High school counselors play a vital role in helping students prepare for attending college. They are the link between students and families and institutions, providing counseling, information, and motivation to help students make it through their enrollment journeys. Along the way, they have to help students cope with a wide variety of challenges:…

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) compiled this report to provide a glimpse at the 10-year trends in student-to-counselor ratios from 2004-05 to 2014-15, the latest school years for which data is available. The data was downloaded from the National Center for…

To highlight differences in student-to-counselor ratios, NACAC has prepared a series of state maps using school district-level data available from the US Department of Education. Research has shown that secondary school counselors play a critical role in facilitating the transition to postsecondary education. Unfortunately, the ability of public…

High school counselors generally feel prepared to advise students about community colleges and believe these institutions offer relatively easy application and enrollment processes. However, results of a national survey conducted by NACAC showed that many counselors feel less knowledgeable about transfer policies at area four-year colleges and…

According to a national [2017-18] survey conducted by National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), school counselors overwhelmingly oppose efforts to arm educators as a response to gun violence in schools. Nearly three-quarters of 2,251 counselors who responded were either "somewhat opposed" or "strongly…

According to a survey by NACAC and IC3 (International Career and College Counseling) Institute, 88 percent of Indian high school counselors believe their administration understands the importance of a dedicated career and college counseling program, and 70 percent agree that their school culture is supportive of counseling. However, many…

This Data Point uses data from the 2015-16 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) School Questionnaire. NTPS is a nationally representative sample survey of public K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This Data Point compares levels of mental health staffing in schools in which more than half…

This report analyzes new, nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). Part I of this report examines what high schools are doing to help students transition to postsecondary education. Broadly, it examines college-level course offerings; counselors' time, attitudes and actions; and students'…

In today's world, technology is ubiquitous and rapidly evolving. As it evolves and new challenges emerge, educators will be tasked with teaching students about healthy and responsible management of their online lives. From late December 2023 to early January 2024, the EdWeek Research Center conducted a survey of teachers, school leaders, and…

Among the first to demonstrate that school counselors have a positive impact on student outcomes that is both quantifiable and statistically significant, this study provides a powerful tool for counselor advocacy efforts. Using nationally representative, longitudinal data collected by the US Department of Education, findings show that high school…

To meet the demands of its current and future workforce, Colorado needs to increase postsecondary attainment. To do this, we must help more students find affordable pathways to postsecondary education so they have the confidence to enroll. One way to increase enrollment in higher education, particularly for low- and middle-income students, is to…

We initiated the study in response to school counsellors' concerns over the effects of noneducational video gaming and texting on students' school performance. The research purpose was to examine the correlations between various factors and academic performance in grade 9. The factors included social relations (e.g., friends), extra-curricular…

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the Character Collaborative worked together to develop a survey of secondary school counselors and college admission offices. Survey questions were designed to better understand the nature of any character development programs offered by secondary schools in the US, and to…

The Center for Public Education has been examining the research and data related to school choice in hopes of informing the conversation about effective policies. This report turns from looking at the impact of school choice to examining access to options within the public education system. It first estimates how many students are able to choose…

The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) 2021 Annual Report describes 153,233 unique college students, nationally and internationally, seeking mental health treatment; 4,043 clinicians; and more than 1,135,520 appointments from the 2020-2021 academic year. This is the 13th year the report has been produced. This year's report specifically…