Content area
Full Text
Abstract
The primary purpose of this manuscript is to examine the potential impact of structured group counseling sessions on the academic achievement gap in the United States when implemented in comprehensive school counseling programs. Pertinent literature on the status of academic achievement in the United States will be reviewed. This will be followed by the core tenets of the program components of the American School Counselor Association's National Model (ASCA), reality therapy, and group counseling expectations. Lastly, implications for training future counselors and suggestions for additional research are explored.
Keywords: achievement gap, group counseling, ASCA National Model, reality therapy
Achievement gap refers to the observed, persistent disparity of educational measures between the performances of groups of students, especially those differentiated by socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and gender. The implications of the achievement gap can be observed in different academic areas which include standardized test scores, grade point averages, dropout rates, and college enrollment and completion. In fact, the growing inequities in postsecondary degree attainment and the increased emphasis on the importance of a college degree have raised concerns about the quality of college readiness counseling available to high school students, particularly those students who are either from low-income families or from underrepresented minority groups (Engle, Bermeo, & O'Brien, 2006; McDonough, 2005; Public Agenda, 2010).
Research studies into the causes of achievement gaps between low-income minority students and middle-income white students have been ongoing since the 1966 publication of the report, Equality of Educational Opportunity (Equality of Educational Opportunity, 1966). This investigation was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education. The results of that research suggested that both in-school factors and home/community factors impact the academic achievement of students and contribute to the gap.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), an evaluation that is used nationwide, provides evidence of the racial achievement gap in the United States (Achievement Gap, 2011). Efforts to combat the gap have been numerous and have included reducing class sizes, creating smaller schools, expanding early-childhood programs, raising academic standards, improving the quality of teachers provided to poor and minority students, and encouraging more minority students to take high-level courses (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011). Although the gap seems to have narrowed somewhat in recent years according to...