The Role of College Counseling in Shaping College Opportunity: Variations across High Schools

This study draws on data from descriptive case studies of 15 high schools, three in each of five states. The findings highlight constraints in the availability of college counseling, differences in the availability of college counseling across schools, and the influence of schools, districts, higher education institutions, and states on the availability and nature of college counseling. The study suggests that, in the context of limited fiscal and other resources, changes in federal and state financial aid policies, district policies pertaining to counseling, and relationships with higher education institutions will help ensure that all students receive sufficient college counseling. Disciplines Accessibility | Education | Higher Education This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/gse_pubs/370 Perna et al. / College Counseling in High Schools 131 The Review of Higher Education Winter 2008, Volume 31, No. 2, pp. 131–159 Copyright © 2007 Association for the Study of Higher Education All Rights Reserved (ISSN 0162-5748) The Role of College Counseling in Shaping College Opportunity: Variations across High Schools Laura W. Perna, Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon, Scott L. Thomas, Angela Bell, Robert Anderson, and Chunyan Li Although college enrollment rates have increased for all groups over the past three decades, gaps across socioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups persist. Students from low-income families, those whose parents have not attended college, and those of African American or Hispanic descent are less likely than those who are more affluent, from more educated households, and White to enroll in college. When students from underrepresented groups do enroll, they tend to be concentrated in public two-year colleges and less selective and less well-resourced four-year colleges and universities (Baum & Payea, 2004; Ellwood & Kane, 2000; NCES, 2003, 2004; Thomas & Perna, 2004). LAURA W. PERNA, is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. HEATHER T. ROWAN-KENYON is Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia. SCOTT L. THOMAS is Associate Professor at the University of Georgia. ANGELA BELL is a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia. ROBERT ANDERSON is Vice Chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. CHUNYAN LI is a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. Address queries to Laura W. Perna, the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Walnut Street, Room 424, Philadelphia, PA 19104; telephone: (215) 746-2522; fax: (215) 573-6069; email: lperna@gse.upenn.edu. Acknowledgements: This research was funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Lumina Foundation or its employees. The authors thank Kassie Freeman for her comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education in November 2006 in Anaheim, California. 132 The Review of higheR educaTion Winter 2008 Researchers have traditionally focused on two explanations for differences in college access and choice across groups: inadequate financial resources and inadequate academic preparation (e.g., Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2002; Perna, 2005; St. John, 2003). More recently, researchers point to other explanations for these gaps, including problems with the alignment between K–12 and higher education curricula and assessments (Venezia, Kirst, & antonio, 2003; Thomas & Perna, 2004) and inadequate knowledge and information about college and financial aid (Kane, 1999; Perna, 2004). One logical source of assistance with problems associated with alignment and information about college and financial aid is the high school counselor (Hamrick & Hossler, 1996; Horn, Chen, & Chapman, 2003; Springer, Cunningham, O’Brien, & Merisotis, 1998). Counselors may be an especially important source of assistance and information for Blacks, Latinos, low-income students, and students whose parents do not have direct experience with college (Perna, 2004; Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, 2004; Tornatzky, Cutler, & Lee, 2002). For example, Latino parents and students report preferring high school counselors over other sources of college-related information (Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, 2004). Nonetheless, a review of the available data and research suggests severe structural constraints on the availability of high school counselors to provide college counseling (McDonough, 1997, 2005a). Although the American School Counselor Association’s recommended student-to-counselor ratio of 100:1 admittedly reflects some degree of self interest, the 2004 national average of 262:1 is astonishingly high, especially when considering that this figure includes large public as well as much smaller independent schools (McDonough, 2005a). Student-to-counselor ratios are typically higher in public than in independent high schools, and increase with the total enrollment of the high school (NACAC, 2006). Because of fiscal constraints and other priorities, most schools cannot simply hire more counselors. One survey shows that, between 2004 and 2005, the number of counselors remained unchanged at 86% of high schools, declined at 4% of high schools, and increased at only 9% of high schools (NACAC, 2006). In a notable exception to this trend, in July 2006 the California state legislature decided to allocate $200 million to increase counseling services to students in grades 7 through 12. This block grant program is intended to help bring current student-to-counselor ratios (500:1 in the middle schools and 300:1 in the high schools) closer to the national average (California Association of School Counselors, 2006a). To receive funds (about $67 per student), school districts must implement a school counseling program that includes “individualized review of student academic progress,” increased counseling services to students at risk of not Perna et al. / College Counseling in High Schools 133 graduating from high school, and increased assistance to students at risk of failing to pass the California High School Exit Exam (California Association of School Counselors, 2006b). Moreover, the legislature requires that funds supplement, not replace, existing counseling resources. Regardless, because of its focus on high school completion and because of the high studentto-counselor ratios that currently exist, the California funding initiative will likely help address the shortage of school counseling services but will not ensure that sufficient numbers of counselors are available to meet all students’ college-specific counseling needs. Therefore, in the context of fiscal and other constraints, this study examines the ways that the state, district, and school context shape the availability and nature of college counseling in U.S. public high schools. The findings highlight constraints on the availability of college counseling, differences in the availability of college counseling across schools, and the influence of schools, districts, higher education institutions, and states on the availability and nature of college counseling at a school. The study suggests, given the context of limited resources, that structural changes (including changes in federal and state financial aid policies), district policies pertaining to counseling, and relationships with higher education institutions are required to ensure that all students receive sufficient college counseling.