A National Look at the High School Counseling Office

Transcription

1 A Ntionl Look t the High School Counseling Office Wht Is It Doing nd Wht Role Cn It Ply in Fcilitting Students Pths to College? by Alexndri Wlton Rdford, Nicole Ifill, nd Terry Lew Introduction Between Jnury nd October of 2013, nerly 3 million Americns between the ges of 16 nd 24 grduted from high school. By October of tht yer, just two-thirds hd enrolled in college. 1 This report uses recently relesed ntionlly representtive High School Longitudinl Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) dt from Spring 2012 to exmine Americn high schools counseling deprtments nd the fctors relted to high school juniors 2 ctions, plns, nd beliefs surrounding their eventul college enrollment. More specificlly, Prt I of this report focuses on wht high schools nd their counseling offices re doing to help students mke trnsition to postsecondry eduction. To do so, it presents dt on principls priorities for their counselors, how counselors re ssigned, whether schools hve college-focused counselors, counselors time commitments, counselors college preprtion ctivities, whether schools follow their students beyond high school, students nd prents interctions with counselors, nd students perceptions of counselors influence on their thinking bout postsecondry eduction. To better understnd the extent to which these counseling chrcteristics differ mong high schools, this study uses descriptive sttistics to compre these outcomes by severl key high school dimensions: school type (public or privte), school size, school locle, schools college dmissions test score quintile, 3 nd the percentge of the student body t public high schools receiving free or reduced-price lunch (s proxy for low-income students representtion). 4 The precise ctegories used for these school chrcteristics nd their percentges re noted in Appendix Tble 1. Prt II of this report ims to identify the fctors relted to students tking ctions, mking plns, nd hving beliefs by the spring of their junior yer tht my fcilitte their postsecondry enrollment fter high school. The first hlf of Prt II focuses on students ctions in exploring college options nd their plns to enroll. Specificlly, it discusses whether students 1) hd explored college options through the Internet or college guides; 2) hd ttended progrm t, or tken tour of, college cmpus; nd 3) plnned to enroll in bchelor s degree progrm in Fll 2013 (which would be the fll fter their high school grdution ssuming norml cdemic progress). 5 Next, given tht perceptions bout college ffordbility, finncil id eligibility, nd finncil id receipt influence students college decisions, the second hlf of Prt II centers on students perceptions nd plns relted to the costs of college nd finncil id. More precisely, it exmines 1) students perceptions of college ffordbility; 2) their beliefs bout their bility to qulify for need-bsed finncil id; nd 3) their plns to file Free Appliction for Federl Student Aid (FAFSA). Prt II of this report first presents descriptive sttistics for ech outcome exmined. Then, in order to estblish which counseling chrcteristics nd other fctors pper to shpe these outcomes in the fce of less mutble student chrcteristics, it shows results from regression nlyses. 1 College Enrollment nd Work Activity of 2013 High School Grdutes, Wshington, DC: Bureu of Lbor Sttistics. Retrieved My 31, 2014, from 2 See the Dt nd Methods Appendix for more detil on the smple. 3 Schools college dmissions test score quintile results re bsed on the verge SAT or ACT score of the school s grduting senior test-tkers. ACT scores were converted to equivlent SAT scores, nd quintiles were clculted using the schools in the smple tht were not missing dt on this mesure. See Appendix Tble 1 for the scores tht fll within ech quintile. 4 Free nd reduced-price lunch informtion ws gthered from dministrtors. Anlyses were limited to public schools becuse some privte schools include lunch s prt of the cost of ttendnce, mking their responses less useful s n indictor of students poverty. 5 See the Dt nd Methods Appendix for more informtion on students grde level t the time of the survey.

2 Executive Summry PRINCIPALS PRIORITIES FOR COUNSELORS When sked to choose from four options, just over hlf of principls (55 percent) selected the option, helping students prepre for postsecondry schooling, s their top priority for their schools counseling office. ASSIGNMENT OF COUNSELORS AND COLLEGE-FOCUSED COUNSELORS About 57 percent of counselors reported tht their schools ssigned counselors to students by students lst nme. Less thn two-fifths of counselors indicted tht their school hd counselor whose primry responsibility ws college pplictions or hd counselor whose primry responsibility ws college selection. COUNSELORS TIME COMMITMENTS AND ACTIVITIES About hlf of counselors (54 percent) reported tht their counseling deprtment spent less thn 20 percent of their time on college rediness, selection, nd pplictions. Most counselors (90 percent or more) indicted tht their schools offered informtion on college dmissions tests, colleges, nd the bsics of the finncil id process. Tht sid, the percentge of students who took dvntge of these types of help ws fr lower. FOLLOWING STUDENTS OUTCOMES BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL About 58 percent of schools trcked wht their former students did fter high school in some wy. STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND HIRED COUNSELORS INFLUENCE Consistent with other reserch, students were most likely to select their prents s most influentil in their thinking bout their eduction fter high school (42 percent). While reltively few students chose high school counselor (3 percent) or hired counselor (less thn 1 percent) s most importnt in shping their eductionl vision, it is importnt to keep in mind tht counselors my be more influentil in providing informtion bout the steps required to relize this vision. THE ROLE OF COUNSELING CHARACTERISTICS IN STUDENTS ACTIONS, PLANS, AND PERCEPTIONS SURROUNDING COL- LEGE ENROLLMENT Controlling for multitude of fctors, students speking with counselor bout options for life fter high school ws positively relted to their hving serched for college options, hving visited college cmpus for progrm or tour, plnning to enroll in bchelor s degree progrm fter completing high school, nd plnning to complete FAFSA. Other fctors tht counselors my be ble to influence were lso sttisticlly significnt even fter controlling for numerous fctors. Students prticipting in progrm tht provides college preprtion, counting more thn hlf of their close friends s plnning to ttend four-yer college, nd hving prents who expected them to enroll in college fter finishing high school were ll positively ssocited with n rry of key outcomes tht could foster eventul college enrollment. Despite incresed ttention nd federl funding to help build nd develop stte longitudinl dtbses, it ws still much more common for schools to use student or lumni survey (49 percent) thn stte or ntionl dtbse (22 percent) to do so. Thirty-seven percent of schools collected informtion specificlly on whether their former students who enrolled in college persisted beyond their first yer. STUDENTS AND PARENTS INTERACTIONS WITH SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND HIRED COLLEGE COUNSELORS By the spring of students junior yer, lmost two-thirds of students (63 percent) nd just over hlf of prents (51 percent) hd tlked with school counselor bout (the student s) options for life fter high school. Fewer students nd prents hd spoken with hired counselor: 13 percent nd 15 percent, respectively. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 2 OF 33

