The 12 diversity dimensions of the ASCA Ethical Standards (ASCA, 2010) provided a framework for examining whether a statewide sample of high school counseling websites (N = 312) had content for diverse students and their families. Many websites offered little content related to those dimensions, and content was especially low for some groups…

The School Counseling Program Report Card--Student Version is a program evaluation tool designed to capture high school student perceptions of school counseling services. This article describes the initial instrument development process. Exploratory factor analysis (N = 305) yielded a 22-item instrument with three subscales that mirror the ASCA…

This study evaluated the impact of a small group counseling intervention designed for students who underachieve. The results of the study demonstrated significant improvement for ninth- and tenth-grade underachieving students in the areas of organizational skills, time management, and motivation. The author discusses implications and…

This study describes the collaboration among a school counselor, a school counselor intern, an Advanced Placement Psychology teacher, and a counselor educator to improve African-American access to Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and increase success on the AP Psychology national examination. The team initiated a process that recruited African…

A graduation rate of 49% alarmed Sunnyside High School in 2009. With graduation rates in the bottom 5% statewide, Sunnyside was awarded a federally funded School Improvement Grant. The "turnaround" principal and the school counselors aligned goals with the ASCA National Model through the program All Hands On Deck (AHOD), based on…

School counselors need to advocate and act as an ally for all students. Safe Space, a training designed to facilitate competency for working with and serving LGBTQ youth (i.e., LGBTQ competency), has received increased attention in the field of school counseling. However, limited empirical support exists for training interventions such as Safe…

The prevalence of mental health issues and suicidal thoughts and actions among school-aged children and adolescents is a serious issue. This article examines the scope of the problem nationwide and provides a brief overview of the literature regarding the effectiveness of school-wide screening programs for depression and suicide risk. The authors…

Results connect the implementation of the college and career counseling components of a comprehensive school counseling program and lower student-to-school-counselor ratios to a reduction in suspension rates and disciplinary incidents for Connecticut high school students. Principal ratings of college and career counseling services provided in…

This article illustrates standards blending, the integration of core academic and school counseling standards, as a culturally alert responsive services strategy to assist in closing the achievement gap while also enhancing employability skills and culturally salient career competencies. The responsive services intervention described in this…

This psychometric study validated the "easy-to-use" Life Perspectives Inventory (LPI) for deployment with Korean high school-age students (N = 1223, ages 15-19). Using the conceptual research underpinnings derived from the positive psychology and spirituality literature, the LPI assesses qualities of nonsectarian adolescent spirituality. Item and…

Mattering to others has been shown to be a key construct of mental health and wellness. Emerging research links interpersonal mattering and school climate. In this study, the authors use transcendental phenomenology to explore how interpersonal mattering impacts the academic achievement of urban African American males who are academically…

This article presents a study that investigated factors that distinguish high school students who completed at least one course beyond Algebra 2 from those who completed a course in Algebra 2 or less. The sample included a cohort of 11,909 high school seniors who participated in the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002-2004. Data were analyzed…

Cross-age mentoring programs are peer helping programs in which high school students serve as mentors to younger children. The study in this article compared fall-to-spring changes on connectedness, attachment, and self-esteem between 46 teen mentors and 45 comparison classmates. Results revealed an association between serving as a cross-age peer…

The purpose of this article is to describe a large-scale psychoeducational study skills group for ninth-grade students whose academic performance is in the bottom 50 percent of their class. The ASCA National Model[R] (American School Counselor Association, 2005) was used as a framework for development, delivery, and evaluation. The authors found…

This article evaluated the impact of a group counseling intervention on African-American students' achievement rates during the spring administration of high-stakes testing at a rural high school in Georgia. Eighty percent of eligible students who participated in the intervention received passing scores on the four sections tested during the…