The annual performance appraisal of school counselors should accurately reflect the unique professional training and practices of school counselors working within a pre-K–12 school counseling program. These written appraisals should use forms and tools specifically designed for school counselors, based on documents such as the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies and the School Counselor Performance Appraisal from the ASCA National Model.
The primary purposes of the annual performance appraisal are not only to ensure the school counselor’s effectiveness, impact, high-level performance and continued professional growth (Dimmitt, 2009) but also to demonstrate school counselors’ effectiveness and impact on student success as a part of the mission of their respective schools (ASCA, 2019a). School counselor appraisal should be based on professional standards of practice defined by school, district or state guidelines (ASCA, 2019a). The appraisal should include the components of self-evaluation, administrative evaluation and assessment of goal attainment (Gysbers & Henderson, 2012). In addition, those who evaluate school counselors’ performance should be trained to understand school counselor evaluation (Gysbers & Henderson, 2012).
Because many administrators have not received training on how to evaluate school counselor performance, school counselors educate administrators about the appropriate role of the school counselor, ultimately to improve the school counseling program (Hatch et al., 2019). Annual agreements between administrators and school counselors can be mutually beneficial for understanding the school counselor role (Duslak & Geier, 2016). The ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies (2019b) and School Counselor Performance Appraisal template are designed to be used as planningtools when developing a sound school counselor assessment tool (ASCA, 2019a).
The annual performance appraisal of the school counselor should use criteria reflecting the current standards, competencies and performance appraisals of the school counseling profession. Annual performance forms and tools should also reflect these criteria.
American School Counselor Association. (2019a). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.
American School Counselor Association. (2019b). ASCA school counselor professional standards & competencies. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Dollarhide, C.T. & Saginak, K.A. (2017). Comprehensive School Counseling Programs: K-12 Delivery Systems in Action, Ed 3. Pearson.
Dimmitt, C. (2009). Why evaluation matters: Determining effective school counseling practices. Professional School Counseling, 12(6), 395-399.
Duslak, M., & Geier, B. (2016). Communication factors as predictors of relationship quality: A national study of principals and school counselors. Professional School Counseling. https://doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-20.1.115
Gysbers, N. C., & Henderson, P. (2012). Developing and managing your school guidance and counseling program (5th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Hatch, T., Triplett, W., Duarte, D., & Gomez, V. (2019). Hatching Results for Secondary School Counseling. Corwin: USA.
Studer, J.R. (2016). Practicum and Internship for School Counselors-in-training, Ed. 2. Routledge: NY, NY.
Young, A., & Kaffenberger, C. (2018). School Counseling Professional Development: Assessing the use of Data to Inform School Counseling Services. Professional School Counseling. 19(1).
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