I heart DATA

In my previous post about National School Counselor Week, I talked about educating teachers and staff about the role of the school counselor.  While it is important for teachers and staff members to understand the role of the counselor, it is even more important for stakeholders to see the effectiveness of the counselor. I love using data with students, parents, and especially teachers and staff members.  Here are some samples of data I have used to guide my work and illustrate the effectiveness of programming and interventions.

Data Dives
I dive into school-wide, classroom, and individual data on a regular basis to keep a pulse on the needs of the school and measure effectiveness of interventions.  By looking at school wide homework data, I found that 6th grade had the lowest homework percentages.  I communicated with teachers and determined that organization support would help these 6th grade students increase their homework percentages (and grades) and build strong organizational habits to prepare for high school.  At the end of my Organization and Orange Juice group, I dove into the data once again and compiled a chart showing student homework, punctuality and grades before the group started and during the group.

Surveys

I love using surveys to determine areas of need and effectiveness of supports.  I have used surveys this year to evaluate the effectiveness of parent workshops and retreats, determine the needs of students and teachers, measure the effectiveness of character education programming, and determine the effectiveness of a pilot Peer Mediation program.  Survey Monkey is a great online tool where you can create free online surveys and analyze the data.

Pre-test/Post-test

Pre-tests and post-tests are the easiest ways to determine if students in a small group have shown growth or mastered the targeted skills.  I start every group with an icebreaker, ground rules, and a pre-test.  Every group ends with a post-test and a celebration!  Here is a pre-test from my testing anxiety group with 4th graders, Hakuna Matata.  I use the data from the post-test to see if students need additional interventions to reach the group goals.  I also love sharing this data with teachers and parents.

Data and Individual Goal Setting

 It can be powerful to show students their data to help when setting SMART goals.  I print out data reports and ask students to identify things they are proud of, things they are working on, and areas of growth.  Students use green, yellow, and red markers to identify these categories and create a visual representation of where they are.  We are able to select areas of growth to set measurable goals.  I am able to match counseling interventions to these goals and monitor them with students in weekly sessions.

 

A data-driven approach to counseling helps create a comprehensive program that meets the needs of all stakeholders.  Data also gives me the opportunity to show my effectiveness and reflect on ways to improve my services. I know ASCA also has many great resources and tools for collecting meaningful data and would be a great place to start!