Although America’s average student-to-school counselor ratio is improving, it is still higher than what is recommended by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and some states lag far behind the national mean.

Across the U.S., there is an average of one school counselor for every 455 public K-12 students. This is an improvement over last year’s average of 464-to-1 and the narrowest margin the ratio has been in three decades, according to ASCA.

However, the nationwide average remains far above ASCA’s recommended ratio of 250 students per school counselor. Individual state ratios also vary widely, ranging from 202-to-1 in Vermont to 905-to-1 in Arizona.

“Given the prevalence of school shootings, increasingly intensified natural disasters and rising suicide rates among youth, there has never been a more critical time to ensure that students have access to school counselors,” says American Counseling Association President Simone Lambert. “Our children deserve the opportunity to reach their academic potential to prepare for future careers, while attending to mental health concerns. School counselors play a vital role in supporting students who have mental health concerns, which challenge students’ daily life functioning and school success.”

ASCA compiles a report each year on student-to-school counselor ratios based on data from the federal government. The Virginia-based nonprofit’s latest report, released this week, included data from the 2016-2017 school year, which is the most recent information available.

 

According to the report:

• States and territories with the lowest student-to-school counselor ratios include Vermont (202-to-1), U.S. Virgin Islands (213-to-1), New Hampshire (220-to-1), Hawaii (286-to-1), North Dakota (304-to-1), Montana (308-to-1), Maine (321-to-1) and Tennessee (335-to-1).

 

• States and territories with the highest student-to-school counselor ratios include Arizona (905-to-1), Michigan (741-to-1), Illinois (686-to-1), California (663-to-1), Minnesota (659-to-1), Utah (648-to-1), Puerto Rico (571-to-1), Idaho (538-to-1), the District of Columbia (511-to-1), Washington (499-to-1), Oregon (498-to-1) and Indiana (497-to-1).

 

• Alabama was the most improved state, adding 269 new school counselors and decreasing the student-to-school-counselor ratio 15% (to 417-to-1).

 

• Wyoming lost more than 100 school counselors (76 secondary-level counselors and nearly 70 at the elementary level). As a result, the state’s student-to-school counselor ratio increased 52% from ASCA’s last report, from 225-to-1 to 343-to-1.

 

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Access the full report with a state-by-state breakdown on the ASCA website: schoolcounselor.org

 

 

The American Counseling Association’s School Counselor Connection page: counseling.org/knowledge-center/school-counselor-connection

 

From the Counseling Today archives in 2017: “U.S. student-to-school counselor ratio shows slight improvement”

 

Statistics on mental health and American youth:

• From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• From Mental Health America
• From the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

 

 

Bethany Bray is a senior writer for Counseling Today. Contact her at bbray@counseling.org

 

Follow Counseling Today on Twitter @ACA_CTonline and on Facebook at facebook.com/CounselingToday.

 

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Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.