What’s in Your Testing Program?

By: Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

It’s been a hectic month for school counselors in Michigan who also wear the title of building testing coordinator. Earlier this month, they were told the state of Michigan would no longer offer the ACT for free as part of its statewide high school testing programs.  Instead, the SAT would be offered for free instead.

Being the sturdy folks we are, counselor sighed, said here we go again, and got ready to reshape their test prep programs and prepare teachers for a different kind of testing—all based on descriptions of a test that isn’t even written yet.

No sooner were those plans developed when Michigan said—hang on.  ACT had filed an appeal of the state’s decision to switch tests.  It turns out ACT had put in a testing bid that included grading the optional writing test that’s long been a part of ACT, but SAT had not.  ACT claimed that was the reason the SAT bid was so much less; without the writing sample, ACT claimed, theirs was the better offer.

The timing on this wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad.  Counselors had two weeks to finish sending out high school transcripts for college applications, and a little extra time to get a jump on scheduling—a duty that, like test coordination, is something we have never had any training in.

The word finally came yesterday, and Michigan is back on the Change Express.  Claiming the request for bids clearly told ACT to provide just the basics of the test, the state of Michigan ruled the SAT bid was fair.  As long as the final approval is given next week, the SAT will be part of statewide testing in March 2016.

What can counselors learn from this experience, whether you’re in Michigan or elsewhere?  Plenty:

Never take your test plans for granted.  School improvement in Michigan has been measured in part by ACT scores since 2007, and schools have built entire academic programs around ACT objectives.  The switch to the SAT means there will be no reasonable way to measure student growth for at least three years—and that’s assuming Michigan doesn’t switch back to the ACT when this new three-year contract expires.  School districts went all in on the ACT; now they they’ve been burned, it’s unlikely they’ll be as invested with the SAT.

Never let policy makers take your test plans for granted. Reports indicate the Michigan switch was more about money than anything else, but there are indications decision makers could have been more aware about the curricular implications of making a test change.  Counselors and their state organizations would do well to join efforts with state principal and superintendent groups to share aggregate test results with state leaders on a deep and frequent basis.  By pointing out the impact tests have on third grade reading, counselors can help policy makers think twice about making test changes too often—and give them good reason to understand why those changes may or may not be necessary.

Don’t reinvent the wheel with test prep.  Every school counselor is going to make their test preparation programs more SAT centered—and if everyone has to do something, that means there’s a potential to make it easier.  Now is the time to band together and create a common test prep curriculum; ask your principal to host your nearby school counselors in a meeting or two where you can review existing SAT materials together (the Khan Academy materials come to mind as a place to start).  Tell your principal this will avoid a lot of SAT headaches, and watch how quickly they say yes. 

Free Community College? One Major City Offers It Now

By: Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

The school counseling community is buzzing about President Obama’s plan to offer two years of free community college to all high school graduates.  First announced two weeks ago, the plan was the key education plank in the State of the Union address, and is seen as a win for all high school students.  Graduates looking to attend a four –year college would have the opportunity to get half of their college credits free at a community college before transferring to a four year institution.  At the same time, high school students wanting to pursue a technical degree would be able to complete most or all of their required training for free.

School counselors see this program as sending the right message to students; no matter what you plan to do, more school is needed after high school to make your way in the world.  That message will be important to convey early and often, since policy analysts suggest the proposal has some high hurdles to overcome:

• First and foremost, President Obama’s plan calls for new federal funding. It’s estimated the free program will cost $60 billion over 10 years—and with Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, funding of any new programs will be under close review.

• This review will be even more difficult, since the president has proposed a tax increase on the wealthy to generate the funding.  Tax increases are never popular, but given the number of Americans just getting out of the clutches of the Great Recession, it seems unlikely Congress will take this approach to funding the program.
• This means it is more likely Congress would be willing to redirect funding from the Pell program to this initiative—a move that could hurt the financial aid opportunities for four-year students.

• Finally, one-fourth of the funding for the program is expected to come from the states.  Since many of the states have been cutting funding to higher education, local funding would likely also have to come from raising taxes—in this case, state taxes.  This would lead to two tax increases for many Americans, doubling their displeasure of elected officials.

As the political realities of a great idea being to sink in, policy makers wonder if there are other approaches to creating free funding that would be less controversial—and the answer is yes.  For the past three years, the Detroit Regional Chamber has offered two years of free community college to any Detroit high school student who graduated from a Detroit school.  After enrolling in the program and applying for existing federal aid by completing the FAFSA, the DRC program pays for any expenses the federal government won’t cover, as long as the student enrolls full-time in one of five community colleges in Metro Detroit.

