Policies

NOSCA, along with the College Board's Advocacy & Policy Center, actively pursues legislative solutions to issues surrounding college and career readiness. We often work with national organizations to advocate on behalf of policy solutions that align with the national goal of significantly increasing the number of Americans with college degrees by 2020.

Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is long overdue and may be passed in the 112th Congress. The previous reauthorization, known as No Child Left Behind, aimed to improve academic achievement for disadvantaged students and improve low-performing schools. It provides funding and assistance for low-income students including: improving reading programs in schools with high percentages of low-income students; providing supplementary education services; funding dropout prevention strategies; and expanding access to Advanced Placement® courses.
 
The reauthorization will have a strong impact on many education programs and reform efforts; it could alter the amount of funds allocated and how they are distributed.
 
The President’s proposed FY12 budget request is tied to reauthorization of the ESEA. It proposes flat or increased funding across education priorities consistent with the U.S. Department of Education’s 2010 blueprint for ESEA reauthorization. This includes a move to revise ESEA’s Title I allocations to promote implementation of college- and career-ready standards, including funding for TRIO and GEAR UP programs which help low-income students to enroll in and complete college.

The ESEA was last reauthorized in 2001 by the No Child Left Behind Act. This authorization officially expired at the end of 2007, although protocols provide for ongoing authorization. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, has pledged to pass a comprehensive bill this session. Under the leadership of Chairman John Kline (R-MN), the House Education & the Workforce Committee is considering a series of ESEA bills and has passed the following to date: Setting New Priorities in Education Spending Act; Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act; and State and Local Funding Flexibility Act.
 
We have been very involved in discussions and hearings regarding reauthorization and have submitted formal recommendations to members of the House and Senate education committees. Our recommendations focus on preparing all students for college and career after high school graduation; ensuring all students have access to rigorous coursework; providing all students with access to highly effective teachers, leaders and counselors; and encouraging innovation for student learning at the classroom, school, district and state levels.

Pathways to College Act

During the 111th Congress, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced S. 1129, the Pathways to College Act. The Act would provide funds to high-need school districts to improve college-going rates, offer comprehensive college guidance for all students and provide professional development for teachers and counselors in postsecondary advising. Representative Tim Bishop (D-NY) introduced the companion bill (H.R. 2579) in the House. While it had several supporters in both the Senate and the House, the bill did not pass.
 
There is strong support for this legislation among school counselors and administrators, as well as college access and completion organization members, who believe it will provide critical resources to help low-income students to navigate the complex path to college and increase chances for their enrollment and success in postsecondary education.
 
To meet the President’s college graduation goal, it is imperative to provide better college and career guidance and assistance to underserved students in high school. This legislation would help to improve services and outreach for these students.
 
Our Advocacy & Policy Center is very supportive of this legislation and is working with the NACAC and other organizations to advocate for the important principles in the bill.
Our “Own the Turf” Campaign plays a key role in supporting the work of counselors and expanding their opportunities for professional development; it would be strengthened by the passage of Pathways to College Act provisions.

Fund comprehensive counseling programs

In Washington, Navigation 101 is a middle and high school counseling program funded by the Legislature. Select schools administer the program, which matches each student to an adviser — a teacher, counselor, principal or social worker. Advisers work closely with students from grades six through 12 on college and career planning. Having an assigned adviser ensures that each student has at least one adult at the school who knows them and cares about their future. The advisers follow a curriculum that was developed using academic and counseling standards. It covers such topics as setting personal and academic goals, improving class grades, planning for college, exploring careers, joining extracurricular activities and managing money. Early data show that students who participate in the program are more likely to take Advanced Placement® courses, graduate from high school and enroll in college.

Incorporate a college and career counseling program into high school graduation requirements

In 2002, Kentucky's General Assembly created the Individual Learning Plan and made it a requirement for high school graduation. The learning plan is an electronic-based comprehensive college and career counseling program aimed at helping students connect their high school classes and activities with their post-high-school goals. The plan, administered by school staff, begins in sixth grade and runs through 12th grade. It uses each student's academic interests, skills and hobbies to suggest possible careers. The program then creates a four-year high school plan based on the student's college and career goals. It is reviewed regularly by school counselors or teachers throughout high school to track progress and any shifts in aspirations. The program promotes the idea that early planning gives students the opportunity to fully prepare for college and careers.
Source: Achieve Inc., Aligning High School Graduation Requirements with the Real World: A Road Map for States (Washington, DC: Achieve Inc., 2007).

New Mexico lawmakers passed a similar measure, SB 561, in 2007. To graduate, all students must complete a Next Step Plan at the end of each grade, eight through 11, that sets a course schedule and academic and career goals. The purpose of the plan is to help students think about and plan for their future. Since it is done yearly, the plan is meant to be flexible and is adjusted each year to meet students' changing goals and needs. The Next Step Plan is filled out with the help of parents, teachers and school counselors. As part of the process, every student must be informed about course options, including honors, advanced placement, dual credit, distance learning and remedial courses. Every student also must be informed about alternative post-high-school options.

Provide funding to enable schools to increase the number of counselors

In Colorado, House Bill 1370 (2008) created the School Counselor Corps Grant Program that provides $5 million in grants to increase the number of counselors in middle and high schools. Grants are also meant to increase the quality of counseling and the quantity of services provided. The goal of the grant program is to increase the percentage of Colorado students who are ready to enroll in and graduate from college. In the first year grants were available, schools saw lower student-to-counselor ratios, more professional development for counselors, and increased services for students (e.g., college and career preparation and financial aid and scholarship workshops). In addition, through the grant program, schools have increased the amount of college-related data they collect.

Establish measurable goals and monitor the results of increasing counseling staff with state funding

Merely increasing the number of counselors does not ensure they will be used for college and career counseling. Establishing standards and measurable metrics can hold districts and schools accountable for how counselors are used and can hold counselors accountable for results in student achievement.

If a school goal is to increase the college-going rate, counseling goals and metrics could be established around the steps it takes to get students ready for college. For example, measurable goals could be set to:

  • Increase the number of eighth-grade students who take Algebra I by 15 percent compared to the number who took it the previous year.
  • Increase the number of 10th-grade students who take the PSAT/NMSQT® by 20 percent.
  • Get 95 percent of the senior class to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) by February 1.
  • Increase the number of high school seniors who are academically eligible to enroll in the state's four-year postsecondary institutions.