FTCE School Counseling 018 cheat sheet

Piaget's stages in order: sensorimotor (0-2, object permanence), preoperational (2-7, egocentrism, symbolic play), concrete operational (7-11, conservation, reversibility), formal operational (11+, abstract and hypothetical reasoning).

Erikson's psychosocial crises relevant to K-12: trust vs. mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs. shame (1-3), initiative vs. guilt (3-6), industry vs. inferiority (6-12), identity vs. role confusion (adolescence).

Kohlberg's moral stages: preconventional (punishment/obedience, instrumental exchange), conventional (interpersonal conformity, law and order), postconventional (social contract, universal principles); most adolescents reason at the conventional level.

Vygotsky: zone of proximal development is the gap between independent performance and performance with adult or peer scaffolding; private speech becomes inner speech and mediates self-regulation.

Bandura's social learning: attention, retention, reproduction, motivation; self-efficacy predicts persistence more strongly than actual prior attainment in many tasks.

Bronfenbrenner's ecological model: microsystem (family, classroom), mesosystem (links between microsystems), exosystem (parent workplace, community), macrosystem (culture), chronosystem (time).

Marica's identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure (commitment without exploration), moratorium (exploration without commitment), achievement (exploration plus commitment).

Maslow's hierarchy as a decision rule: unmet safety or belonging needs typically suppress academic engagement, so address physiological and safety needs before achievement interventions.

Gilligan's critique of Kohlberg: an ethic of care orientation emphasizes relationships and responsibility, not only abstract justice reasoning.

ASCA National Model four components: Define (mission, program goals, student competencies), Manage (advisory council, use-of-time, calendars), Deliver (direct and indirect services), Assess (program results, evaluation).

Delivery system split: direct services are instruction, appraisal, and counseling (individual, group, crisis); indirect services are referrals, consultation, and collaboration on behalf of students.

Recommended use-of-time (ASCA): 80 percent or more of counselor time in direct and indirect services to students; no more than 20 percent in program planning, fair-share responsibilities, and non-counseling duties.

Student-to-counselor ratio recommended by ASCA is 250:1; national averages have historically exceeded 400:1, so ratios are cited as a program-advocacy data point, not a compliance standard.

Annual agreement: written with the administrator each year, specifies counselor role, priorities, use-of-time, and supervision line; it is the main tool for limiting inappropriate non-counseling assignments.

Closing-the-gap action plans target achievement, opportunity, or attainment gaps identified in data; they state baseline, target, intervention, and measurement method.

Classroom and group lessons follow a scope-and-sequence of student competencies (academic, career, social/emotional) rather than being scheduled ad hoc.

Advisory council composition: students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community or business representatives; meets at least twice yearly to review program goals and results.

Individual counseling sequence: establish rapport, define concern in behavioral terms, set a measurable goal, select intervention, monitor progress, plan generalization and termination.

Solution-focused techniques: miracle question, scaling questions, exception questions, and compliments; the stance is brief and future-oriented rather than pathology-focused.

Cognitive-behavioral approach: identify the activating event, the automatic thought, the emotional and behavioral consequence, then dispute or restructure the thought and rehearse new behavior.

Group stages: forming (orientation), storming (conflict and power), norming (cohesion), performing (productive work), adjourning (termination and transfer of learning).

Small-group counseling is for students with shared, developmental concerns (e.g., study skills, grief, divorce, anger regulation); it is not appropriate for acute crisis, abuse disclosure, or severe impairment requiring referral.

Confidentiality limits to state in the first session: danger to self or others, suspected abuse or neglect, and court orders; explain the limits in developmentally appropriate language.

Consultation models: triadic (consultant, consultee, client), behavioral (functional assessment and intervention design), mental health (supporting the consultee's capacity), and collaborative (shared problem-solving with equal status).

Referral decision rule: when the concern exceeds the school counselor's role or competence (medical, psychiatric, legal, or ongoing therapy), refer to family, community agency, or outside provider while remaining the school-based support.

