From Compliance to Impact: Creating Meaningful Evaluation Goals That Reflect Your Comprehensive School Counseling Program
Written by: Samantha Vidal
As summer break begins and many of you are finally catching your breath, now can be a great time to pause and reflect on the past school year. Before your well-deserved vacation is in full swing, taking a moment to revisit your program goals and evaluation plans can help ensure a strong and strategic start to 2025–2026. Even a little planning now can make next year feel more intentional—and a lot less overwhelming.
Program Goals vs. Individual Evaluation Goals
While program goals and individual evaluation goals should be aligned and data-driven, they serve slightly different purposes and audiences.
- Program goals guide the overall direction of your comprehensive school counseling program and measure its collective impact on students. These are developed collaboratively and shared with stakeholders like staff, administrators, school boards, families, and students.
- Evaluation goals, on the other hand, are tailored to the individual counselor. They reflect your specific contributions and areas for professional growth, and are typically reviewed by your evaluator or school administrator.
Think of it this way:
Program goals = what your program aims to accomplish
Evaluation goals = how you contribute to that impact
Shifting the Focus: From Task Completion to Student Impact
Let’s be honest—most of us have set a safe evaluation goal just to check the box. Maybe it was tied to something we already planned to do, focused on how many students participated in something, or based on a process we could easily control.
But if we’re only measuring what we did, and not how students are different because of it… what story are we really telling?
Strong evaluation goals should stretch us just enough to grow, and clearly demonstrate how our work supports student outcomes and school improvement priorities.
“Strong evaluation goals should stretch us just enough to grow, and clearly demonstrate how our work supports student outcomes and school improvement priorities.”
Grounded in the ASCA National Model
The ASCA National Model provides a framework for developing and delivering a school counseling program that makes a measurable impact. Through its four components—Define, Manage, Deliver, and Assess—counselors are equipped to create intentional, student-centered programming aligned with student needs and school goals.
Within the Manage component, you’ll find program goals driven by data that target achievement, attendance, or discipline. These are often tied directly to your school’s School Improvement Plan (SIP).
Once program goals are established, individual counselors can build their evaluation goals to reflect their specific role in achieving that broader outcome. This not only reinforces your program’s strategic alignment but also strengthens your ability to advocate for your time, impact, and role clarity.
From Program Goal to Personal Goal: A Step-by-Step Process
Here’s a simple way to move from big-picture program planning to a meaningful individual goal:
- Review Your Data: Consider achievement, attendance, discipline, and supplemental data.
- Connect to the SIP: What goals could the counseling program directly support?
- Write a Program Goal: Follow the ASCA Student Outcome Goal Plan.
- Identify Your Role and Focus: What part of this program goal falls under your responsibility or caseload? Do you work primarily with a certain grade level or subgroup? What unique strategies will you use?
- Draft Your Evaluation Goal: Using the same structure, write a SMART goal that reflects your individual contribution and your area of growth.
- Plan and Document Your Work: Identify how you will target the attitudes, knowledge, and skills students need to be successful and how you can measure progress using pre-/post-tests, outcome data, and stakeholder feedback.
Sample Goals: Program + Evaluation Alignment at Each Level
|
Program Goal |
Personal Evaluation Goal |
|
|
Elementary |
By May 2026, 3rd grade students who scored below grade level on the winter reading benchmark and were chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days) will increase reading proficiency by 20%, from 40% proficient to 60% proficient, as measured by the spring benchmark assessment. |
As the 3rd grade counselor, I will implement a six-week Tier 2 academic success small group for identified students and provide biweekly attendance check-ins and parent communication, with the goal of increasing the percentage of proficient readers in my caseload group by at least 20% by May 2026. |
|
Middle |
By May 2026, 7th grade students who received two or more behavior referrals in the first semester and identify as male students of color will decrease the number of office discipline referrals by 30%, from an average of 3.1 referrals per student to 2.2 referrals per student. |
I will deliver a targeted social-emotional learning small group focused on emotional regulation and decision-making and provide follow-up individual check-ins twice per month for 7th grade male students of color with 2+ behavior referrals, with the goal of reducing their average number of office referrals by 30% by May 2026. |
|
High |
By June 2026, 11th grade students who are first-generation college-bound and scored below benchmark on the PSAT will increase their SAT scores by 10%, from an average of 850 to 935, as measured by the official SAT taken in spring 2026. |
As the junior counselor, I will provide targeted SAT preparation support to identified first-generation 11th grade students through individual planning meetings, small group test prep sessions, and coordination with academic supports, with the goal of increasing their average SAT score from 850 to 935 by June 2026. |
Collaborating with Your Administrator
Once you’ve drafted a goal, bring it to your Annual Administrative Conference within the first two months of the school year. Use it to:
- Highlight how your work supports schoolwide goals
- Advocate for time to implement Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports
- Strengthen communication around role clarity and responsibilities
Framing your evaluation goal within the context of your comprehensive program can help administrators see school counseling as an integral part of the academic mission—not a support service on the sidelines.
“Framing your evaluation goal within the context of your comprehensive program can help administrators see school counseling as an integral part of the academic mission—not a support service on the sidelines.”
Centering Students and Strategy
Evaluation goals shouldn’t feel like one more hoop to jump through. When written thoughtfully, they become a tool to:
- Showcase your impact
- Strengthen your professional identity
- Focus your energy on meaningful, measurable outcomes
As you ease into summer, I encourage you to carve out just a little time to reflect, revise, and reframe your evaluation goals. Doing this now—while your insights and experiences are still fresh—can help you return next year with a renewed focus and clear direction. Your future self (and your students!) will thank you.—not just for compliance, but for growth, advocacy, and student success.
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