What role do middle and high school counselors perceive they should adopt in dropout prevention

This study investigated the role school counselors perceived they should adopt in dropout prevention and ways to assess their effectiveness. The ASCA National Model's theme and element definitions (advocacy, collaboration/teaming, leadership, systemic change, delivery system, and accountability) were adapted to support a dropout prevention focus. Three domains recommended by the What Works Clearinghouse -- staying-in-school, progressing-in-school, and completing-school -- served as the lens for exploring the accountability element.;Counselors perceived delivery system to be the primary role they should adopt followed by advocacy, collaboration, systemic change, and leadership. They did not indicate a preference for one assessment domain except when comparing the completing-school and progressing-in-school domains. The progressing-in-school domain was the preferred method of assessing effectiveness in providing dropout prevention services.