3 Prt I Wht Is Hppening in High Schools Counseling Offices? This portion of the report provides picture of U.S. high schools counseling offices in 2012 by ddressing the following questions: Wht priorities did principls set for their schools counseling deprtments? How were counselors ssigned to students? How frequently did schools hve counselor whose primry responsibility is college pplictions nd/or college selection? How much of counselors time ws spent on college ctivities compred with other responsibilities? Wht services did counseling deprtments offer to help students prepre for their trnsition to college, nd to wht degree did students tke dvntge of these services? Did counselors or schools follow their students beyond high school to see how they fre? And, finlly, to wht extent did students nd prents report intercting with school counselors nd being influenced by them? PRINCIPALS PRIORITIES FOR COUNSELORS Principls set the tone for school nd cn shpe gols not just for techers but lso for counselors. Figure 1 presents principls rnkings of vrious priorities for the counseling progrm in their schools. When given the four options shown, smll mjority of principls (55 percent) selected helping students pln nd prepre for postsecondry schooling s their first priority. They selected ssisting students improve their chievement in high school next most often, t 28 percent, nd chose iding students with personl growth nd development or helping students pln nd prepre for work roles less frequently, t 12 percent nd 5 percent, respectively. About qurter of principls (24 percent) chose prepring students for postsecondry eduction s their second priority, nd 18 percent suggested it ws their third priority. Interestingly, principls rnking of postsecondry eduction s priority for their counseling deprtments did not differ significntly by ny of the school chrcteristics exmined in this report (school type, school size, school locle, schools college dmissions test score quintile, or, t public high schools, the percentge of the student body receiving free or reduced-price lunch). In ddition, sve one exception noted in footnote 8, ll of the subsequent outcomes nlyzed in Prt I did not differ significntly by this principl rnking either. ASSIGNMENT OF COUNSELORS The wy in which schools ssign counselors to students my lso influence counselors bility to dvise students well s they prepre for college. There re severl methods school might employ. For exmple, schools could ssign counselors to students lphbeticlly, ccording to students lst nmes; by grde level (counselor A counsels ninth grders ech yer, counselor B counsels tenth grders, etc.); by incoming clss (Counselor A hs the clss of 2013, Counselor B hs the clss of 2014, etc.); or by lerning communities within schools. 6 In schools with only one counselor, usully smll schools, ll students would be ssigned to tht counselor. Some schools, of course, combine these strtegies: for exmple, Counselor A is ssigned to students slted to grdute in 2013 whose lst nmes begin with A G nd works with these students throughout their high school creers. 7 Figure 1 Percentge of Principls Reporting the Following Priorities for Their School s Counseling Progrm: Helping Students First priority Second priority Third priority Pln nd prepre for postsecondry schooling Improve their chievement in high school With personl growth nd development Pln nd prepre for work roles fter high school NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. 6 Exmples of lerning communities provided in the survey question included schools-within--school, pods, nd houses. 7 About 2 percent of counselors indicted tht their school mde ssignments by lst nme nd grde level, nd nother 2 percent indicted tht their school used lst nme nd incoming clss. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 3 OF 33

4 Figure 2 presents the ssignment method tht schools chose. The mjority of counselors (57 percent) reported tht their schools ssigned counselors to students by students lst nme. Two-fifths (39 percent) indicted tht one counselor ws ssigned to ll students in the school. Other pproches occurred less frequently. First, though counselors knowledge nd fmilirity with college dmissions nd finncil id might be better if counselors were ssigned to specific grde level nd thus more regulrly ddressed these specific grdelevel topics, only 27 percent of counselors were ssigned in this wy. And while ssigning counselors to n incoming clss throughout high school or by lerning community my help counselors get to know their students individul needs better, schools pursued these pproches even less often (16 percent nd 13 percent, respectively). The wys in which counselors were ssigned differed significntly by school type. Public schools were more likely thn privte schools to sort students by students lst nme or by lerning community, while privte high schools were more likely to ssign counselors to ll students or to specific grde level. Counselor ssignment strtegies vried with other school chrcteristics s well. Some of these school chrcteristics re correlted nd inform the results found in Appendix Tble 2. Smll schools nd rurl schools followed one pth, while lrger schools nd urbn nd suburbn schools followed nother. Specificlly, counselors were more pt to be chrged with seeing ll students in schools with fewer thn 500 students (compred with schools in generl) nd in rurl schools (compred with urbn nd suburbn schools). In contrst, ssigning counselors by students lst nme ws more common in the three lrger school size ctegories (thn in the two smller school size ctegories) nd in urbn nd suburbn schools (thn in towns nd rurl schools). Schools with higher college dmissions test scores nd lower poverty rtes were lso more likely to try certin methods of ssignment, while schools with lower test scores nd higher poverty rtes pursued other tctics. For exmple, schools in the second highest test score quintile (compred with schools in the bottom two quintiles) nd public schools in the lowest poverty rte ctegory (compred with the highest two ctegories) were more likely to ssign students by lst nme. Schools in the lowest test score quintile (compred with the second nd fourth quintiles) nd public schools in the highest poverty rte ctegory (compred with the second nd third ctegories) were more likely to ssign counselors by lerning community. COLLEGE-FOCUSED COUNSELORS Counseling deprtments tht include t lest one counselor who is specificlly focused on college pplictions or college selection my be better ble to smooth students pth to college thn counseling deprtments where ll counselors tke on ll of the issues tht come to the deprtment. Figure 3 sheds light on the percentge of schools tht hve counselors with specilized focus. Thirty-nine percent of counselors indicted tht their schools hd counselor whose primry responsibility ws college pplictions. When sked seprtely whether their school hd counselor dedicted primrily to college selection, 37 percent greed. To put those percentges into perspective, the figure illustrtes tht similr percentge of schools hd t lest one counselor focused Figure 2 Percentge of Counselors Reporting Tht Counselors t Their School Were Assigned in Vrious Wys, by School Type 10 Totl Public Privte By students lst nme* To ll students* To speci c grde level* To n incoming clss throughout high school 2 By lerning community* *Di erences by school type tht re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. NOTES: Counselor respondents were ble to select more thn one ssignment method. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 4 OF 33

