A Couple Counselors

The Call That Changed Everything

I remember the call like it was yesterday—two students, gone from suicide within 24 hours. I froze. Everything I’d learned in graduate school, every skill I thought I had, felt useless. That’s when I realized… someone’s life could literally depend on the choices I made tomorrow, so I turned to the ASCA Model for proactive guidance for our students.

However, that also meant I had to face the dreaded data collection. The thought of digging into spreadsheets, tracking outcomes, and sharing results felt intimidating. What if the numbers didn’t show impact? What if I got it wrong?

Why Data Matters for School Counselors

Despite my fear, I realized that avoiding data wasn’t an option. Using data helps school counselors show how their work influences student achievement, attendance, and behavior, and that these are linked to improved student outcomes (Schmidt & Johnson, 2019; ASCA, 2019). Failing to track and communicate the results risks making our work invisible—and that directly affects the students we serve.

I started small—tracking students’ grades in my small group and following up with their teachers on their progress in class. That revealed the impact of my intervention and helped me build stronger relationships with staff. Seeing progress in real numbers made my work tangible and motivated me to keep going. 

Data as a Tool for Change

Many counselors initially see data as evaluation alone. Data isn’t just evaluation—it’s a way to show impact and guide change in schools.

School counselors can also use data to:

• Set counseling goals 
• Develop interventions
• Help others see the benefits of proactive approaches

For instance, before the ASCA Model changed to the 5th edition, I tracked students with three unexcused absences in the first seven weeks of school. I set a specific goal for this group and created measurable interventions to help reduce the number of unexcused absences; then reported whether it was successful or not at the end of the year. 

Practical Steps for Using Data Without Overwhelm

How can counselors start using data effectively without feeling buried in spreadsheets?

• Align with School Goals:
  • Review your school improvement plan or talk with your principal to identify priority areas. Once you have a starting point, focus on patterns and equity gaps that are impacting the students. In my example earlier, it was made clear that increasing attendance was a priority for the school. 
• Leverage Your Team: 
  • You don’t have to do it alone. Identify staff members who love data or can pull reports. Collaborate with them to save time and focus on interpreting results and planning interventions. I asked other people in my building how they pulled reports and took notes in case I needed to as well. 
• Start Small:
  • The ASCA Model makes data collection meaningful, manageable, and specific to the school counseling field. Pick one achievement (grades, benchmarks, state-testing results) and practice tracking it with a group of kids, then expand gradually. The ASCA books are a huge help! The 5th edition of the ASCA model focuses on student achievement data, but attendance can be looked at as a contributing factor for the student achievement scores. 
• Advocate with Evidence: 
  • Share trends, interventions, and outcomes with stakeholders. Even a graph may secure support for your program. Data can help remove barriers and justify resources for your initiatives or goals. I started simple, by meeting with my principal about my goal, plans, and again for end-of-year results before branching out to other stakeholders. 
•  Celebrate Small Wins: When you make progress, celebrate small wins. Not every intervention will be impactful, and that is okay; it is part of learning.

Seeing the Difference: Data in Action

Ultimately, data is a lens for shaping school culture, building credibility for the profession, and ensuring students’ needs are seen and acted upon.

I’m still figuring out how to navigate this field, but when I use data, I see the difference it makes. Last month, a former student emailed me to say thanks and shared how the organizational skills they learned during our time together are helping them in high school. That’s the difference data makes— it drives intentional interventions that affect their lives. 

-Melissa