Why Evaluation Matters: Determining Effective School Counseling Practices

Why does evaluation matter so much in school counseling? Most importantly, when we evaluate our interventions and programs, we can be more certain that what we are doing is making a difference for our students. We have a professional responsibility to show that what we are doing is effective. As the following articles in this special issue of Professional School Counseling demonstrate, with evaluation there is a clearer picture of what works and what needs to be done differently. There is more clarity about the outcomes of our efforts. Additionally, evaluation results demonstrate the impact and value of our work to key stakeholders such as parents, administrators, and school boards, which can help justify resources for school counseling programs. School counselors have been encouraged to evaluate programs for a variety of reasons for many years (Aubrey, 1982; Fairchild, 1993; Fairchild & Zins, 1986; Myrick, 1984), but the need is even more imperative today. Educators and mental health providers in all fields are under ever-increasing scrutiny to demonstrate evidence of effectiveness and accountability. "Because we think it works" or "because it has always been done this way" are no longer legitimate reasons to continue any educational or mental health intervention. In the accountability era, What gets measured gets done. If you don't measure results, you can't tell success from failure. If you can't see success, you can't reward it. If you can't reward success you're probably rewarding failure. If you can't see success, you can't learn from it. If you can't recognize failure, you can't correct it. If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support. (Osborne & Gaebler, 1992, p. x) The impetus to demonstrate accountability through evaluation is reflected in current education initiatives and funding. The U.S. Department of Education (2001) states that evaluation is crucial in all educational efforts, and that it informs project activities and practices, justifies expenditure of funds, enhances administrative planning and policy-making, assures that project objectives have been met, provides evidence for program achievements, monitors program implementation, notes unintended consequences, informs allocation of resources, and identifies problems and costs. Perhaps most importantly, our country holds the premise that every child deserves the opportunity to have a meaningful education (Rebell & Wolff, 2008). School counselors have the ethical imperative of ensuring that our work contributes in substantial ways toward making it possible for all students to succeed. Ultimately, evaluation helps us to do our best work, with the greatest impact, most efficiently. DEFINING EVALUATION There are many definitions of evaluation. In general, it is the purposeful and systematic collection and analysis of data or information used for the purpose of documenting the effectiveness, impact, and outcomes of programs, establishing accountability, and identifying areas needing change and improvement (America's Career Resource Network, n.d.; Wall, Dimmitt, Wong, & Fuller, 2007). Evaluation asks, "Did this program or intervention make a difference for these kids, in this setting? " with a goal of providing useful feedback about a specific population in a unique context. Evaluation is not the same thing as research. Both use the basic scientific method in that they ask a question, construct a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on that data. But research seeks to test broad, generalizable hypotheses such as "Cognitive behavioral group therapy is effective for people with anxiety disorders. " A related evaluation hypothesis would be "Cognitive behavioral therapy as done by the school counselor in Jefferson Middle School is effective for a group of eight students who have test anxiety. " We need the research--it provides crucial information about what is likely to work for most people in most settings. …