To improve college readiness, look at HS counselors' role: report

On Board Online • January 12, 2015

By Gayle Simidian
Research Analyst

More proactive approaches to college counseling are needed in school districts to bolster college readiness, especially for low-income students, according to a new report by the Education Commission of the States (ECS).

Counselors tend to focus on the use of online tools to inform students about college degrees and costs, according the December 2014 edition of ECS's e-newsletter called "The Progress of Education Reform." ECS is a group committed to research of P-20 state policy issues.

That approach is too passive, according to the article entitled, "College Counseling in High Schools: Advising State Policy." It presumes that all school counselors are aware of these online tools, all students have access to the Internet when not in school and students know how to make sense of the information they find online. But studies of the "digital divide" show that low-income adolescents use the Internet less than high-income adolescents.

Federal research on first-generation and high-financial need college students underscores the need for mentoring and college application assistance in high school, according to the report. Key factors include how much time school counselors have to spend with each student and their attitudes toward their jobs.

When the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) surveyed its members, it found that 13 percent of all surveyed counselors felt that other counselors in their school "have given up on some students."

NACAC found patterns when it looked at schools with high, medium and low rates of college placement. High was defined as having at least 68 percent of graduates attend four-year colleges, medium was 34 to 67 percent, and low was less than a third.

In high schools which had high college-going rates, 60 percent of counselors strongly disagreed with the statement that other counselors had "given up on some students." In schools in with low college-going rates, only 27 percent strongly disagreed with the statement.

Caseloads are another factor in the success of college advising, according to the report. NACAC data shows that the schools boasting higher college-going rates had counselor caseloads less than 250 students. According to the Board of Regents, a recent survey of more than 2,000 New York State public school counselors shows that more than one-half of survey respondents (which included over 400 school administrators) say their school district's counselor-to-student ratio is 1:300-400.

NACAC research also shows that secondary schools with higher rates of students going to four-year postsecondary institutions have school counselors that allocate more time to college advising. For example, 17 percent of counselors in schools with high college-going rates spend more than half their time on college advising, compared to four percent of counselors in schools with medium college-going rates. In schools in which less than a third of students go to four-year colleges, only 2 percent of counselors spent at least half their time on college advising.

Other factors in college readiness include:

• Parental support. A majority of secondary schools (80 percent) have college and career plans for students, just over one-half of these schools (44 percent) require parental consent for the plan. This consent makes a difference because "schools with high college-going rates were 30 percentage points more likely than schools with low college-going rates to require parents to sign off on a plan (67 percent vs. 37 percent)."
• Use of video. A 2012 Toronto study supported the use of short videos to promote college readiness among high school students, states the report. Findings showed that the short video changed students' minds about the importance of college ".from high to very high - this was particularly the case for students unsure of their educational plans after high school."
• Use of texting. A summer texting program to help low-income graduating seniors register for college consisted of 10 text messages to low-income graduating seniors reminding them of college-related tasks such as attending orientation and signing up for housing. Counselors were also available to provide additional support. Findings show that participating students "with moderate GPAs" benefited most from the program. Costs were only seven dollars per participant.

Read the report at http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/01/16/69/11669.pdf