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The purpose of this article is to describe a large-scale psychoeducational study skills group for ninth-grade students whose academic performance is in the bottom 50 percent of their class. The ASCA National Model® (American School Counselor Association, 2005) was used as a framework for development, delivery, and evaluation. The authors found that a small-group counseling intervention strengthened studying behaviors as measured by pretest-posttest design. Additional results include promoting school counselor visibility and increasing and improving school counselor relationships with students, parents, and other stakeholders.
The No Child Left Behind Act has raised accountability standards in schools, with the objective of closing achievement gaps and increasing student performance overall (U.S. Department of Education, 2002), and makes federal funding contingent on schools ensuring that at-risk students are able to succeed academically (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Students whose performance is significantly below average are often labeled "at risk." The National Center for Education Statistics (2002) found that the dropout rate of at-risk students is twice as high as their achieving peers. Still, at-risk students are not given needed support and are not being selected to receive remedial services (Education Trust, 1999, 2001).
This article presents a developmentally appropriate group model and promising pilot data for at-risk ninth-grade students based on research promoting study skills and personal/social development. The study skills program focused on three areas that research has indicated contribute to improved academic performance: (a) cognitive and metacognitive skills such as goal setting, time management, and study skills; (b) social skills including listening and teamwork; and (c) self-management skills including motivation (Hattie, Biggs, & Purdie, 1996; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998; Wang, Haertel, & Wahlberg, 1994). The program targeted these areas assuming that improving study skills would result in increased grade point averages (GPAs) and greater connectedness to peers, teachers, school counselors, and the school as a whole as evidenced by increased contact and communication among all stakeholders.
The ASCA National Model® (American School Counselor Association, 2005) was used as a framework for the development, delivery, and evaluation of the program. The small-group format permitted students to meet standards in the academic, career, and personal/social domains. Also, each theme of the ASCA National Model was expressed-leadership, collaboration, systemic change, and, most notably, advocacy. Data were collected before,...