional
responsibilities
 Content knowledge
Utilization of Evaluation Results

Provide individualized feedback to all
educators

Support continuous professional
development

Create incentives for highly effective
educators

Provide information for renewal and tenure
decisions

Improve performance of ineffective educators
Pay Attention and Get Involved

High quality educators is a national priority

A clearly-defined and rigorous counselor
evaluation system is one way to
demonstrate that we are highly-qualified

We must pay attention to what is going n
and get involved with the change process

Failure to do so is detrimental to individual
counselor positions and the future of our
profession
Proposed School Counselor
Evaluation Process
Proactive Process

Begin with a vision of excellence for
K-12 school counselors

Develop a rigorous and accurate
evaluation system that clearly
articulates the school counselor’s
unique contribution to student success

Define our accountability system versus
having others define it for us
Evaluation Process

Pre Conference

Performance Portfolio

Observation

Post Conference
Pre-Conference:
Results Agreement

Program Results

Parent Results

Students’ Results


Staff Results
Self-development
Results

Assigned Tasks
Pre-Conference:
Results Agreement

Results to be delivered by the counselor for
students, parents and staff are written

Competencies that each student will attain
are identified

Plans for student results are recognized as
priorities of the school counseling program
and part of administration’s expectations

Set of tasks assigned by administration are
written
Performance Portfolio Artifacts

Evidence of the 5 standards and 15
competencies

Evidence of impact upon student growth
and academic achievement

Evidence of quality instruction

Evidence of professional responsibilities

Evidence of content knowledge
Observation

School Guidance
Curriculum

Individual Student
Planning

Responsive
Services

Systems Support
Post Conference

Reflection and
Self-Assessment

Evidence of
Expected Results

Dialogue

Evaluation
Assessment

Plans for
improvement
ASCA National Model
Barriers to Implementation

Too many noncounseling duties

Misunderstanding of
counselor role

Time constraints

Lack of knowledge

Documentation tools
Tools to Overcome Barriers

Professional
Development
for Evaluators

Professional
Development
for Counselors

Resources
Professional Development

Evaluators can be educated regarding
professional standards and
competencies

Proposed revisions simplify and
streamline this while still capturing the
heart of the profession

Rubrics must be developed
Professional Development

It is essential that rigorous and
accurate evaluation be tied to timely
and relevant professional development
for counselors

This approach is based on an
understanding of professional school
counselors as educational leaders
Professional Development

The proposed professional standards
revision highlights the following roles:

Leadership

Advocacy

Collaboration

Consultation

Use of Data
Professional Development

Confidence in executing these roles
should be grounded in expertise:

Developmental Understanding

Clinical skill

Systems perspective
Resources

RISCA Toolkits
www.rischoolcounselor.org

EZAnalyze
www.exanalyze.com

CSCOR
www.cscor.org
Resources





ASCA National Model
ASCA National Model Workbook
Making Data Work
ASCA Ethical Standards
ASCA Position Papers
www.schoolcounselor.org
Final Thoughts

School counselors need their own
evaluation system that assesses their
unique contribution to student success
and school reform

The evaluation system should be simple,
elegant and meaningful

The future of K-12 school counseling
depends on our ability to demonstrate
our worth to others
Contact Information

Monica Darcy
mdarcy@ric.edu

Tom Dukes
tdukes@ric.edu

Jean Greco
jeangreco@yahoo.com

Karl Squier
karlsquier@cox.net

RISCA
rischoolcounselor.org