Crisis response: secure safety, notify administration and parents per policy, document actions, provide short-term stabilization, and arrange follow-up; avoid long-term therapy within the school role.

Reliability means consistency of scores; validity means the test measures what it claims for a given use. A test can be reliable but not valid for a particular purpose.

Standard error of measurement (SEM) estimates the band of error around an observed score; a confidence interval is built as observed score plus or minus a multiple of the SEM.

Percentile rank is not percentage correct: a percentile of 70 means the student scored at or above 70 percent of the norm group.

Standard scores: z-score mean 0, SD 1; T-score mean 50, SD 10; IQ-type mean 100, SD 15; stanine mean 5, SD about 2, ranging 1-9.

Norm-referenced tests compare a student to a norm group; criterion-referenced tests compare performance to a defined standard or mastery level.

Formative assessment informs instruction during learning; summative assessment judges achievement at the end of a unit or year.

Disaggregating data by subgroup (race, gender, disability, income, English-learner status) reveals gaps hidden by schoolwide averages; this is the basis for equity-focused program goals.

Program evaluation types: process (was the intervention delivered as planned), perception (stakeholder satisfaction), and results (did student outcomes change).

Test-score misuse to avoid: interpreting a single subtest as a diagnosis, comparing scores across different instruments without a common scale, and treating a norm-referenced score as a curriculum standard.

ASCA ethical standards core areas: responsibility to students, parents/guardians, colleagues and the profession, school and community, and self; each area includes confidentiality and dual-relationship guidance.

Informed consent applies to counseling relationships and to data sharing; for minors, obtain developmentally appropriate assent and involve parents or guardians consistent with law and policy.

FERPA gives parents (and eligible students at 18 or in postsecondary settings) rights to inspect and amend education records and limits disclosure without consent; directory information may be released unless the parent opts out.

Mandatory reporting: school personnel must report suspected child abuse or neglect to the designated state authority; the counselor does not investigate or verify before reporting.

Suicidal ideation or threat to others overrides confidentiality; the counselor notifies administration and parents/guardians, arranges supervision, and documents the referral.

Dual relationships: avoid counseling a student who is a close relative or with whom the counselor has another significant role; if unavoidable, disclose and transfer the case.

Privileged communication statutes vary by state; counselors must know whether their state grants privilege in school settings and to whom it belongs (minor or parent).

Multicultural and advocacy competence: recognize the counselor's own biases, use interpreters for English learners' families, and advocate for systemic barriers rather than locating the problem solely in the student.

Consultation and collaboration partners: teachers, administrators, school psychologists, social workers, nurses, speech-language pathologists, community agencies, and family; define roles in writing to prevent duplication or gaps.

Piaget's stages in order: sensorimotor (0-2, object permanence), preoperational (2-7, egocentrism, symbolic play), concrete operational (7-11, conservation, reversibility), formal operational (11+, abstract and hypothetical reasoning).

Erikson's psychosocial crises relevant to K-12: trust vs. mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs. shame (1-3), initiative vs. guilt (3-6), industry vs. inferiority (6-12), identity vs. role confusion (adolescence).

Kohlberg's moral stages: preconventional (punishment/obedience, instrumental exchange), conventional (interpersonal conformity, law and order), postconventional (social contract, universal principles); most adolescents reason at the conventional level.

Vygotsky: zone of proximal development is the gap between independent performance and performance with adult or peer scaffolding; private speech becomes inner speech and mediates self-regulation.

Bandura's social learning: attention, retention, reproduction, motivation; self-efficacy predicts persistence more strongly than actual prior attainment in many tasks.

Bronfenbrenner's ecological model: microsystem (family, classroom), mesosystem (links between microsystems), exosystem (parent workplace, community), macrosystem (culture), chronosystem (time).

Marica's identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure (commitment without exploration), moratorium (exploration without commitment), achievement (exploration plus commitment).

Maslow's hierarchy as a decision rule: unmet safety or belonging needs typically suppress academic engagement, so address physiological and safety needs before achievement interventions.

