Counseling, in comparison to other areas of high school reform, has seen relatively little meaningful policy change in recent years. Yet, as stated in an excellent report from several years back, Counseling and College Counseling in America's High Schools:
"repeated studies have found that improving counseling would have a significant impact on college access for low-income, rural, and urban students as well as students of color ... Specifically, if counselors begin actively supporting students and their families in middle school in preparing for college, as opposed to simply disseminating information, this will increase students' chances of enrolling in a four-year college[.]"
States need to reconsider policies that simply place more counselors in the schools or provide information with little direction to students, in favor of policies that call for counselors and other school staff to start developing a college-going culture and more individualized supports in the middle grades.
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