The purpose of any evaluation process is to improve. Sure, you can use evaluation to make judgments and inform program decisions, but essentially the main reason for evaluating your Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) is to improve your program. Establishing an annual review and assessment process, as required for the CSCP written plan, fundamentally establishes a continuous improvement process. 

School administrators are busy people, and learning a new evaluation process can seem daunting. However, SSB 5030 is not prescriptive in the type of process you use to review and assess your CSCP. Our suggestion is that you use a process already familiar to you, such as the AWSP Leadership Framework for School Leader Evaluation. The eight criteria within the AWSP Leadership Framework are easily adaptable for evaluating your CSCP. 

On the last page of each of the eight criteria in the AWSP Leadership Framework, there are useful questions within sections titled "School Leader Paradigm" and "Things to Consider", as well as examples of evidence collocation in the "Sharing Your Impact" section. By adapting the AWSP Leadership Framework for your CSCP review and assessment, you are using a tool you are already familiar with. In addition, you will experience how your CSCP can directly support your goals as a school leader while your school counseling and ESA team members are informed of the expectations of a school administrator. Understanding each other’s roles is beneficial for continued collaboration and communication. 

OSPI and Hatching Results have also developed tools and resources to help schools review and assess their CSCP.  For schools and districts just beginning the process, refer to the SSB 5030 Self-Assessment Tool here: District version | School version. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) also offers an ASCA Program Assessment that aligns with the current edition of the ASCA National Model. For more information on these resources, watch the 109-minute March 15th webinar and check out the watch guide.

The annual CSCP review and assessment is designed with continuous assessment and improvement in mind and is essentially aligned with the Infinity Loop represented in the School Leader Paradigm. Whichever process you use, it is important to have a process to assess and reflect on the effectiveness of your CSCP’s planning and implementation. This Cycle of Inquiry is essential because these activities develop you as a leading learner and support your school in growing a learning organization.