School Counselor Roles & Ratios

School counselors are highly educated, professionally certified individuals who help students succeed in school and plan their career. An integral part of the total education system, school counselors help students form healthy goals, mindsets and behaviors. With the aid of a school counselor, students learn to develop effective collaboration and cooperation skills, to practice perseverance, to develop time management and study skills, and to learn self-motivation and self-direction habits. 

Feel free to use any of the following resources supporting the roles of school counselors at back-to-school nights, school board presentations, etc.

School Counselor Roles

• The Role of the School Counselor
• Appropriate and Inappropriate Duties 
• The Essential Role of Elementary School Counselors
• The Essential Role of Middle School Counselors
• The Essential Role of High School Counselors
• The Essential Role of School Counselor Educators
• The Essential Role of School Counseling Directors/Coordinators
• Guidance Counselor vs. School Counselor
• Who Are School Counselors Infographic (also available in Spanish)
• History of School Counseling

Student-to-School-Counselor Ratios

Although ASCA recommends a 250-to-1 ratio of students to school counselors, the national average is actually 424-to-1 for the 2019–2020 school year (the most recent year for which data is available). See how the individual states stack up:

• School Counselor Ratios (PDF)
• School Counselor Ratios: 30-Year Trends (PDF)
• To research ratios in your state, click here.