5 Figure 3 Percentge of Counselors Reporting Tht Their School Hd One or More Counselors Whose Primry Responsibility Ws Assisting Students with the Following, by School Type 10 Totl Public Privte College pplictions* College selection* Selecting courses nd progrms Preprtion for the workforce Plcement into the workforce *Di erences by school type tht re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. on helping students select courses nd progrms (34 percent). Tht sid, schools with counselor chrged minly with prepring students for the workforce or counselor dedicted minly to helping students get plced into the workforce were less common (18 percent nd 9 percent, respectively). Focusing on the first two college-relted mesures of interest shown in the figure, public schools were roughly 30 percentge points less likely thn privte schools to hve counselor focused on pplictions or counselor focused on selection. Also, s Appendix Tble 3 shows, urbn schools were bout 20 percentge points more likely thn schools in towns to hve counselor whose primry responsibility ws college selection. COUNSELORS TIME COMMITMENTS Counselors time commitments lso shpe their bility to dvise students on the trnsition to college. The study sked counselors to estimte the percentge of time the counseling deprtment in their school spent on vrious ctivities during the previous school yer ( ). The first br in Figure 4 shows tht 16 percent of counselors felt tht college rediness, selection, nd pplictions took up 10 percent or less of their deprtments time; 38 percent estimted it took 11 percent to 20 percent; nd just under hlf (46 percent) put tht figure t more thn 20 percent. While high school course choice/scheduling s well s cdemic development lso tended to tke up fir mount of counselors time (11 percent or more for t lest 70 percent of deprtments), the bottom ctegory in the rest of the brs highlights tht more thn 50 percent of counselors felt tht most other ctivities required 10 percent or less of their stff s totl work hours. The percentge of counselors reporting tht their schools counseling stff spent more thn 20 percent of their time on college-relted ctivities differed with regrd to just two of the school chrcteristics emphsized in this report: school type nd public schools poverty rte. 8 Public schools counseling deprtments were much less likely thn privte schools counseling deprtments to devote more thn 20 percent of their time to college rediness, selection, nd pplictions (Figure 5). Tht sid, counseling stff t public schools in the lowest poverty rte ctegory were more likely thn their counterprts in ech of the three higher poverty rte ctegories to use this proportion of their time on college preprtion. SCHOOLS HELP WITH COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TESTS AND STUDENTS USE OF THIS HELP Counselors reported tht their schools offered students severl types of help with college dmissions tests. As Figure 6 shows, ll counselors reported providing ccess to informtion bout when nd where dmissions tests were offered (100 percent), nd lmost ll offered ssistnce with exm registrtion fees nd fee 8 The initil nlyses conducted for this study exmined whether the outcomes nlyzed in Prt I of this report differed by the priority tht principls plced on prepring students for postsecondry schooling. This ws the only outcome where significnt difference occurred by principls priorities, nd so it is only noted here. The higher principls prioritized prepring students for postsecondry schooling the more likely their school counselors were to report tht counseling stff spent more thn 20 percent of their time on college rediness, selection, nd pplictions. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 5 OF 33

6 Figure 4 Percentge of Time Counselors Reported Tht Their Counseling Deprtment Spent on Vrious Activities % or more College High rediness/ school selection/ course pplictions choice/ scheduling Acdemic development 52 School/ personl problems Acdemic testing Personl development Occuptionl choice/ creer plnning Socil development Noncounseling plce- Job ctivities ment/job skill development NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. Figure 5 Percentge of Counselors Reporting Tht Their Counseling Deprtment Spent More Thn 20 Percent of Their Time on College Rediness, Selection, nd Applictions, by Sttisticlly Signi cnt School Chrcteristics Public Privte 0 19% 20 39% 40 59% 6 or more School type Among public schools, percentge of student body receiving free or reduced-price lunch NOTES: Di rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 6 OF 33

7 Figure 6 Percentge of Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered Vrious Types of Help with College Admissions Tests Providing ccess to informtion bout when nd where exms re o ered 100 Providing ssistnce with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers 97 Providing ssistnce with exm registrtion 95 Providing ssistnce with exm preprtion such s o ering test-preprtion clsses or study mterils NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. wivers (97 percent) nd with exm registrtion more generlly (95 percent). In ddition, 90 percent of counselors reported tht their school offered test-preprtion clsses or study mterils. For two of these types of help (ssistnce with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers nd ssistnce with exm registrtion), significnt differences occurred by school chrcteristics. Appendix Tble 4 indictes tht school size nd ffluence pper to influence school supports. Compred with public schools nd smll schools with fewer thn 500 students, privte schools nd schools with 2,000 or more students were less likely to provide ssistnce with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers. As for providing ssistnce with exm registrtion more generlly, schools in the lrgest size ctegory (vs. the two smllest ctegories), urbn schools (vs. rurl nd town schools), nd schools with dmissions test scores in the highest quintile (vs. the three lowest quintiles) were less likely to offer such help. 9 While it is helpful for schools to offer vrious types of support, nother key fctor in their impct is whether students vil themselves of this help. Among schools tht provided given type of help, counselors estimted the percentge of juniors nd seniors who used this type of help in the cdemic yer. Focusing first on the totl columns in Figure 7 produces two insights. First, students tended to tke dvntge of the informtion tht schools provided bout when nd where exms were offered. Specificlly, 36 percent of counselors indicted tht lrge proportion of students (mesured s 75 percent or more students throughout this nd the next two sections of the report) mde use of this help. Tht sid, students use of other types of dmissions test support ws less common. Thirty-two percent of counselors reported tht smll proportion of students (mesured s 10 percent or fewer students in this nd the next two sections of the report) used their schools ssistnce with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers; 19 percent indicted so regrding exm registrtion more brodly; nd 24 percent reported this low level of use for testpreprtion clsses or mterils. Students use of the four types of school help with college dmissions tests presented in the figure differed t public nd privte high schools. As the dt show, it ws much more common for counselors t privte schools thn t public schools to report tht high proportion of students took dvntge of schools ssistnce with when nd where exms re offered (78 percent vs. 33 percent), exm registrtion (48 percent vs. 21 percent), nd test-preprtion clsses or study mterils (39 percent vs. 12 percent). In prt, these results likely reflect privte high schools higher four-yer college ttendnce rte. 10 Tht sid, it ws fr less common for students t privte schools thn those t public schools to vil themselves of school help with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers. Specificlly, 63 percent of counselors t privte schools estimted tht just smll proportion of their students took dvntge of this support, while 30 percent of counselors t public schools reported doing so. 9 Schools college dmissions test scores nd the socioeconomic sttus of their students re highly relted nd my be influencing this nd other results. For exmple, mong ll public schools scoring in the highest test score quintile, 53 percent hd student bodies where less thn 20 percent of students qulified for free or reduced-price lunch nd only 2 percent hd student bodies where 60 percent or more students were eligible. Conversely, exmining ll public schools where 60 percent or more students received lunch, less thn 5 percent of these schools scored in the highest or second highest test score quintiles combined. 10 Anlysis of bse-yer HSLS dt using the ntionlly representtive school weight indicted tht the medin four-yer college ttendnce rte t privte schools ws 77 percent vs. 39 percent t public schools. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 7 OF 33

