#scott jaschik

“A few months ago, one or more anonymous students wrote a note to their law professor, complaining that she had been spotted at least once on campus wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. The letter said wearing the shirt was "inappropriate" and "highly offensive." Further, it said "we do not spend three years of our lives and tens of thousands of dollars to be subjected to indoctrination or personal opinions of our professors," and urged the professor to avoid "mindless actions" that might distract students at a law school where not everyone is passing the bar.

By

Scott Jaschik

When it comes to getting students into college (and prepared to succeed there), school counselors have a unique vantage point -- seeing firsthand the factors that hinder their students from moving forward. A national survey of counselors, being released today by the College Board, finds that these counselors generally think their schools are not succeeding in the areas that the counselors believe are most important to promote student advancement.

The counselors were given a list of a series of roles for their schools in preparing students for college, and asked how important they are and how well their schools are doing in these roles. In function after function that the counselors found important -- such as helping students understand the kind of preparation they would need for colleges and careers, or promoting good understanding of the college application process -- relatively few found their schools to be doing well in them.

Roles and Effectiveness of Schools in Promoting College Readiness and Attendance

Role% Who Believe Role is Important% Who Say Schools Are Successful in RoleConnecting college and career choices to academic preparation72%30%Connecting students to resources to pay for college64%24%Promoting a rigorous academic program71%34%Promoting an early understanding of the application and admissions process72%31%Providing students with exposure to a range of extracurricular activities58%32%Providing information about how to afford going to college68%36%Promoting the use of assessments of college and career readiness63%34%Building a "college going culture"65%37%

The survey was designed to highlight the role of college counseling in promoting the goal of encouraging more students to enroll in college, and to be prepared well enough that they can succeed.

Asked how they would reallocate their time, if their jobs were to be focused on student success, the counselors said that they need more time for helping students navigate the application and financial aid process, and for building a culture in which everyone thinks about college. The main impediment to that time shift appears to be administrative tasks. Among counselors, 39 percent said that they spend far too much time on such work, and another 28 percent said that they spend somewhat too much time on it.

Given the current emphasis nationally on accountability, the survey also asked whether it was appropriate to judge high school counselors on certain criteria related to various educational goals. Generally, the counselors were skeptical of being evaluated based on outcomes measures, but were more open to the idea when it related to high school measures than college-related measures.

Counselors' Views on Fairness of Evaluating Them on Certain Criteria

FactorFairSomewhat FairNot FairTranscript audits of college readiness29%33%38%College-prep course completion24%37%39%Student access to AP, similar courses22%37%41%High school graduation rates19%38%43%College application rates18%39%43%College acceptance rates13%33%54%Aid application completion rates13%27%60%