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Beyond Teachers: Estimating Individual Guidance Counselors’ Effects on Educational Attainment

Christine Mulhern

Counselors are a common school resource for students navigating complicated and con- sequential education choices. I estimate counselors’ causal effects using quasi-random assignment policies in Massachusetts. Counselors vary substantially in their effectiveness at increasing high school graduation and college attendance, selectivity, and persistence. Counselor effects on educational attainment are similar in magnitude to teacher effects, but they flow through improved information and assistance more than cognitive or non-cognitive skill development. Counselor effectiveness is most important for low-income and low-achieving students, so improving access to effective counseling may be a promising way to increase educational attainment and close socioeconomic gaps in education.

Keywords
School Counselors, Educational Attainment, Value-Added
Education level
K-12 Education
Topics
Student Learning
Tags
Counseling,
Student supports
Download 08/2022
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/sjxm-zw40
EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:
Mulhern, Christine. (). Beyond Teachers: Estimating Individual Guidance Counselors’ Effects on Educational Attainment. (EdWorkingPaper: -632). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/sjxm-zw40

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