I find the standards about creating systemic change and implementing action plans within a school very intimidating. It feels like a lot of pressure, so I look forward to learning examples of how this has been done successfully. I also know that when uncovering trends in data that point to inequity means as a school counselor, you must go against the grain to make that systemic change. Going against the grain can lead to a lot of pushback from others in the school and I will need to improve how I handle those situations.

 I enjoy looking at data from many different angles and finding trends, so I scored well in areas of Planning and Assessment, particularly standard B-PA 2. “Identify gaps in achievement, attendance, discipline, opportunity and resources.” To get accurate data, you often must rely on others to accurately input their documentation. For example, I know my school often looks for trends in behavioral data but not all teachers follow the right procedures in documenting referrals, particularly for minor infractions. So, it is hard to get an accurate picture. I see this as an area for improvement. School counselors can help to make the documentation process simple and explain the benefits of accurate recording determines future action plans.

I found the questionnaire after the test to be very confusing and I am not sure my answer choices accurately aligned to my beliefs and therefore may have skewed my results. Regardless of results, I learned a lot through the process of the assessment.