8 Figure 7 Among Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered This Type of Help with College Admissions Tests, Their Estimte of the Percentge of 11th nd 12th Grders Who Used This Type of Help in , by School Type Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Providing ccess to informtion bout when nd where exms re o ered Providing ssistnce with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers Providing ssistnce with exm registrtion Providing ssistnce with exm preprtion such s o ering test-preprtion clsses or study mterils % 25 49% 11 24% 0 1 NOTES: Di rences by school type re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. Students use of college dmissions test help lso differed by two other school chrcteristics. The first pnel of Figure 8 shows tht schools with college dmissions test scores in the lowest quintile were more likely thn schools in the two highest quintiles to report tht lrge proportion of students mde use of help with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers. This is not surprising given the ssocition between poverty levels in schools nd test scores noted in footnote 9. Further supporting the relevnce of schools socioeconomic composition, the next two pnels illustrte tht the higher schools poverty rte, the less likely they were to hve only smll proportion of students tking dvntge of help with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers nd with exm registrtion in generl. SCHOOLS HELP WITH COLLEGE INFORMATION AND STUDENTS USE OF THIS HELP Schools cn lso id students in their trnsition to life fter high school by providing informtion bout different types of colleges nd ssisting them with the college ppliction process. As shown in Figure 9, nerly ll schools helped students identify criteri in deciding where to pply (99 percent) nd provided ssistnce completing college or university pplictions (98 percent). Vst mjorities of schools lso provided ccess to informtion bout colleges or universities (96 percent), held informtion sessions for students nd prents bout college (94 percent), nd held or prticipted in college firs (92 percent). These percentges were similr cross schools, with two exceptions. As shown in Appendix Tble 5, schools in the smllest size ctegory were significntly less likely to hold informtion sessions bout colleges thn schools in the three middle school-size ctegories. And, while results differed significntly overll by test score quintile, the pprent lower percentge of schools in the highest quintile offering help with completing pplictions ws not significntly different from schools in ech of the other four quintiles when t-tests were conducted seprtely. Students use of their schools help with exploring college options is lso importnt in ssessing the ultimte vlue of these school supports. Agin exmining the responses of counselors t schools offering ech type of help, between 25 nd 30 percent reported tht t lest 75 percent of upperclssmen cpitlized on ech kind of college informtion help presented in Figure 10 except for holding informtion sessions bout college. Only 16 percent of counselors reported such high proportion of student use of tht support. The rtes t which students took dvntge of these school-provided sources of informtion bout college differed by severl school chrcteristics. First, for ech type of college informtion presented in Figure 10, public school counselors were significntly less likely thn A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 8 OF 33

9 Figure 8 Among Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered This Type of Help with College Admissions Tests, Their Estimte of the Percentge of 11th nd 12th Grders Using This Type of School Help in , by Other Sttisticlly Signi nt School Chrcteristics Providing ssistnce with exm registrtion fees nd fee wivers Providing ssistnce with exm registrtion Lowest Second lowest Middle Second Highest 0 19% 20 39% 40 59% 6 highest or more % 20 39% 40 59% 6 or more % 25 49% 11 24% 0 1 Schools college dmissions test score quintile Among public schools, percentge of student body receiving free or reduced-price lunch See Appendix Tble 1 for more detils bout this vrible. NOTES: Di rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. Figure 9 Percentge of Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered Vrious Types of Help with College Informtion Helping students identify criteri for selecting colleges to which to pply such s mjors o ered, cost, or entry requirements 99 Assisting students with completing college or university pplictions 98 Providing ccess to informtion bout colleges or universities 96 Holding informtion sessions for students nd prents bout college 94 Holding or prticipting in college firs NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 9 OF 33

10 Figure 10 Among Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered This Type of College Informtion Help, Their Estimte of the Percentge of 11th nd 12th Grders Using This Type of School Help in , by School Type % 25 49% 11 24% 0 1 Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Helping students identify criteri for selecting colleges to which to pply Assisting students with completing college or university pplictions Providing ccess to informtion bout colleges or universities Holding informtion sessions bout college Holding or prticipting in college firs NOTES: Di rences by school type re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. privte school counselors to report high use. Figure 11 highlights the three other significnt differences observed by school chrcteristics. Counselors from town schools were less likely thn counselors from urbn nd suburbn schools to report high student use of ccess to informtion bout colleges or universities. Also, compred with counselors t schools in the first nd third test score quintiles, counselors t schools in the two highest qurtiles were more pt to report high student use of school informtion sessions bout college probbly becuse greter proportion of their students hd the cdemic preprtion to go on to college. Lstly, the lrger their schools, the less likely counselors were to report high levels of student prticiption in college firs. SCHOOLS HELP WITH THE FINANCIAL AID PROCESS AND STUDENTS USE OF THIS HELP Counselors were lso sked bout the types of help their schools provided with the finncil id process. The vst mjority of counselors reported tht their school mde informtion bout id vilble for students to explore on their own (96 percent) nd offered informtionl meetings bout the FAFSA process (95 percent) (Figure 12). A sizeble 88 percent of schools lso held informtionl meetings on sources of finncil id more brodly, nd 85 percent ssisted with completing finncil id pplictions other thn the FAFSA. Between four-fifths nd three-qurters of schools supplied the remining supports: individul counseling sessions to help students identify sources of finncil id (80 percent), computer ccess for completing the FAFSA (79 percent), ssistnce with completing the FAFSA (78 percent), nd FAFSA dedline reminders (76 percent). The percentge of schools offering mny of these types of finncil id help differed by three school chrcteristics, nd the results imply tht these differences my be driven in prt by the socioeconomic composition of their student bodies. To begin, privte schools were significntly less likely thn public schools to provide ll of the types of help with the finncil id process presented in Figure 12 except for sending out reminders of FAFSA dedlines where no significnt difference ws found (Appendix Tble 6). In ddition, schools in the highest college dmissions test score quintile were consistently less likely thn those in the lowest quintile to provide four forms of finncil id help. Keeping with this trend, counselors t public schools in the lowest poverty rte ctegory were less likely (thn those in the second highest nd/or highest poverty rte ctegory depending on the outcome) to offer five kinds of finncil id help. Students took dvntge of some types of finncil id help more thn others. Counselors were most likely to report high student use of the informtion tht schools mde vilble for students to explore A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 10 OF 33

