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Descriptive Statements:
- Apply knowledge of how to create and implement a schoolwide needs assessment to develop a comprehensive guidance curriculum that covers academic, career, and personal/social competencies.
- Demonstrate knowledge of content that is developmentally appropriate for classroom guidance and approaches for creating and presenting developmental guidance lessons that align with the school curriculum, the needs of all students, and the goals of the school.
- Demonstrate knowledge of ways technology can be used to plan, organize, deliver, promote, and research the comprehensive school counseling program and strategies for collaborating with other school professionals.
- Recognize multicultural and pluralistic trends to address when developing or selecting curricula that promote positive images of people from diverse backgrounds (e.g., ways to use diversity to create a rich academic community, meaningful career education programs, and successful social interactions; strategies for educating the school community about diversity and commonalities within the school; and criteria for selecting research-based instructional materials).
- Apply knowledge of major characteristics of effective prevention and intervention activities and ways in which these activities can address a range of needs in the school community.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for engaging students in active learning, developing instructional units with sequential activities to achieve specific goals, and managing the classroom environment.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for promoting staff involvement in guidance lessons and collaborating with teachers to deliver the guidance curriculum through classroom and schoolwide activities.
Sample Item:
Which of the following tasks could school counselors accomplish most effectively by
using a database program?
- organizing information about community agencies
- creating conference materials for participants
- sharing information with peers about the school counseling program
- researching the treatment for eating disorders in adolescents
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
A. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of
ways technology can be used to organize the comprehensive school counseling program.
A database is a collection of records stored in a computer system. Data such as name,
address, and services provided can each be stored in a separate field in the record for
a community agency. This allows the information in the database to be sorted and selected
according to various criteria. This would enhance a school counselor's ability to make appropriate
referrals to community programs.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for teaching awareness, development, and application of academic study skills; and strategies for guiding students as they plan, monitor, and direct their own learning.
- Demonstrate knowledge of ways technology can be used to assist students in choosing and achieving academic, career, and personal/social goals.
- Apply knowledge of methods for helping students identify and pursue post-secondary options by analyzing their own strengths and needs; using resources for determining aptitudes, knowledge, and interests; and creating a plan of study to maximize their academic abilities.
- Recognize strategies for enhancing students' career awareness, providing developmentally appropriate career guidance to students, and facilitating students' development of career plans using information about career opportunities, labor-market trends, and local and global economics.
- Recognize strategies for facilitating students' post-secondary planning, including students' understanding of the costs of post-secondary options and resources for meeting those costs.
- Demonstrate knowledge of methods for assessing and encouraging individual students' social development and communication skills.
- Identify developmentally effective strategies for teaching students to interact effectively with others, make sound judgments and decisions, solve problems, take responsibility for themselves and their own behavior, accept consequences for their actions, and respect the existence and rights of others in society.
Sample Item:
The students' names appear in ovals with arrows pointing to and/or from other students. Maya, Lena, and Kim appear from left to right at the top of the sociogram. There is a bidirectional arrow pointing to Maya and Sean, and a bidirectional arrow pointing from Sean to Alex. Alex has an arrow pointing to Maya and one pointing to Ruben. Ruben has an arrow pointing to him from Tom and bidirectional arrows pointing to Emily and Luis. Emily has bidirectional arrows pointing to Lena and Kim. Luis has a bidirectional arrow pointing to D J, and D J has a bidirectional arrow pointing to Kim.
A school counselor could best use the sociogram shown above to assess which of the
following elements of fifth-grade students' social development?
- moral reasoning
- peer acceptance
- self-regulation
- perspective taking
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
B. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of
methods for assessing individual students' social development. Sociograms illustrate
interactions and relationship preferences within a group of people. For example,
this sociogram shows that Tom has only one connection, which is unreciprocated, while
Emily enjoys mutual relationships with three of her
peers.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of common problems that students face, interviewing skills for various situations, counseling theories and techniques, factors that affect a school counselor's decision to provide individual counseling, and appropriate strategies for individual counseling.
- Recognize methods for counseling students from diverse backgrounds, ways in which the counselor's personal characteristics and behaviors can benefit or hinder the helping process, and the importance of self-awareness for effective school counseling.
- Demonstrate knowledge of diagnostic and remediation activities, criteria for referring a student to another professional, and activities and skills associated with consultation and referral.
- Demonstrate knowledge of group counseling, including group dynamics, criteria for selecting counseling group members, potential topics for small-group counseling, strategies for facilitating group counseling, and developmentally appropriate methods for presenting information to students about various issues.
- Demonstrate knowledge of crisis counseling methods and intervention strategies for students, families, schools, and communities facing emergency situations.
Sample Item:
Five middle school students and a teacher have been injured in a bus accident midway
through the school day. As a member of the school's crisis response team, which of
the following steps should the school counselor take first?
- verifying that any information available about the event is accurate
- responding to questions from the local media as the school's spokesperson
- suggesting language for teachers to use when discussing the event with students
- arranging for phone calls to be made to the parents/guardians of each student at
school
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
A. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of crisis
interventions for students, families, schools, and communities facing emergency situations.
In the situation described, all members of the school's crisis response team, including the
school counselor, need to be sure that any information they have obtained about the event is
verified before it is communicated to others in the school community.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of methods for managing and coordinating the services of the school counseling program, distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate counseling and non-counseling-related activities, and organizing and managing time to implement an effective program.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure that the school's physical and emotional climate is safe and inviting, developing and conducting in-service activities for promoting a positive school environment, and influencing the creation and development of school safety initiatives, crisis-management plans, and violence-prevention programs.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the principles, competencies, and benefits of advocacy used by school counselors and effective methods of community outreach and public relations to support the educational system.
- Identify ways in which school counselors can model fairness, lead proactively in issues of equity, and advocate for school policies and practices that provide equitable and fair access to opportunities that allow each student to succeed.
Sample Item:
Which of the following activities would be the most professionally appropriate for a
school counselor to perform?
- supervising study halls when a teacher is absent or otherwise unavailable
- reviewing and signing excuses for students who are absent or tardy
- collaborating with teachers to present lessons on study skills
- administering achievement or aptitude tests to individual students
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
C. This question requires the examinee to distinguish between appropriate
and inappropriate counseling and non-counseling-related activities. A key component of the job
of a school counselor is to partner with classroom teachers to develop and implement guidance
lessons. Study skills are a typical focus for such lessons.
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