The purpose of this quantitative, causal comparative study was to analyze the effect of high school Counselor Assignment Model (CAM), Alpha Model or Cohort Model, and Grade 12 student outcomes as measured by FLDOE state assessments, grade point average (GPA), and graduation classification (e.g., graduate, non-graduate, or dropout). For this study, all 16 public high schools in a Central Florida School District (CFSD) were selected using purposeful sampling to examine the effect of CAM upon student outcomes.
For this study, the sample of participants consisted of Grade 12 students in Cohort 2022. The sample of participants included approximately 4,630 students in Grade 12 who attended one of the sixteen high schools selected. To determine student outcomes based on CAM, this study used quantitative analyses, including ANCOVA, independent sample t-tests, and chi-square tests of independence, while controlling for gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. Through an ANCOVA analysis, this study found that CAM did not have an overall effect on achievement scale scores for Grade 10 ELA, Geometry, Biology 1, and U.S. History. The ANCOVA analysis did reveal that CAM influenced achievement in Algebra 1, suggesting that the Alpha Model had a positive effect on student achievement. Further, independent samples t-tests and chi-square tests of independence did not demonstrate statistically significant findings for student GPA and graduation classification respectively based on CAM.
Based on the findings of this study, this investigation revealed that CAM did not have a major effect on student achievement. The power within this study is that the results provided insight to school administrators in how they organizationally structure their guidance department. The findings verify that school leaders have the autonomy to choose what CAM works best for their school. The study’s findings did not provide substantial support for CAM in affecting state assessments, GPA, and graduation classification. This study’s findings and the literature do, however, suggest that the quality of interaction between the student and the school counselor in addition to the student’s level of motivation matters greatly regarding student achievement. By determining the effect exerted by CAM upon student outcomes, this study added to the literature on counselor education and CAM, addressing a gap in the literature. In this study CAM was identified as not having an impact on student performance outcomes for one graduating class in a CFSD, during one school year.
Dr. William Gordon II and Dr. Marjorie Ceballos, Committee Chair.