11 Figure 11 Among Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered This Type of College Informtion Help, Their Estimte of the Percentge of 11th nd 12th Grders Using This Type of School Help in , by Other Sttisticlly Signi nt School Chrcteristics Providing ccess to informtion bout colleges or universities Holding informtion sessions bout college Holding or prticipting in college firs % 25 49% 11 24% 0 1 Urbn Suburbn Town Rurl Lowest Second lowest Middle Second Highest highest 999 1,000 1,499 1,500 1,999 2,000 or more School locle Schools college dmissions test score quintile School size See Appendix Tble 1 for more detils bout this vrible. NOTES: Di rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. Figure 12 Percentge of Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered Vrious Types of Help with the Finncil Aid Process Mking informtion bout id vilble for students to explore on their own, such s yers nd pmphlets O ering informtionl meetings bout the FAFSA process O ering informtionl meetings on sources of nncil id, such s scholrships, lons, or grnts Assisting with completing nncil id pplictions other thn the FAFSA O ering individul counseling sessions to help students identify sources of nncil id Providing computer ccess for completing the FAFSA Assisting students nd fmilies with completing the FAFSA Sending out reminders of FAFSA dedlines NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 11 OF 33

12 on their own (26 percent, Figure 13) nd FAFSA dedline reminders (32 percent, Figure 14). Eleven percent or fewer counselors reported tht similrly high proportions of students cpitlized on the other types of finncil id help tht their schools mde vilble. Students use of three types of finncil id help differed by school type. Compred with public schools, privte schools were less likely to hve low proportion of students tking dvntge of informtionl meetings bout the FAFSA process s well s more likely to hve high proportion of students viling themselves of informtionl meetings bout sources of id nd FAFSA dedline reminders. In thinking bout why privte schools, which tend to hve more ffluent student bodies, hve greter use of finncil id supports, it is importnt to keep two things in mind. First, these differences my reflect the fct tht public high schools hve lower college-going rte. Second, it is lso essentil to remember tht these distributions of student use include only schools offering this type of help. Thus, privte schools where few students need these types of finncil id help, cusing their schools to not offer them, hve lredy been excluded from the distributions presented here. Given the lredy noted correltion between schools poverty nd chievement levels, it is not surprising tht the extent to which students took dvntge of school-provided finncil id help vried by these school chrcteristics s well. Figure 15 shows tht public schools in the highest poverty ctegory were more likely thn those in the lower ctegories to hve t lest 25 percent of students mking use of their schools ccess to computers for completing the FAFSA nd their schools help with FAFSA completion. In ddition, schools in the lowest college dmissions test score quintile were more likely thn schools in higher quintiles to hve 25 percent or more students tking dvntge of school ssistnce with FAFSA completion. FOLLOWING STUDENT OUTCOMES BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL Whether schools follow up with their students fter they leve high school my lso shed light on schools interest in nd emphsis on students postsecondry success. About 58 percent of counselors reported tht their schools trcked wht their students did fter high school in some wy (Figure 16). Despite incresed ttention nd federl funding to help build nd develop stte longitudinl dtbses, it ws still much more common for schools to use student or lumni survey (49 percent) thn stte or ntionl dtbse 11 (22 percent) to do so. Thirty-seven percent of schools collected informtion specificlly on whether their former students who enrolled in college hd persisted beyond their first yer. The percentge of schools trcking former students differed by school chrcteristics. Ptterns pper to be shped by schools resources nd/or the extent to which their connection with students Figure 13 Among Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered This Type of Help with the Finncil Aid Process, Their Estimte of the Percentge Distribution of 11th nd 12th Grders Using This Help in , by School Type Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Mking informtion bout id vilble for students to explore on their own, such s yers nd pmphlets O ering informtionl meetings bout the FAFSA process* O ering informtionl meetings on sources of nncil id, such s scholrships, lons, or grnts* 15 Assisting students nd fmilies with completing the FAFSA % 25 49% 11 24% 0 1 * Di rences by school type tht re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. 11 The Ntionl Student Cleringhouse ws provided s n exmple of ntionl dtbse. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 12 OF 33

13 Figure 14 Among Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered This Type of Help with the Finncil Aid Process, Their Estimte of the Percentge Distribution of 11th nd 12th Grders Using This Help in , by School Type (Continued) % 25 49% 11 24% 0 1 *Di Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte Totl Public Privte O ering individul counseling sessions to help students identify sources of nncil id Providing computer ccess for completing the FAFSA rences by school type tht re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Assisting students nd fmilies with completing the FAFSA NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. Sending out reminders of FAFSA dedlines* SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. Figure 15 Among Counselors Reporting Tht Their School O ered This Type of Help with the Finncil Aid Process, Their Estimte of the Percentge Distribution of 11th nd 12th Grders Using This Help in , by Sttisticlly Signi cnt School Chrcteristics Providing computer ccess for completing the FAFSA Assisting students nd fmilies with completing the FAFSA % % 20 39% 40 59% 6 or more 0 19% 20 39% 40 59% 6 Lowest Second or more lowest Middle Second Highest highest NOTES: Di Among public schools, percentge of student body receiving free or reduced price lunch See Appendix Tble 1 for more detils bout this vrible. Schools college dmissions test score quintile rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. For smple size resons nd to better highlight ptterns, the top three ctegories shown in the previous two ctegories (25 49%, 50 75%, nd 75 10) hve been ggregted. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to totls due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 13 OF 33