Gilligan's critique of Kohlberg: an ethic of care orientation emphasizes relationships and responsibility, not only abstract justice reasoning.

ASCA National Model four components: Define (mission, program goals, student competencies), Manage (advisory council, use-of-time, calendars), Deliver (direct and indirect services), Assess (program results, evaluation).

Delivery system split: direct services are instruction, appraisal, and counseling (individual, group, crisis); indirect services are referrals, consultation, and collaboration on behalf of students.

Recommended use-of-time (ASCA): 80 percent or more of counselor time in direct and indirect services to students; no more than 20 percent in program planning, fair-share responsibilities, and non-counseling duties.

Student-to-counselor ratio recommended by ASCA is 250:1; national averages have historically exceeded 400:1, so ratios are cited as a program-advocacy data point, not a compliance standard.

Annual agreement: written with the administrator each year, specifies counselor role, priorities, use-of-time, and supervision line; it is the main tool for limiting inappropriate non-counseling assignments.

Closing-the-gap action plans target achievement, opportunity, or attainment gaps identified in data; they state baseline, target, intervention, and measurement method.

Classroom and group lessons follow a scope-and-sequence of student competencies (academic, career, social/emotional) rather than being scheduled ad hoc.

Advisory council composition: students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community or business representatives; meets at least twice yearly to review program goals and results.

Individual counseling sequence: establish rapport, define concern in behavioral terms, set a measurable goal, select intervention, monitor progress, plan generalization and termination.

Solution-focused techniques: miracle question, scaling questions, exception questions, and compliments; the stance is brief and future-oriented rather than pathology-focused.

Cognitive-behavioral approach: identify the activating event, the automatic thought, the emotional and behavioral consequence, then dispute or restructure the thought and rehearse new behavior.

Group stages: forming (orientation), storming (conflict and power), norming (cohesion), performing (productive work), adjourning (termination and transfer of learning).

Small-group counseling is for students with shared, developmental concerns (e.g., study skills, grief, divorce, anger regulation); it is not appropriate for acute crisis, abuse disclosure, or severe impairment requiring referral.

Confidentiality limits to state in the first session: danger to self or others, suspected abuse or neglect, and court orders; explain the limits in developmentally appropriate language.

Consultation models: triadic (consultant, consultee, client), behavioral (functional assessment and intervention design), mental health (supporting the consultee's capacity), and collaborative (shared problem-solving with equal status).

Referral decision rule: when the concern exceeds the school counselor's role or competence (medical, psychiatric, legal, or ongoing therapy), refer to family, community agency, or outside provider while remaining the school-based support.

Crisis response: secure safety, notify administration and parents per policy, document actions, provide short-term stabilization, and arrange follow-up; avoid long-term therapy within the school role.

Reliability means consistency of scores; validity means the test measures what it claims for a given use. A test can be reliable but not valid for a particular purpose.

Standard error of measurement (SEM) estimates the band of error around an observed score; a confidence interval is built as observed score plus or minus a multiple of the SEM.

Percentile rank is not percentage correct: a percentile of 70 means the student scored at or above 70 percent of the norm group.

Standard scores: z-score mean 0, SD 1; T-score mean 50, SD 10; IQ-type mean 100, SD 15; stanine mean 5, SD about 2, ranging 1-9.

Norm-referenced tests compare a student to a norm group; criterion-referenced tests compare performance to a defined standard or mastery level.

Formative assessment informs instruction during learning; summative assessment judges achievement at the end of a unit or year.

Disaggregating data by subgroup (race, gender, disability, income, English-learner status) reveals gaps hidden by schoolwide averages; this is the basis for equity-focused program goals.

Program evaluation types: process (was the intervention delivered as planned), perception (stakeholder satisfaction), and results (did student outcomes change).

Test-score misuse to avoid: interpreting a single subtest as a diagnosis, comparing scores across different instruments without a common scale, and treating a norm-referenced score as a curriculum standard.

