School Counseling, M.Ed.

Program Evaluation

Data collected over the past five years from alumni, employers, and student performance on the Praxis Test (required for state licensure) indicate strong support for the quality of training provided by UNC-CH’s School Counseling Program.

Alumni Feedback

Recent alumni of UNC-CH’s School Counseling Program rated the quality of training they received using a four-point scale (1=excellent; 2=good; 3=fair; 4=poor).

Alumni Class Mean Score
2008 1.29
2007 1.22
2006  1.28
2005 1.44

 

In addition, alumni from the Classes of 2002-2008 provided the following written comments on the strengths of UNC-CH’s School Counseling Program:

  • "The cohort piece is important. I really feel like I have a group of other counselors/friends out there that I could call on and consult with. It has helped make this first year, even being out of state, not as scary knowing that the 15 of us are all in it together.

    The year long internship was amazing. It has also helped me, I feel like it is not really my first year, because I have 'worked' in a school from day 1 to 180."
  • “Close interaction between students and professors”
  • “The opportunity to work well-respected, challenging, and realistic instructors was a great experience.”
  •  “Taking 18 hours per semester, including an internship prepares new counselors extremely well. It took me little to no time to adjust to my position as a counselor.”
  • “Being able to study and apply theories, techniques, and activities within days of learning them allowed me to experiment with and hone my counseling skills.”
  • “Both my principal and those I work with agree that our internship at UNC was instrumental in my preparedness for the job. Every day I feel confident in my abilities to do this job.”
  • “The year-round internship is helpful in seeing what happens in a counseling department throughout the cycle of a typical academic year.”
  • “The small class size was great. The relationships created not only a support network but also a great opportunity to share and develop ideas and practices working in our internships.”
  • “Multicultural framework, ethical/legal preparation, ASCA training, emphasis on leadership.”
  • “We have professors who are prominent in the field.”
  •  “This program provided a great overview of all the components of what an ideal school counseling program should look like.”
  • “The close relationships we made as a class helped not only in the classroom with helping one another learn and retain information, but it also provided a forum for different views and experiences which made the education I received both interesting and incredibly rich.”
  •  “In my interviews with employers, the Carolina name carried me a long way, and they were very impressed with the full-year internship and 60 credit workload.”

Employer Feedback

Employers (schools) hiring our graduates were surveyed on their views on the competence of UNC-CH graduates in their first year of employment.  Employers also rated the competence of UNC-CH graduates using a four-point scale (1=excellent; 2=good; 3=fair; 4=poor).

Alumni Class Mean Score
2008 1.15
2007 1.32
2006 1.27
2005  1.18

 

Notable comments from employer surveys about the strengths of UNC-CH graduates include:

  • "Strength is assertiveness and willingness to take on new tasks and learn as much as possible about assessments."
  • "We have been extremely impressed by the quality of the counseling training program at UNC. Exposing the students to cultures and diversity is important!"
  • "strong leadership skills"
  • “tireless advocate for students”
  • “compassionate and sensitive to the needs of others”
  • “hard working and involved in school community”
  • “fabulous…one of the best I have ever worked with!!”
  • “takes initiative without waiting to be told”
  • “intuitive and skilled”
  • “very professional, dedicated, loves her work!”
  • “gets the job done – no matter what”
  • “knowledge of the ASCA national model is a tremendous asset”
  • “works well with colleagues, students, and parents”
  • “I want to express my deep appreciation for the caliber of training that she has received at UNC. I was most impressed from the first time I met her and even more impressed at the interview when she presented a portfolio of her work! During this first year she has worked with us, she has proven to be one of the best counselors I have ever worked with!”

Praxis Test Scores

Graduates of the UNC-CH School Counseling Program obtained exceptional scores on the Praxis exam, the licensing requirement for school counselors in the state. The Praxis School Guidance and Counseling exam has a score range of 250-990, with a passing score set by the state of North Carolina at 570.

Additionally, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) provided additional data that allows the comparison of UNC-CH graduates to all examinees nationally and to those in North Carolina. The data report indicated:

 

  2008 2007 2006
  All* UNC-CH Graduates All* UNC-CH Graduates All* UNC-CH
Graduates
Number of Examinees: 3947 14 3888 19 4308 20
Highest Observed Score: 780 750 790 780 800 790
Lowest Observed Score: 330 580 270 610 350 610
Median Score: 660 710 660 710 650 740
Avg. Performance Range: 610-700 690- 740 610-690 680- 730 600-690 720-770

*= All Examinees (nationally)

Further, ETS also provided information comparing UNC-CH School Counseling students to the North Carolina and national averages in each of the categories of the Praxis school counseling exam. In most categories, UNC-CH students outperformed the state and national average, in terms of percent correct:

  2008 2007
  UNC-CH  State Avg.  National Avg. UNC-CH  State Avg.  National Avg.
I. Counseling and Guidance 82% 77% 73% 84% 79% 76%
II. Consulting 81% 80% 78% 85% 80% 77%
III. Coordinating 79% 78% 73% 87% 83% 79%
IV. Professional Issues 85% 81% 77% 82% 81% 79%
V. Taped Portion 82% 81% 79% 82% 80% 78%