Exemplar 2: Data Project

Standards Met:

Standard 22: Leadership

Standard 23: Advocacy
Standard 24: Learning, Achievement and Instruction
Standard 27: Collaboration, Coordination and Team Building
Standard 30: Research, Program Evaluation and Technology

Introduction
I chose to include the Data Project as my Exemplar #2 because it was a semester-long
report that allowed us to examine, in detail, the achievement gap at a local high school. My
partner and I worked together to gather and analyze data on X High School (for confidentiality
purposes). Throughout this project, we navigated our way around Data Quest, desegregated
endless pieces of data, and analyzed it in order to provide recommendations for the school in
order to best serve the students needs. We not only collaborated together, but we also spoke
with several school personnel, including counselors, principals, and teachers. In analyzing the
data, we discovered where the most prevalent achievement gap existed at X High School, and in
making recommendations began advocating for the students in this area. Overall, this project to
provided us with ways to develop leadership skills in the school system.
One thing that we have heard throughout our graduate program is how school counselors
are leaders in the school system. While I always believed that was true, I never fully understood
this term leadership until we completed our data project. Initially, I interpreted leadership in
the simple formleading a group to accomplish one goal. However, through the data project, I
was able to fully understand leadership in school counseling and meet Standard 22: Leadership
through the project. After we analyzed the data, we were able to look at the current schoolcounseling program that was in place, and come up with changes and interventions that need to

be made in order to address the need of X High School. We drafted up strong and measureable
recommendations for the school, and the idea was to share them with the school personnel who
were involved in the project. When formulating the recommendations based on the data, we
found ourselves continuously coming back to asking ourselves, What is going to be the best for
the students? How can we make this an equal opportunity for everyone? This really surfaced
when discussing the lack of African American and Latino students taking Advanced Placement
courses. Standard 23: Advocacy was met through these extensive discussions about creating
equity in excellent and rigorous education for all students. We had found that these students were
slipping through the cracks in the previous years, and in order for them to have the same
opportunity, they just needs a voice to advocate for them, which this data project allowed us to
do.
One of the most useful skills I developed through this project was mastering the most
effective ways to find data on a school and comparing it to district, state, and even national
levels. In meeting Standard 30: Research, Evaluation and Technology, I was able to navigate
Data Quest to analyze and make recommendations for the counseling program and overall school
climate. In performing research for the literature review, it was essential that we find relevant
and accurate data that would provide a strong introduction to the data we were going to present
about X High School. Luckily, there was extensive research on lack of open-access to Advanced
Placement classes in relation to race and ethnicity, so there was a clear correlation for us to
make. This also helped us make even strong recommendations and evaluations for the best next
steps for the school to take.
Presenting this data to our class provided us with developing skills to meet Standard 24:
Learning, Achievement & Instruction. However, standard was truly met when the material

was presented to the school personnel at X High School. One of our recommendations was to
advertise Advanced Placement classes, and have it become a culture of the school to allow open
access to these classes. In order to do this, the information had to be presented in the classroom
so the students could hear, but also equally important, for the teachers to hear and comprehend
the need for this change. Finally, this project truly exemplified our ability to meet Standard 27:
Collaboration, Coordination & Team Building. There have been several group projects
throughout this graduate program, however this one was slightly different for me because it was
not at my assigned school site. I was teamed up with someone who is currently doing their
fieldwork hours at X High School, but I am not. This could have been a setback for us because I
was not familiar with the school, population, students, faculty, or the culture in general. Instead,
we took on the challenge to work together as a team to still provide the most effective
recommendations and advocate for the students.
Overall, this project allowed me to work from start to end at one school site examing
where the largest achievement gap and highest need is to be addressed. Although this was not my
own school site, I almost see that as a positive change because I was able to experience two
different school sites in examining and analyzing data. I utilized many skills beyond the
standards that were addressed throughout this exemplar. I plan to use the Data Project as a
starting point in becoming a leader in a school. When I begin working as a full-time counselor, I
will already know where to go, and how to find data around the school culture, and analyze it to
find what needs to be addressed.