ASCA ethical standards core areas: responsibility to students, parents/guardians, colleagues and the profession, school and community, and self; each area includes confidentiality and dual-relationship guidance.

Informed consent applies to counseling relationships and to data sharing; for minors, obtain developmentally appropriate assent and involve parents or guardians consistent with law and policy.

FERPA gives parents (and eligible students at 18 or in postsecondary settings) rights to inspect and amend education records and limits disclosure without consent; directory information may be released unless the parent opts out.

Mandatory reporting: school personnel must report suspected child abuse or neglect to the designated state authority; the counselor does not investigate or verify before reporting.

Suicidal ideation or threat to others overrides confidentiality; the counselor notifies administration and parents/guardians, arranges supervision, and documents the referral.

Dual relationships: avoid counseling a student who is a close relative or with whom the counselor has another significant role; if unavoidable, disclose and transfer the case.

Privileged communication statutes vary by state; counselors must know whether their state grants privilege in school settings and to whom it belongs (minor or parent).

Multicultural and advocacy competence: recognize the counselor's own biases, use interpreters for English learners' families, and advocate for systemic barriers rather than locating the problem solely in the student.

Consultation and collaboration partners: teachers, administrators, school psychologists, social workers, nurses, speech-language pathologists, community agencies, and family; define roles in writing to prevent duplication or gaps.

Piaget's stages in order: sensorimotor (0-2, object permanence), preoperational (2-7, egocentrism, symbolic play), concrete operational (7-11, conservation, reversibility), formal operational (11+, abstract and hypothetical reasoning).

Erikson's psychosocial crises relevant to K-12: trust vs. mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs. shame (1-3), initiative vs. guilt (3-6), industry vs. inferiority (6-12), identity vs. role confusion (adolescence).

Kohlberg's moral stages: preconventional (punishment/obedience, instrumental exchange), conventional (interpersonal conformity, law and order), postconventional (social contract, universal principles); most adolescents reason at the conventional level.

Vygotsky: zone of proximal development is the gap between independent performance and performance with adult or peer scaffolding; private speech becomes inner speech and mediates self-regulation.

Bandura's social learning: attention, retention, reproduction, motivation; self-efficacy predicts persistence more strongly than actual prior attainment in many tasks.

Bronfenbrenner's ecological model: microsystem (family, classroom), mesosystem (links between microsystems), exosystem (parent workplace, community), macrosystem (culture), chronosystem (time).

Marica's identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure (commitment without exploration), moratorium (exploration without commitment), achievement (exploration plus commitment).

Maslow's hierarchy as a decision rule: unmet safety or belonging needs typically suppress academic engagement, so address physiological and safety needs before achievement interventions.

Gilligan's critique of Kohlberg: an ethic of care orientation emphasizes relationships and responsibility, not only abstract justice reasoning.

ASCA National Model four components: Define (mission, program goals, student competencies), Manage (advisory council, use-of-time, calendars), Deliver (direct and indirect services), Assess (program results, evaluation).

Delivery system split: direct services are instruction, appraisal, and counseling (individual, group, crisis); indirect services are referrals, consultation, and collaboration on behalf of students.

Recommended use-of-time (ASCA): 80 percent or more of counselor time in direct and indirect services to students; no more than 20 percent in program planning, fair-share responsibilities, and non-counseling duties.

Student-to-counselor ratio recommended by ASCA is 250:1; national averages have historically exceeded 400:1, so ratios are cited as a program-advocacy data point, not a compliance standard.

Annual agreement: written with the administrator each year, specifies counselor role, priorities, use-of-time, and supervision line; it is the main tool for limiting inappropriate non-counseling assignments.

Closing-the-gap action plans target achievement, opportunity, or attainment gaps identified in data; they state baseline, target, intervention, and measurement method.

Classroom and group lessons follow a scope-and-sequence of student competencies (academic, career, social/emotional) rather than being scheduled ad hoc.

Advisory council composition: students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community or business representatives; meets at least twice yearly to review program goals and results.

