Evidence Based Strategy
Meaningful and high-quality advising should be an expectation for every student, not enrichment for some. Every student should leave high school with clear career goals and the knowledge and resources needed to pursue them. Meaningful advising not only prepares high school students and young adults for postsecondary education and quality jobs but also equips them with the skills and agency needed to navigate their careers successfully in today’s economy.
However, significant gaps exist in current high school advising practices. National survey data suggest students feel that schools should improve in the areas of career or job skills. Fewer than half of the students who responded say they received the most fundamental information they need to understand if they are meeting the basic standards for success in high school, let alone to make decisions about their futures.
The need for meaningful advising has become more critical as the workforce evolves. Nearly 70% of students start thinking about their careers before 11th grade, and 14% begin considering their options in kindergarten through sixth grade, yet many high schools lack comprehensive career guidance systems. For example, in Kentucky, 9% of schools report not having a certified counselor on staff. Moreover, a student to counselor ratio of 348:1 (39% above state mandate), paired with counselors reporting they spend 28% of their time on inappropriate tasks, signals significant gaps that impact students and counselors alike. Meanwhile, employment of school and career counselors and advisors is projected to grow 4 percent from 2023 to 2033, indicating growing recognition of this field’s importance.
Students who receive high-quality advising gain numerous benefits, including higher GPA, increased participation in early postsecondary opportunities like dual credit and advanced coursework, increased credential attainment, increased retention and persistence, stronger ability to develop a college-going and occupational identity, higher feelings of self-efficacy and motivation, and greater understanding and ability to leverage social networks.
At a minimum, meaningful advising should encompass the following attributes: Career Exploration, Financial Literacy, Navigational Guidance, Academic Planning, Social Emotional Development, and Alignment with Individual Learning Plans. Schools must position and resource advising as an intentional, holistic approach and make it a priority to ensure students are well-positioned for post-high school success.
Research consistently demonstrates the critical importance of meaningful advising for high school student success. The American School Counselor Association emphasizes that school counselors should advise students on multiple postsecondary pathways, including college, career-specific credentials and certifications, apprenticeships, military service, and full-time employment opportunities.
Resource allocation reflects institutional priorities, and currently, meaningful advising is under-resourced. National research shows that about 65% of districts spend less than 5% of their budgets on programming related to college, career, and life readiness. Furthermore, postsecondary advising is only a fraction of the total college, career, and life readiness money spent. School counselors and educators have traditionally offered varying levels of career counseling and navigation support. However, much of their time is now spent on linking students to social services and addressing their social and emotional needs.
The counselor-to-student ratio presents significant challenges. The alarming ratio of school counselors to students—39% below mandate in Kentucky—means they have little time to help individual students plan for college and a career. This ratio is representative of national trends, making systematic approaches to advising even more critical.
Career exploration and guidance gaps are particularly pronounced for underserved populations. Research shows that low-income and first-generation students and students of color tend to be concentrated in programs that lead to lower-paying fields, making career exploration opportunities critical from an equity perspective. Increasing successful post-high school transitions such as college-going, college-persistence, and entry into the workforce cannot happen without a high-quality, meaningful advising system—for all students. This may require targeted support for underserved populations, including students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and those with disabilities.
High school teacher engagement in career advising has been impacted by competing priorities. Teachers have noticed a decrease in the number of students they advise on college and career paths since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of educators’ time is now spent on linking students to social services and addressing their social and emotional needs, reducing capacity for comprehensive career guidance.
The economic impact of improved high school advising is substantial. The employment rate is highest for those with higher levels of educational attainment – 88 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to only 60 percent for those who had not completed high school. Relatedly, Career and Technical Education (CTE) has statistically significant positive impacts on high school outcomes, including students’ academic achievement, high school completion, employability skills, and college readiness, demonstrating that comprehensive career advising and programming can make a measurable difference.
Implementing meaningful advising at scale requires specific organizational, structural, and resource conditions. Based on research from Bellwether Education Partners, meaningful advising systems must demonstrate five key characteristics and meet six critical conditions for success.
The five characteristics of effective high school advising systems are:
The six critical conditions for success include:
Case for Change: There must be broad support for postsecondary success as a unifying purpose of the core work of K-12. Funders, the business community, community organizations, and district champions must catalyze a coalition of stakeholders to advocate for increased emphasis on meaningful, postsecondary advising.
Vision & Milestones: Districts need a shared vision for postsecondary outcomes and a strategy to achieve the key milestones that students must reach to successfully navigate postsecondary pathways. Students are more likely to enroll and stay enrolled if schools offer them opportunities and information about career pathways.
Coordination & Continuous Improvement: Partnerships, staffing models, and roles must be defined to optimize the provision of services, reducing duplication, and ensuring coordination. High schools must collaborate with administrators, teachers, staff and decision-makers to create a postsecondary-readiness, career-preparedness and college-going culture.
Data & Platforms: Data must be used to understand student needs—prioritizing milestones and which student needs to address—and to track student outcomes. Schools must position and resource advising as an intentional, holistic approach and make it a priority to ensure students are well-positioned for post-high school success.