The advantages of this approach to free community college are clear.  First, students have to complete the FAFSA, something they hesitate to do without some urging.  Since there’s nothing like free college to excite them, students take the time to complete the form, knowing that any shortfall will be picked up by the DRC scholarship program.

Second, since this is a “last dollars” program, the DRC plan builds off of current federal policy, requiring no new money or legislation, while helping more students.

Finally, the program requires students to attend community college full-time, as well as participate in study success seminars—two keys to successful completion of college, which is the ultimate goal.

Everyone hopes President Obama’s plan for free community college works—but if it falls short, there’s a thriving program in Detroit that could become a national model. 

Putting New Life in Scheduling Time

By:  Patrick O'Connor  Ph.D

The task school counselors love to hate is back.  No matter how often we point out that we never had a graduate course in Scheduling, principals find a way to make sure our winter months are filled with bubble forms and spreadsheets, as we put our patience and high school Geometry skills to the test, and begin to talk with students about next year’s schedule.

This activity isn’t completely without its benefits, since it gives us time to talk directly with students, but there isn’t a single counselor who gets to late March and says “There has to be a better way to do this.  By then, it’s time to move on to spring testing (another duty that wasn’t part of the graduate school curriculum), so we jot a few notes down, and hope some free time will emerge that allow us to tweak the scheduling process, if only a little—and when that time appears, it’s July.

It’s time to make the time rather than simply hope it appears.  As you prepare to take on scheduling this year’s students for next year’s class, see if any of these tips can make the process more student-centered.

Flipping the scheduling process.  Experienced counselors look at high school scheduling and see two huge time wasters.  The first one involves asking the student what they want to take; this usually occurs in the counselor’s office, before the student has seen any of the scheduling materials, or given any thought about their courses for the next year.

The easiest way to avoid this is to make sure the student comes prepared to discuss the choices they’ve already made.  By making scheduling materials available to students well before the counselor meeting, students will have time to consider their choices, discuss them with their parents, and come up with questions they might have before they appear in your office.  Call it homework, or call it flipping the scheduling process, this approach puts students in the driver’s seat, and requires a degree of proactivity that can make a world of difference.

Submit the schedule ahead of time.  The second step in this process goes even further, and requires the student to submit a rough draft of their schedule before their meeting with the counselor.  This approach asks the student to make some initial decisions, requiring them to evaluate their priorities on their own.  It also gives the counselor an opportunity to review each schedule ahead of time and prepare their questions before meeting with the student. This can be especially helpful if the meeting usually includes a review of progress towards graduation.  Checking the student’s rough draft against the graduation template before the meeting allows the counselor to prepare other recommendations if the student is missing a required course, or create time for a second graduation review during the meeting—and checking twice is never a bad idea.

Using scheduling time for real counseling.  This plan ahead process creates an opportunity for counselors and students to use scheduling time for a greater purpose.  After reviewing the student’s choices, and the rationale being those choices, the conversation can move past the logistics of scheduling, to include deeper discussions about career interests, college plans, summer activities, and more.  This makes the activity of schedule building less about classes, and more about students—and that’s always a good thing.  

What the New SAT Means to You

By: Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

The start of a new calendar year means more juniors are now turning their attention to the college application process—and to the tests which are often part of that process.  Since College Board has announced changes to the SAT, this means some juniors may not be sure what tests to take, or how to prepare for them.

It would be easy to see this change as one more adjustment for college-bound families to make. But the switch gives students an opportunity to make the most of a new situation—especially since…

The change takes effect in 2016.  If you are a high school junior, absolutely nothing has changed.  All the test prep materials out there will still work, so you are good to go—which means you should pass this column along to your tenth grade friends.

Tenth graders, double down on your studies. No one has seen specific questions that will be on the new SAT, but the goal of the new test is to better measure what students understand from their work in the classroom.  As a result, the more you understand from class, the better prepared you’ll be for the test—just make sure you know the difference between memorizing (“Who was the first president of the United States?”) and understanding (“If the first US president was alive, what three things would bother him the most about government today?”)

Plan on taking the PSAT in the fall.  A new version of the SAT next spring means there will be a new version of the PSAT this fall—and there’s nothing like the PSAT to get you SAT ready.  Some schools will offer the PSAT test for free, but if your school charges a fee, it’s worth saving your pennies now for an experience that will pay off big dividends in eight months.  PSAT test prep materials will be available when you come back to school in the fall.

