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Most parents assume that schools are providing the necessary college and career planning guidance to their children. But findings gleaned from over 10 years of research studies reveal that students are not getting the help they need to make good decisions about life after high school.

How Much Counseling Time Does Each Student Get?

38 minutes per year is the estimated amount of time the average student receives from a school counselor on college advising. This statistic is based on national averages of student-to-counselor ratios and counselor time allocation research according to 2005 report entitled "Counseling and College Counseling in America's High Schools" by Dr. Patricia McDonough.

This of course is an average. While the actual amount of time varies widely by school and by student, interviews with parents reveal that it is a large concern. Despite the best of intentions, the level of personalized guidance provided is not evenly distributed to all students.

"My child is a solid student. He isn't at the top of his class, but he's not struggling either. The school clearly pays the most attention to the students that standout... either at the top, or the bottom. If you aren't in one of those groups, you fall between the cracks," said the mother of a senior from a large Connecticut public high school.

Not Enough Counselors... Too Many Demands

A quick look at the student-to-counselor ratios across the nation shows that there simply are not enough guidance counselors at each school to support the volume of students and all the demands placed on the counselors.

According to Dr. McDonough's report, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends one counselor for every 100 students, or a 100:1 ratio. The actual student-to-counselor ratio across the nation's high schools is estimated to be 315:1. That is three times the recommended level according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES).

In some states, such as California, Minnesota, Arizona and Utah, the average is well over 500:1

School counselors are expected to handle issues ranging from attendance, discipline, drug and alcohol abuse, sexuality and pregnancy, suicide prevention, and personal crisis along with academic testing and a host of other administrative duties assigned to them.

Where does this leave college and career planning services? They are considered "nice to haves" in many schools because the time and resources aren't there to support them.

Not Only a Public School Issue

The average student-to-counselor ratio in private high schools is estimated to be 241:1 according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. While this ratio is better then the public school ratio of 315:1, it is still over two times the ASCA's recommendation of 100:1.

Even though private school student-to-counselor ratios are better, parents report that the guidance their children receive is almost exclusively focused on college counseling and placement, not on what the students will do with their education once they graduate.

TIPS FOR PARENTS

Regardless of whether your child attends public or private school, here are some tips to make sure that he/she receives the guidance needed to make wise and informed decisions about his/her future:

• Don't assume your child is getting enough college and career guidance at school
• Find out what the student-to-counselor ratio is at your child's school
• Contact the school's guidance department to learn what kind of personal counseling is provided:
  • When and how much 1-on-1 college guidance is provided?
  • When and how much 1-on-1 career planning guidance is provided?
• Talk with your child. Ask the following questions:
  • Have you taken interest, skills, values, and personality assessments at school?
  • Has the school counselor helped you understand what the assessments mean?
  • Has the school counselor met with you 1-on-1 to discuss career possibilities?
  • Has the school helped you plan your college search based on your career interests?
• Increase the 1-to-1 support your child receives with personal career and education guidance to help your child sort through his/her best-fit choices. It's much more affordable than you think, and is there anything more important than your child's future success?

About the Author: Brian Sanders is President and CEO of Clear Ambition an online program that helps people make better, more confident decisions about their life direction and career path. Find more information about education and career guidance or take a free interest analysis

The other day I was walking through a store and I saw a poster along the wall with two large words spread across the entire front of the poster. It said, "Eat Chocolate."

I had to stop and marvel at what the people had accomplished with this. If you do not know exactly what makes this such an effective use of poster printing, I will break it down to the details.

The first is that this color poster immediately grabs your attention. The words are so large and the message so clear you cannot help but see it. And because the message is clear you only need a second to absorb exactly what it has to say. The best posters are the ones with simple, clear messages, and in this case the message itself acts as a means of grabbing someone's attention.

The second is the strong call to action associated with it. The purpose of this poster is obvious: it is promoting chocolate, which was specifically Russell Stover Chocolates, a very well known brand for chocolate. But not only do you know exactly what the purpose is, but it gives you a command at the same time. After reading it you know exactly what you are supposed to do next: eat chocolate. The message is so closely related to what you are supposed to do there is no ambiguity.

And the third thing is it makes you smile and maybe laugh a little to yourself, because it almost feels like a bit of a joke. Who needs to be told to eat chocolate? So few people need a command like that, so when you receive one, you smile to yourself, and you answer, "Maybe I just will."

Something else to note is how great of a representation this is of a strong brand name. They are not using their poster printing to directly promote their company, per say, but merely boosting the type of product they sell. Yes, their company name is on that poster, but it is not the centerpiece, nor is it very big. It does not need to be big.

Russell Stover is so closely linked to chocolate they do not need to have their name in a very prominent place. All they have to do is tell people to eat chocolate and suddenly they already are going to think of a company like Russell Stover to get their chocolate fix taken care of.

All of these elements come together to make a very effective use of poster printing to give people something that serves every purpose it needs to. It gets your eye, it delivers its message, it tells you what to do, and it makes you smile at the humor inherent in the message itself.

Two words were all it took to accomplish all of this. By keeping it simple and to the point they delivered a poster that does exactly what a poster needs to do. These are the kinds of things to take notice of, and figure out a way to apply it to your posters.

Janice Jenkins is a writer for a marketing company in Chicago, IL. Mostly into marketing research, Janice started writing articles early 2007 to impart her knowledge to individuals new to the marketing industry.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit: Color Poster, Poster Printing