St. Clair (1989) completed a comprehensive, qualitative review of school
counseling outcome research at the middle school level. The interventions
reviewed were relaxation training, group counseling, and career programs. The
outcomes that were measured included academic achievement, behaviors, selfconcept
and attitudes. The results of this review indicated that (1) a short academic
skills workshop can increase middle school students’ grades, (2) a short
nontraditional career workshop can alter middle school students’ occupational
stereotypes, and (3) a four-month long human relations training for middle school
students can reduce referrals for disciplinary problems.
Wilson (1986) focused on counselor interventions with low achieving
students and their parents to determine whether school counseling interventions are
effective in boosting academic achievement as measured by grade point average
(GPA). This review included 19 studies over a 25-year period. Summary
information suggested that counseling interventions can have positive effects on
academic achievement.