Individual counseling sequence: establish rapport, define concern in behavioral terms, set a measurable goal, select intervention, monitor progress, plan generalization and termination.

Solution-focused techniques: miracle question, scaling questions, exception questions, and compliments; the stance is brief and future-oriented rather than pathology-focused.

Cognitive-behavioral approach: identify the activating event, the automatic thought, the emotional and behavioral consequence, then dispute or restructure the thought and rehearse new behavior.

Group stages: forming (orientation), storming (conflict and power), norming (cohesion), performing (productive work), adjourning (termination and transfer of learning).

Small-group counseling is for students with shared, developmental concerns (e.g., study skills, grief, divorce, anger regulation); it is not appropriate for acute crisis, abuse disclosure, or severe impairment requiring referral.

Confidentiality limits to state in the first session: danger to self or others, suspected abuse or neglect, and court orders; explain the limits in developmentally appropriate language.

Consultation models: triadic (consultant, consultee, client), behavioral (functional assessment and intervention design), mental health (supporting the consultee's capacity), and collaborative (shared problem-solving with equal status).

Referral decision rule: when the concern exceeds the school counselor's role or competence (medical, psychiatric, legal, or ongoing therapy), refer to family, community agency, or outside provider while remaining the school-based support.

Crisis response: secure safety, notify administration and parents per policy, document actions, provide short-term stabilization, and arrange follow-up; avoid long-term therapy within the school role.

Reliability means consistency of scores; validity means the test measures what it claims for a given use. A test can be reliable but not valid for a particular purpose.

Standard error of measurement (SEM) estimates the band of error around an observed score; a confidence interval is built as observed score plus or minus a multiple of the SEM.

Percentile rank is not percentage correct: a percentile of 70 means the student scored at or above 70 percent of the norm group.

Standard scores: z-score mean 0, SD 1; T-score mean 50, SD 10; IQ-type mean 100, SD 15; stanine mean 5, SD about 2, ranging 1-9.

Norm-referenced tests compare a student to a norm group; criterion-referenced tests compare performance to a defined standard or mastery level.

Formative assessment informs instruction during learning; summative assessment judges achievement at the end of a unit or year.

Disaggregating data by subgroup (race, gender, disability, income, English-learner status) reveals gaps hidden by schoolwide averages; this is the basis for equity-focused program goals.

Program evaluation types: process (was the intervention delivered as planned), perception (stakeholder satisfaction), and results (did student outcomes change).

Test-score misuse to avoid: interpreting a single subtest as a diagnosis, comparing scores across different instruments without a common scale, and treating a norm-referenced score as a curriculum standard.

ASCA ethical standards core areas: responsibility to students, parents/guardians, colleagues and the profession, school and community, and self; each area includes confidentiality and dual-relationship guidance.

Informed consent applies to counseling relationships and to data sharing; for minors, obtain developmentally appropriate assent and involve parents or guardians consistent with law and policy.

FERPA gives parents (and eligible students at 18 or in postsecondary settings) rights to inspect and amend education records and limits disclosure without consent; directory information may be released unless the parent opts out.

Mandatory reporting: school personnel must report suspected child abuse or neglect to the designated state authority; the counselor does not investigate or verify before reporting.

Suicidal ideation or threat to others overrides confidentiality; the counselor notifies administration and parents/guardians, arranges supervision, and documents the referral.

Dual relationships: avoid counseling a student who is a close relative or with whom the counselor has another significant role; if unavoidable, disclose and transfer the case.

Privileged communication statutes vary by state; counselors must know whether their state grants privilege in school settings and to whom it belongs (minor or parent).

Multicultural and advocacy competence: recognize the counselor's own biases, use interpreters for English learners' families, and advocate for systemic barriers rather than locating the problem solely in the student.

Consultation and collaboration partners: teachers, administrators, school psychologists, social workers, nurses, speech-language pathologists, community agencies, and family; define roles in writing to prevent duplication or gaps.