Evidence-Based School Counseling: Making a Difference with Data-Driven Practices

Today's school counselors are under enormous pressure to document their effectiveness by engaging in data-based decision-making and producing quantitative accountability reports. However, the majority of counselors do not have training in these areas. Advocating for a shift from the historical best practice orientation to an evidence-based one, this authoritative guide from influential counselor educators John C. Carey, Trish Hatch, and Carey Dimmitt aims to help school counselors both preservice and inservice, acquire the knowledge and skills to make that shift. Detailed chapters and illustrative vignettes make practical the process of using evidence to accomplish three critical functions: determining what needs to be done, determining which interventions should be implemented, and determining whether the implemented interventions were effective. Additional topics covered include measuring student learning and behavior change, and communicating results to stakeholders. Counselors who successfully incorporate data-based decision-making and program planning will not only be able to document their work they'll be able to see the positive academic and personal changes in the lives of their students.