With the advent of standards-based educational reform, educators and counselors are increasingly being held accountable for creating school contexts where all students can be academically successful. Cutting edge models of school counseling practice emphasize the importance of using both collaboration and data to efficiently and effectively create such educational contexts (Bowers & Hatch, 2002; Fields & Hines, 2000; House & Hayes, 2002). Identifying the factors that interfere with academic success is a crucial first step in the process of choosing interventions to address this issue, and the best way to gain an accurate picture of interfering factors is the use of data. Concrete information about which students are failing which classes gives counselors valuable knowledge to advocate for programs and policies which will be effective (Hayes, Nelson, Tabin, Pearson, & Worthy, 2002; House & Hayes, 2002). Utilizing university-public school partnerships to get needed research knowledge and skills can make data collection much easier and more efficient (Hayes, Paisley, Phelps, Pearson, & Salter, 1997). Once information is obtained, systemic shifts in school counseling practice require additional collaboration among counselors, administrators, teachers, and researchers.
