All of it adds up to paperwork, which accumulates like an endless snow. But chief among the distractions to keep guidance counselors away from their students is the state's growing obsession with standardized tests. At Powell, Herrera estimates he spent 11 weeks last year doing nothing but dealing with standardized tests. At Central, counselor Pat Barton estimates she will be sidelined from counseling sessions for three months this year to manage that school's testing load. At Suncoast, Martinez counts her testing burden only as a four-week ordeal.
Most schools have more than one counselor.
And those that are not burdened by testing try to pick up the counseling load. Testing tips the balance further against good counseling. The irony is that this occurs in the age of school shootings. Counselors are being called upon to ferret out the kids who quietly stew before they can erupt in violence. Counselors and teachers alike pay close attention to the loners and the shunned.