Supports – Content, Coverage & Delivery: There must be intentional and strategic use of internal and external supports and resources to maximize coverage. High school career counselors play an integral role in helping students develop a clearer picture of what they want their future to be like by providing career-based services and connecting students to early-college and career development programs.
Resources: Adequate and sustainable financial resources must be identified and secured. As of 2024, high school career counselors can expect to make an average annual wage of $60,000, and districts must invest in both personnel and program resources to support comprehensive advising systems.
Track both early signals and long-term outcomes.
(Early Indicators)
(Lagging Indicators)
9th Grade On-Track measures whether students are positioned to graduate high school in four years, enroll in postsecondary education, and succeed in their first year after graduation. This composite indicator typically includes percentage of students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, no D’s or F’s in English or Math, attendance above 90%, no suspensions or expulsions, and potential for advanced coursework completion. Research demonstrates that 9th grade serves as a foundational year that sets the stage for on-time graduation and postsecondary success. GPA achieved in 9th grade strongly predicts academic performance later in high school, including 11th grade GPA, postsecondary enrollment, and first-year college retention. This indicator enables early intervention and support systems for at-risk students before academic struggles widen, making it a critical leading indicator for educational success.
Education and Career Navigation Competencies represent the knowledge, skills, and behaviors students need to effectively pursue education and career opportunities after high school. These competencies enable students to make informed choices about their futures through systematic career exploration, educational planning, and decision-making skill development. Research shows that students who develop these competencies are more likely to have expanded education and career opportunities, make decisions that better fit their interests and abilities, increase motivation to learn and achieve, and experience positive outcomes in school and work settings. Students who engage in intentional college and career planning, seek information about postsecondary options, and develop effective decision-making abilities demonstrate higher engagement in career exploration and planning activities. These competencies must begin developing well before high school, as limited early exploration can delay or impede informed decision-making about educational and career pathways.
Durable Skills Competencies encompass the essential skills students use to share what they know—like critical thinking, collaboration, and communication—as well as who they are—like fortitude and leadership. America Succeeds identifies 10 competency areas: communication, collaboration, character, critical thinking, creativity, adaptability, agency, leadership, global perspective, and lifelong learning. Among 885,000 Kentucky job postings analyzed in 2020-2021, 74% demanded durable skills, with the top 5 durable skills requested 3.5 times more than technical skills. These competencies are essential across all industries and professions while supporting quality-of-life conditions including social, emotional, and physical well-being. However, discrepancies exist between what students believe they should have and what employers expect, underscoring the need for clearer collaboration between educators, employers, and students. Success requires an integrated approach where academic and work-ready skills are interconnected components of students’ educational journey.
Kentucky’s 93.3% high school graduation rate ranks 4th nationally, demonstrating exceptional success in helping students complete secondary education. This metric measures the percentage of students who graduate with a regular high school diploma within four years of entering ninth grade. While this achievement reflects strong completion systems, it requires deeper analysis of preparation quality beyond mere completion rates. The high graduation rate indicates effective student support systems, but must be evaluated alongside readiness indicators to ensure diplomas represent meaningful preparation for postsecondary success and career readiness.
Kentucky’s college-going rate of 53.8% measures the percentage of high school graduates who enroll in postsecondary education immediately following graduation, serving as a lagging indicator of postsecondary transition patterns and educational pathway choices. This metric reflects the cumulative impact of academic preparation, financial readiness, career guidance, and cultural factors that influence student decisions about continuing education. The rate has declined from historical levels, indicating shifting student priorities and pathway preferences that may reflect changing economic conditions, increased career pathway options, or concerns about college costs and outcomes. Understanding college-going patterns is essential for evaluating educational effectiveness and planning postsecondary capacity, though it must be interpreted alongside alternative pathway participation and employment outcomes.
Kentucky’s postsecondary degree attainment rate of 39.5% among residents ages 25-64 with associate degrees or higher ranks 44th nationally, reflecting long-term educational and economic outcomes that result from years of educational policy and practice. This metric measures the cumulative impact of educational systems on adult credential completion and serves as a lagging indicator of workforce preparation and economic competitiveness. The rate includes all postsecondary credentials from certificates through doctoral degrees, providing a comprehensive view of population-level educational achievement. Low attainment rates indicate challenges in educational access, completion support, and economic opportunity that require sustained intervention across multiple systems to improve outcomes for future generations.
Kentucky’s workforce participation rate of 56.9% ranks 45th nationally, indicating significant challenges in transitioning education to economic engagement among working-age residents. This metric measures the percentage of civilians aged 16 and older who are either employed or actively seeking employment, serving as a lagging indicator of economic health and educational effectiveness. Low participation rates suggest barriers including limited job opportunities, skills mismatches between worker preparation and available positions, geographic constraints, health challenges, or economic conditions that discourage workforce entry. The rate reflects long-term outcomes of educational policies, economic development strategies, and social conditions that either support or hinder residents’ ability to engage productively in the labor market.