14 Figure Totl Public Privte Trcks in some wy Trcks using student or lumni survey* Trcks using stte or ntionl dtbse* Trcks persistence beyond the rst yer of college in some wy* All former students Former students who enrolled in college *Di rences by school type tht re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. nd fmilies enble them to secure survey responses. Compred with public schools, privte schools were more likely to use student or lumni survey nd were less likely to tp into stte or ntionl dtbse. Privte schools were lso 22 percentge points more likely thn public schools to trck their students persistence in college. This my occur becuse lower proportion of public school students enroll in college, 12 but privte schools my lso find it importnt to trck student outcomes in order to ensure tht future fmilies see vlue in pying to enroll. Among public schools, the lower schools poverty rte ws, the more likely schools were to trck ll students through student or lumni survey (Appendix Tble 7). In ddition, rurl schools were significntly more likely thn urbn nd suburbn schools to trck their students postsecondry persistence beyond the first yer. STUDENTS AND PARENTS INTERACTIONS WITH SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND HIRED COLLEGE COUNSELORS While counselors cn communicte with students nd prents en msse through written mterils or informtion sessions, individul converstions with students nd prents cn lso be importnt in students trnsition to college. 13 Almost two-thirds of ll students (63 percent) reported tht by Spring 2012 they hd tlked with their school counselor bout their options fter high school (Figure 17). Students ttending privte (vs. public) schools, suburbn (vs. urbn, town, nd rurl) schools, nd schools in the two lower poverty rte ctegories (vs. the higher two ctegories) were significntly more likely to hve spoken to counselor. While 63 percent of students hd spoken to their high school counselor bout their options, 51 percent of students prents hd done so (Figure 18). As with students, the percentge of prents who hd such converstions ws significntly higher t privte schools thn t public schools. Prents likelihood of speking with counselor ws lso significntly lower t schools with more thn 2,000 students thn t schools in generl. Fmilies lso cn hire privte counselors to help with college dmission, but doing so ws reltively rre: 13 percent of students (Figure 19) nd 15 percent of prents (Figure 20) reported ever speking with hired counselor. Among both students nd prents, the percentge speking with hired counselors ws significntly lower for fmilies t public schools thn for those t privte schools. Differences by schools college dmissions test quintile were lso significnt for both students nd prents, tking on u-shped pttern. Lstly, students who ttended urbn nd suburbn schools rther thn town nd rurl schools were more likely to hve spoken with hired counselor (Figure 19). 12 See footnote See the uthors prior NACAC report nd Prt II of this report for more informtion on the positive reltionship between communictions nd promising ctions nd plns in the pth to college. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 14 OF 33

15 Figure 17 Percentge of Students Reporting Tht They Hve Tlked with Their High School Counselor bout Options for Life fter High School, by Sttisticlly Signi cnt School Chrcteristics Totl Public Privte Urbn Suburbn Town Rurl 0 19% 20 39% 40 59% 6 or more School type School locle Among public schools only, percentge of student body receiving free or reduced-price lunch NOTES: Di rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. Figure 18 Percentge of Prent Respondents Reporting Tht They Hve Tlked with High School Counselor bout Child s Options for Life fter High School, by Sttisticlly Signi cnt School Chrcteristics Totl Public Privte ,000 1,499 1,500 1,999 2,000 or more School type School size NOTES: Di rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2PARENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 15 OF 33

16 Figure 19 Percentge of Students Reporting Tht They Hve Tlked with Hired Counselor to Prepre for College Admission, by Sttisticlly Signi cnt School Chrcteristics Totl Public Privte Lowest Second lowest School type Middle Second highest Schools college dmissions test score quintile Highest Urbn Suburbn Town Rurl School locle See Appendix Tble 1 for more detils bout this vrible. NOTES: Di rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. Figure 20 Percentge of Prent Respondents Reporting Tht They Hve Tlked with Hired Counselor to Help Child Prepre for College Admission, by Sttisticlly Signi cnt School Chrcteristics Totl Public Privte Lowest Second lowest Middle Second highest Highest School type Schools college dmissions test score quintile See Appendix Tble 1 for more detils bout this vrible. NOTES: Di rences within the school chrcteristics presented re sttisticlly signi cnt t the.05 level or below. Estimtes re weighted by W2PARENT. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 16 OF 33

17 STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF COUNSELORS INFLUENCE Hving discussed wht school counselors provide nd the interctions tht students nd prents hve with both them nd hired counselors, it is worth exmining the overll influence students perceive counselors to hve on their postsecondry eduction plns. When sked who most influenced their thinking bout eduction fter high school, bout two-fifths of students (42 percent) chose their prents nd 28 percent picked themselves (Figure 21). Although the next most commonly chosen influencers nother fmily member, friend, nd techer were selected by between just 7 nd 4 percent of students, ech of these sources cme in hed of high school counselor, whom 3 percent of students chose. Prcticlly no students (less thn 1 percent) selected hired counselor s most influentil. In considering the low percentges of students who picked school nd hired counselors, it is importnt to keep in mind tht counselors my be more influentil in providing informtion bout the steps required to relize students eductionl vision thn in shping students vision itself. Focusing on the substntive ctegories nd excluding the smll mixed other ctegory, few differences occurred by school chrcteristics, prticulrly those shped by socil clss. Compred with public school students, privte school students were more likely to select prents nd were less likely to pick nother fmily member, friend, nd techer. In ddition, students t urbn nd suburbn schools were more likely thn those t town nd rurl schools to select hired counselor (Appendix Tble 8). Students who ttended schools in the highest or second highest test score quintile were less likely thn those in ech of the lower three quintiles to pick fmily member s most influentil. Finlly, exmining public school students, those ttending schools in the two lower poverty rte ctegories rther thn schools in the two higher poverty rte ctegories were less likely to select fmily member nd more likely to choose themselves s most influentil. Figure 21 Percentge Distribution of Students Selection of the Individul Tht Ws Most In uentil in Their Thinking bout Eduction fter High School, by School Type 10 Totl Public Privte Prents* Self Another fmily member* Friend* Techer* High school counselor Hired counselor Other Don t know or no one in prticulr * Other includes the options: Coch or scout, Militry recruiter, nd Employer. NOTES: Estimtes re weighted by W2STUDENT. Detil my not sum to 100 due to rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 17 OF 33

