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Exemplar #1: High School Research Data Paper

and PowerPoint Presentation
By Scott Birkestrand
San Diego State University

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The Research Data Paper and PowerPoint presentation required an intensive amount of
foundational skills and analysis in order for it to be a successful tool for systemic change in the
school where I am conducting my fieldwork. Because of this projects impact, I have chosen this
project to be my first Exemplar. I completed this project in CSP 769: The Achievement Gap
Leadership, Advocacy and Systemic Change class during fall of 2015. The goal of this
assignment was to obtain data and analyze it in order to understand any and all achievement gaps
that are currently existing within my fieldwork site and then write a paper regarding the gaps and
interventions that could be utilize to close these gaps. For this assignment, I gathered data from
several online sources in addition to sources at my fieldwork site and compared the data points
with data from a school nearby that closely resembled my fieldwork site.
Standards Addressed
Standard 17: Foundations of the School Counseling Profession
When the foundations of the school counseling professions are in place, school
counselors are able to function within the other aspects of the American School Counselor
Associations model. As a school counselor, it is our job to understand student and professional
competencies and ensure students are receiving these services. By comparing the data with the
schools mission and vision, student standards, and program goals, I was able to identify areas
where our school counseling team was excelling and areas that our team needed to address.
Standard 28: Organizational and System Development
Organizational and System Development are products that come from data projects like
this one. By acknowledging and addressing the data that proves achievement gaps are present,
the counseling team, along with other school faculty and community members, can begin to
develop plans and resources necessary in closing the gaps. For example, based on the data of the

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project I developed, it was apparent there was an achievement gap in graduation rates for African
American students compared to most other ethnicities. This data allowed the counseling team to
organize and develop some systems that will ideally close this gap. One of our developments was
addressing the faculty makeup at the school and exposing the lack of people of color on campus
to the administration team.
Standard 30 Research, Program Evaluation and Technology
Research was the foundation of beginning this project. In order to address issues that are
deeply rooted in the school, a deep understanding of the schools data needs to be researched.
Once the data was well developed and researched, I conducted a thorough program evaluation by
comparing data from the school site to a similar school, the districts data, and state data. Then I
analyzed the findings and wrote a report explaining the gaps the data supported. Going to this
extent of research and analyzing would not have been possible if it were not for technology. I
retrieved data by utilizing several websites, such as Ed-Data.org and California Department of
Educations website Dataquest, analyzed and developed graphs using Microsoft Excel, made
data easily presentable with PowerPoint, used Microsoft Word to write the report and
communicated with others via email and phone communication to gather, analyze, and develop
action plans.
Conclusion
This project proved itself to be one of the most valuable tools I will walk away with from
this university. As mentioned previously in standard 17, this project required most of the aspects
of the foundation piece of the ASCA model. Being able to carry this project out from start to
finish allowed me to truly understand what it takes to know the implications of an educational
system. This project did not teach me everything there is to know about the education system,

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rather it showed me the potential of what can be done in these systems. The project showed me
this by showing me where to get data, what I need to analyze, what kind of goals we should have
for our data, as well as how to make evidence based changes.
I thoroughly enjoy the data aspect of school counseling. I am in this profession because I
want to work with students and see their success. By understanding student and professional
competencies, the schools vision and mission, this data project allowed me to hold myself and
the school accountable for meeting the competencies, vision and mission for my profession and
the school. Finding data and analyzing data laid out the structure of for organizing and
developing our counseling system by showing us where our school is strong and where we need
to grow. Analyzing our schools data and comparing it to another school allowed for a thorough
program evaluation that ensured accountability. Data allows me to know that I am doing my job
and that these successes are happening at an equitable rate for all students.