Give your school counselor support and space.  In the next year, your school counselor will have to interpret the current SAT; plan for the new SAT; help teachers adjust curriculum to meet the demands of the new SAT; revamp the test prep classes and seminars they offer so they’re ready for the new SAT, and make sure they understand how to interpret the subscores of an SAT that isn’t created yet. Much of a counselor’s work on your behalf is done when you aren’t around, and that will include more hours on the SAT this year. They’d much rather spend the time working with you—but for now, they will have to workfor you. The best thing you can do is be patient, and appreciative.

Be ready to take both the ACT and SAT next spring.  Just like two English teachers approach teaching differently, two college tests approach assessment differently—and one approach may make more sense to you than the other. Since that difference can play an important role in where you go to college, plan on taking each test next spring—and if you need help paying for the ACT, ask your counselor if you qualify for a fee waiver.

There are two kinds of excitement in planning for college—the kind that leads to worry, and the kind that leads to action.  The SAT announcement seemed to have come out of nowhere, but it can still take you somewhere.  Just where is largely up to you—and that’s the good kind of excitement.

College Admissions Trends to Watch in 2015

By: Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

2014 has been a remarkable year in college admissions, and next year promises to be no less exciting.  Some trends will build on the changes that occurred this year, and some will seem to come out of nowhere. Either way, here’s what you’ll want to watch for in 2015:

College Costs, Part 2  Spring always brings renewed concern that the price of college is too high, but college costs spend months in the 2014 headlines, as average student debt for a Bachelor’s degree surpassed $30,000 in many states.  Tuition increases have slowed, but not stopped entirely; state legislatures will take this issue on in earnest, since it isn’t an election year.

More Aid for International Students  Lower oil prices mean fewer full-pay families in oil-dependent countries overseas. Look for colleges to offer more aid to international students to advance their goals of campus diversity and full classes.

More Support for School Counselors? 2014 brought praise for school counselors as never before, with the White House launching a multi-faceted initiative to get counselors better training in college admissions, and to get colleges to increase college access. After three college summits and Michelle Obama’s address to the American School Counselor Association, the center of action shifts to the states, where educators, policy makers, and foundations will combine their time and talents to move this agenda forward, whether or not it enjoys further attention in the national spotlight.

Resurgence in Technical Training  Increased college costs and the modest rise in unemployment for four-year college graduates are leading some states to wonder if the drive to send more students to four-year colleges is economically sound. Look for state officials to lead a resurgence in touting the benefits of vocational and technical training, news that could resurrect hurdles for low-income, first generation students to explore the full array of education opportunities after high school.

More Test-Optional Admissions Programs…  The new SAT is scheduled to roll out in 2016, leaving colleges time to consider the importance of standardized testing in their admissions process.  The number of “test optional” colleges has increased every single time SAT or ACT changed their test—and this will be no exception.

…and More Innovative Admissions Methods  Goucher College shook the foundation of college admissions this fall when they announced students only needed to submit a 2-minute video to apply, and some colleges are considering questionnaires to determine if admitted students have the social skills and stamina to complete a degree.  This “no test, no transcript” approach is something to watch in 2015, as grade inflation and test prep courses lead more colleges to consider new ways to see if students will enroll and complete.

A Crossroads for Community Colleges New pressures are requiring colleges to consider how to help enrolled students finish a degree, including community colleges, where degree completion has traditionally only been one part of the definition of a completing student.  Will a community college student no longer be considered a success if they take the four classes they need to get a $10,000 raise at work—and if not, is that a good thing?  Stay tuned.

Fewer Students, More Applications  Birth rates show high school graduates will decline for at least 8 years, but there are more college applications going out than ever before.  This will continue next year…

More Parental Involvement in Applying ...as will the increase in parents who want to help “edit” student essays and “organize” a student’s communications with colleges.  Any trend decreasing student ownership of the application process is a step in the wrong direction.  It isn’t likely, but let’s hope this practice slows. 

Six Words of Advice for Parents of College-Bound Juniors

By: Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

One group is more anxious about this year's college admissions decisions than the parents of this year's seniors -- and that's the parents of next year's seniors. Junior parents love their children, and they would welcome any advice colleges could offer that would give their child's application an inside edge.

To support that effort, here's what a college admissions officer told me when I asked for advice I could give to junior parents:

"Let your child drive the bus."