18 Prt II Wht Cn Schools Counseling Offices Do To Fcilitte Students Actions, Plns, nd Beliefs Surrounding College Enrollment? Hving exmined wht schools were doing in 2012 to help students mke successful trnsition to college, this prt of the report exmines which counseling chrcteristics nd other fctors re relted to high school juniors ctions, plns, nd beliefs tht should fcilitte their college enrollment in the fll fter finishing high school. Using both descriptive sttistics nd regression nlysis, six outcomes will be discussed. They include whether students 1) hd serched the Internet for college options or red college guides; 2) hd ttended progrm t, or tken tour of, college cmpus; 3) plnned to enroll in bchelor s degree progrm in Fll 2013; 4) disgreed with the ide tht their fmily could not fford to send them to college; 5) believed tht they would qulify for need-bsed finncil id; nd 6) plnned to file FAFSA. The reserch literture suggests tht there re mny fctors tht influence whether students tke these steps, mke these plns, or hold these beliefs. For this report, these fctors hve been orgnized into three sets, identified in Tble 1. The first set, counseling chrcteristics, consists of such vribles s schools counselors cselod, the percentge of hours tht counseling stff spent on college ctivities, whether schools hd counselor whose primry responsibility ws college pplictions nd/or college selection, whether the student reported hving spoken to counselor bout options fter high school, nd whether prent reported hving spoken to counselor bout the child s options fter high school. 14 Additionl chrcteristics focused on prticulr counselor ctions re lso included in this set of counseling chrcteristics when the reserch literture suggests they re highly relevnt to the specific outcome exmined. The vribles in the next set of fctors re slightly more removed from counselors direct purview: student s perceptions of college ffordbility, prticiption in progrm tht provides college preprtion, proportion of close friends who plnned to ttend four-yer college, nd prents eductionl expecttions for their child following the fll fter high school grdution. While these vribles cn be shped by mny fctors outside of counselors control, counselors still my be ble to influence them. For exmple, the uthors prior report showed tht the time counselors spent on college ctivities hd significnt positive effect on shping the college ffordbility perceptions of ninth grders who would be first-genertion college students. Counselors my lso be ble to encourge nd fcilitte school nd student prticiption in college preprtion cmps nd progrms like Upwrd Bound, Tlent Serch, Ger Up, AVID, nd/or MESA tht provide college preprtion. Becuse some of students close friends re likely to be school clssmtes, if counselors cn foster collegegoing culture t their schools or help connect students with cdemiclly mtched peers, counselors my be ble to influence students through their friendships. 15 Likewise, by providing informtion to nd/ or meeting with prents bout their child s cdemic nd finncil id eligibility for postsecondry eduction, counselors my be ble to influence prents eductionl expecttions nd plns for their child. 16 Finlly, in order to better identify which counseling chrcteristics nd chrcteristics tht counselors my be ble to influence re relted to the outcomes of interest, it is importnt to control for other vribles tht reserch consistently finds to be relted to students pths to college. By incorporting these vribles into the regressions, the independent effects of school prctices nd counselor ctivities cn be better ssessed. Most of these control vribles re demogrphic, but students postsecondry plns s of ninth grde, 17 students Spring 2012 mth score, nd school type were dded here s well. In this wy, nlyses control for students preexisting plns for college, the fct tht students with higher test scores tend to be more oriented towrd postsecondry eduction, nd the reserch tht shows tht students who ttend privte schools rther thn public schools tend to receive different support s they mke their trnsition to college. 18 Students College Serch, Visits, nd Enrollment Plns STUDENTS SEARCHING FOR COLLEGE OPTIONS VIA THE INTERNET OR COLLEGE GUIDES By Spring 2012, over four-fifths (82 percent) of students hd serched the Internet for college options or red college guides (Tble 1). Focusing on counselor chrcteristics first revels tht this percentge differed by whether students hd tlked with counselor. In the next set of vribles cpturing fctors tht counselors my be ble to influence, significnt differences occurred cross ll four mesures. Significnt differences were found cross ll of the controls presented in the tble s well. The logistic regression presented in the first pnel of Tble 2 indictes which of these fctors hve n effect on students behvior independent of the reltionships mong them. It shows tht student reports of hving tlked to counselors remins highly significnt. 19 Students who reported doing so hd 93 percent greter odds of hving strted serching thn their otherwise equivlent counterprts. 14 While informtion on who prompted communictions between students nd counselors nd between prents nd counselors is not vilble, it is importnt to note tht the survey questions for these items re not college specific; they sk bout ever discussing the student s options for life fter high school. Thus, there is reson to believe tht students nd prents with rnge of post-high school expecttions nd not just those who were lredy college oriented might hve spoken to the counselor. Furthermore, regressions control for students postsecondry spirtions s of ninth grde nd prents current postsecondry spirtions for their student. This suggests tht when these counselor communictions vribles re significnt, they re not merely cpturing individuls lredy predisposed towrd postsecondry eduction who initited converstions with counselors for this reson. 15 In results not shown, students proportion of close friends with four-yer college plns in 2012 ws significntly nd positively correlted with the four-yer ttendnce rte of the schools they hd ttended in Informtion bout the four-yer ttendnce rte of students 2012 schools ws not vilble nd is therefore not included in the nlysis, but even if correlted, the four-yer ttendnce rte is still fctor tht counselors my be ble to influence. 16 In fct, mong prents who in Fll 2009 expected tht their child would one dy receive bchelor s degree, those who hd spoken to counselor by Spring 2012 were more likely thn other prents to ssert tht they believed their child would be enrolled in four-yer institution in the fll fter finishing high school. 17 This is the only vrible included from the bse yer. All of the other vribles in this report come from the first follow-up. 18 Prt I of this report showed tht of ll the school chrcteristics exmined, differences in counselor chrcteristics most frequently occurred by school type. For more informtion on how the college choice process differs t public schools nd privte schools, see McDonough, P. (1997). Choosing Colleges: How Socil Clss nd Schools Structure Opportunity. Albny: Stte University of New York Press. 19 As in the descriptive results, in the regression results, only predictors tht re sttisticlly significnt t the.05 level re discussed in the text. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 18 OF 33

