This study explored how certain personality traits, behaviors, and social status may be associated with who is targeted as a victim of peer aggression. The sample consisted of 233 students in sixth through eighth grades from rural communities. Results indicate that symptoms of anxiety, a high sense of inadequacy, and elevated social stress are…

Many career and educational plans are made well before high school graduation. School counselors' efforts to support these plans are limited by the lack of assessments of middle school students' college-going beliefs. Development of the College-Going Self-Efficacy Scale for middle school students is described in this article. Initial evidence of…

School counseling programs must provide counselors-in-training with effective and multifaceted leadership skill-building opportunities (Brott, 2006; DeVoss & Andrews, 2006; Dollarhide, Gibson, & Saginak, 2008; Kaffenberger & Murphy, 2007). The Girls' Leadership Experience Camp (GLEC) was created by the authors to enhance the leadership abilities…

Connections between exposure to bullying and trauma were explored with 91 sixth-grade adolescents who experienced exposure to bullying in a school environment. Levels of trauma were rated as high with greater exposure to bullying. Significant predictors were frequency of exposure to bullying and participant sex. Implications for school counselors…

This article presents findings from a pilot study that examined the effect of a school counselor-led intervention, using the "Skill-Builders" curriculum, on middle-school students' attitudes toward mathematics learning. Results from the current study demonstrated that students who received the Skill-Builders curriculum had significantly higher…

What is the impact of natural disasters on students' statewide assessment scores? To answer this question, Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores of 55,881 students in grades 4 through 10 were analyzed to determine if there were significant decreases after the 2004 hurricanes. Results reveal that there was statistical but no practical…

Student achievement was compared between Washington State middle schools with comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCPs) and those without. Statistically controlling for socioeconomic status, multivariate analyses of covariance revealed minimal differences between students in CSCP and non-CSCP schools. Significant score differences emerged,…

The transition to middle school has been a frequent research topic in recent years. The findings have highlighted both the significant risk and opportunity for school counselor intervention in the transition. One particularly important component of the multifaceted transition is course placement. The importance and influence of mathematics and…

How can middle school counselors identify bullies? This study compared two methods of identifying bullies in a sample of 386 middle school students. A peer nomination survey identified many more bullies than did student self-report. Moreover, self-reported and peer nominated bullies differed in their types of bullying behaviors, level of general…

This study involved the replication of previously reported research examining a school counselor-led intervention using a structured group counseling approach aimed at improving the academic and social competence of elementary and middle school students. The goal of this replication was to strengthen support for the intervention while contributing…

Respondents to a questionnaire about the elementary-middle and middle-high school transition experience respectively were 173 sixth grade students, 83 parents, and 12 teachers, and 320 ninth grade students, 61 parents and 17 teachers. Results revealed that school transitions posed both challenges and opportunities for students. Parents and…

This article describes a study evaluating the impact of school-counselor-led interventions on student academic achievement and school success behavior. A group counseling and classroom guidance model called student success skills (SSS) was the primary intervention. The focus of the SSS model was on three sets of skills identified in several…