The explanation she offered for this counsel, combined with long-standing conventional wisdom, gets to the heart of the college application process, and shows what admissions officers are looking for in a successful applicant beyond the numbers:

Initiative From start to finish, a college application has to send the message that applying to this school was the student's idea, and the student is excited enough to do something to bring that idea to life. This is why so many colleges want students to visit campus or meet the admissions representative at a local college fair; it shows the student is serious about their application.

That seriousness is questioned when the application is completed in what is clearly the handwriting of an adult, or when parents call the admissions office to ask questions. This is particularly true if the parent starts the call by saying "We're applying to your college next year." If the student wants to start building a meaningful relationship with the college, they make the calls, and speak in first person.

Synthesis Well-meaning parents insist they only help their child complete a college application because it is too complicated. Colleges certainly don't want the process to discourage students; at the same time, applicants show they possess the traits needed to be successful students at selective colleges by demonstrating the flexibility, organization and persistence needed to create an application crafted exclusively by the student. That's why it's best for students to schedule an hour or two each weekend in the fall to focus on college applications -- it gives them the best chance to create an application that is rich with their voice, and their voice alone.

Originality Everyone has a unique view of the world, and a good college application gives the admissions office a glimpse into a student's ability to share their particular vantage point. Colleges understand that view may not be fully developed at age 17 -- in fact, most hope it isn't -- but they also understand that unique view should be consistent across all parts of the application. A 20-minute weekly college meeting between parents and applicant gives the student the right mix of structure and encouragement to shape their own answers, and assure their ownership of the application process.

Authenticity Students have different reasons for attending college, but each reason has a common purpose -- students want to get something out of the experience. A strong college application shows the admissions office what that purpose is, and taking the time to wrestle with each part of a college application not only gives the application more clarity and confidence; it also gives the applicant more clarity and confidence.

It may be hard for parents to watch students struggle at first with this important task, just as it wasn't easy to watch them strike out at the plate, listen to their first violin solo, or feel them let the clutch out too soon. Great hitters and virtuosos are made with time, effort, and the opportunity to get better, and so are good drivers. The best way to help them reach their college destination is to give them the keys.

School Counselor Summit II: Big Teams, Big Plans, Big Possibilities

By: Patrick O'Connor Ph.D

The White House initiative to strengthen school counselors and college access took a big step forward, when development teams from 30 states convened at the San Diego State University in mid-November to share and develop ideas on how to improve college access, readiness, and completion.  The first White House summit this summer offered 125 attendees insights into best practices in improved counselor readiness in college counseling. The November summit brought together about 400 participants with the goal of taking the broad framework established this summer and building a foundation for growth to meet the individual needs of their state.

The San Diego State gathering was notable for three reasons.  First and foremost, there were far more school counselors present at this second summit.  This was an important advancement, since it brought the voice of school counselors into the discussion of college access innovation in a way it has not been included before.  With such a large school counselor presence in the discussion and construction of state-based plans to improve counselor training and college access, it is more likely these plans will have attainable goals that will be reached through programs and policies that will realistically advance school counselors and their training from where they are now to where they want to be, all in the interest of helping students make better college choices.

A second important component of November’s meeting was the variety of other educators and education partners.  Invitation to the San Diego State summit was predicated on having a group of advocates who could not only plan change in college access, but deliver on those plans as well.  As a result, many state teams included school superintendents (Including one state superintendent), principals, state-based policy makers, and a surprising number of counselor educators.  The strong presence of this last group was particularly encouraging, since interest among counselor educators in improving counselor training in college advising has been significantly absent in many regions of the country.  Their attendance last week suggests systemic change in graduate school training of counselors may at last be at hand.

Finally, the state-based goals announced at the November summit represented a wide array of approaches that are needed in the field of college access.  From increasing the number of well-trained school counselors to improving counselor training to emulating successful models of increased college attainment, development teams used the inspiration and resources of this national convening to focus on the challenges counselors and students were facing back home.  The end result promises to be a variety of state-based solutions to a host of challenges facing counselors interested in raising college attendance and completion rates, with each successful approach likely to be structured in a way that could be implemented by other states.  Since education has always been a state-based responsibility in the US, the labors of the development teams promise to bring greater focus and autonomy to college access policy at the state level.

The next White House-led meeting of counselor advocates is scheduled for December, when select state leaders descend on Washington to announce the commitments their state is willing to make in the interest of helping more students make strong college choices, and supporting the counselors who work with these students and families.  This next gathering is likely to be smaller than the convening at San Diego State, but since many of the initiatives announced in December will be the result of the work of the teams meeting In November, it’s more than safe to say the impact of the San Diego State summit will resonate in Washington—and beyond—for quite some time.