19 Tble 1: Descriptive Sttistics: Students College Serch, College Visits, nd Enrollment Plns s of Spring 2012 Counseling chrcteristics Chrcteristics tht counselors my be ble to influence Controls Student hd serched the Internet for college options or red college guides Student hd ttended progrm t, or tken tour of, college cmpus Student plnned to enroll in bchelor s degree progrm in the fll of 2013 Percentge Percentge Percentge Totl School s counselor cselod 250 or fewer More thn Percentge of hours counseling stff spent on college rediness, selection, nd pplictions 3 1 or less % to % or more School hd one or more counselors whose primry responsibility ws college pplictions nd/or college selection 2 No Yes School held informtion sessions for students nd prents bout college 2 No Yes School offered students help identifying criteri for selecting colleges to which to pply, such s mjors offered, cost, or entry requirements No Yes School held or prticipted in college firs No Yes School offered informtionl meetings on sources of finncil id, such s scholrships, lons, or grnts No 45 Yes 41 1, 2, 3 Student reported hving tlked with high school counselor bout options for life fter high school No Yes Prent respondent reported hving tlked with high school counselor bout child s options for life fter high school 2 No Yes , 2, 3 Student s perception of college ffordbility mesured s response to the sttement, Even if you get ccepted to college, your fmily cnnot fford to send you. Strongly gree Agree Disgree Strongly disgree Student hs prticipted in progrm 1, 2, 3 tht provides college preprtion No Yes , 2, 3 Proportion of student s close friends who plnned to ttend four-yer college Hlf or fewer More thn hlf , 2, 3 Prent s expecttion for the level of school child will ttend in Fll 2013 High school Two-yer college or occuptionl school Four-yer college Don t know , 2, 3 In ninth grde student plnned to enroll in n ssocite s or bchelor s degree progrm in the yer fter high school No Yes , 2, 3 Student s Spring 2012 mthemtics quintile Lowest Second lowest Middle Second highest Highest , 2, 3 Prents highest degree ttined High school diplom or lower Associte s degree or certificte Bchelor s degree or higher Rce/ethnicity 1, 3 White Blck Hispnic Asin Other rce b , 2, 3 Sex Mle Femle , 2, 3 School type Public Privte Includes college preprtion cmp, Upwrd Bound, Tlent Serch, GEAR UP, AVID, nd/or MESA. b Other rce includes non-hispnic Americn Indin/Alsk Ntives, Ntive Hwiin/Pcific Islnders, nd students of more thn one rce. 1 Differences in students plns to enroll in bchelor s degree progrm in the fll of 2013 re sttisticlly significnt t the p<.05 level for this predictor. 2 Differences in students ttending progrm t, or tking tour of, college cmpus re sttisticlly significnt t the p<.05 level for this predictor. 3 Differences in students serching the internet for college options or reding college guides re sttisticlly significnt t the p<.05 level for this predictor. NOTES: As noted in the text, set of common counselor chrcteristics is included for ll three outcomes presented in this tble. For the first two outcomes focused on students explortion of college options, two dditionl counselor chrcteristics highly relted to explortion of college options were included. For the third outcome focused on enrollment plns, seprte counselor chrcteristic bout providing informtion on pying for college is included due to the influence college cost nd finncil id informtion hve been shown to hve on students decision to enroll. These dditionl counselor chrcteristics re gryed out when they re not included for the outcome of focus. Estimtes re weighted by W2W1PAR. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 19 OF 33

20 Tble 2: Logistic Regression Results: Students College Serch, College Visits, nd Enrollment Plns s of Spring 2012 Counseling chrcteristics Chrcteristics tht counselors my be ble to influence Controls Student hd serched the Internet for college options or red college guides Student hd ttended progrm t, or tken tour of, college cmpus Student plnned to enroll in bchelor s degree progrm in the fll of 2013 VARIABLE Odds rtio Pr > ChiSq Odds rtio Pr > ChiSq Odds rtio Pr > ChiSq Intercept * ** <.0001 *** School s counselor cselod Percentge of hours counseling stff spent on college rediness, selection, nd pplictions (1 or less) 11% to % or more School hd one or more counselors whose primry responsibility ws college pplictions nd/or college selection School held informtion sessions for students nd prents bout college School offered students help in identifying criteri for selecting colleges to which to pply such s mjors offered, cost, or entry requirements School held or prticipted in college firs School offered informtionl meetings on sources of finncil id, such s scholrships, lons, or grnts Student reports hving tlked with high school counselor bout options for life fter high school *** <.0001 *** ** Prent respondent reports hving tlked with high school counselor bout child s options for life fter high school Student s perception of college ffordbility mesured s level of disgreement with the sttement, "Even if you get ccepted to college, your fmily cnnot fford to send you." Student hs prticipted in progrm tht provides college preprtion <.0001 *** A mjority of student s close friends plnned to ttend four-yer college ** *** Prent s expecttion for the level of school child will ttend in Fll 2013 (High school) Two-yer college or occuptionl school * Four-yer college ** * Don t know In ninth grde student plnned to enroll in n ssocite s or bchelor s degree progrm in the yer fter high school <.0001 *** Student s Spring 2012 mthemtics score *** <.0001 *** Prents highest degree ttined (High school diplom or lower) Associte s degree or certificte Bchelor s degree or higher * * Rce/ethnicity (White) Blck Hispnic Asin Other rce b Sex (Mle) Femle <.0001 *** School type (Public) Privte Reference ctegory, no estimte clculted. p<.1, * p<.05, ** p<.01, *** p<.001 Includes college preprtion cmp, Upwrd Bound, Tlent Serch, GEAR UP, AVID, nd/or MESA. b Other rce includes non-hispnic Americn Indin/Alsk Ntives, Ntive Hwiin/Pcific Islnders, nd students of more thn one rce. NOTES: As noted in the text, set of common counselor chrcteristics is included for ll three outcomes presented in this tble. For the first two outcomes focused on students explortion of college options, two dditionl counselor chrcteristics highly relted to explortion of college options were included. For the third outcome focused on enrollment plns, seprte counselor chrcteristic bout providing informtion on pying for college is included due to the influence college cost nd finncil id informtion hve been shown to hve on students decision to enroll. These dditionl counselor chrcteristics re gryed out when they re not included for the outcome of focus. Estimtes re weighted by W2W1PAR. SOURCE: U.S. Deprtment of Eduction, Institute of Eduction Sciences, Ntionl Center for Eduction Sttistics. High School Longitudinl Study of 2009, First Follow-Up Restricted Use File. A NATIONAL LOOK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING PAGE 20 OF 33