School principals and school counselors have the ability to forge a unique collaborative relationship to improve student achievement. Historically, school counselors have altered the primary focus of their work as deemed by the perspective of their principals.With an emphasis on improving student success in school, this study revealed the differences in counselor-principal priorities and perceptions and suggests the importance of counselor and principal collaboration to support this common goal.

Expectations run high that accountability for student outcomes will continue to drive the education agenda with reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965). School counselors have also recognized the imperative to connect their work to school improvement goals. This article discusses action research undertaken by school counselors who used data‐informed practice to align counseling programs with the accountability expectations of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002) and the American School Counselor Association (2003, 2005) National Model.

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This study explored the practices of professional school counselors in their delivery of career counseling. School counselors were found to spend significantly less time on career development than on personal–social and academic development. In addition, new professionals placed more priority on career counseling compared with their more experienced counterparts. Continuing education opportunities, future research directions, and implications for school counselors are presented.

The most recent school reform agenda directed the development of national standards across the academic content areas to improve educational practice and pedagogy. U.S. Department of Education's (1994) Goals 2000: The Educate America Act and its subsequent nationwide implementation largely ignored the involvement of school counseling in school reform efforts. Counselors in schools face the challenge of preparing students to meet the expectations of these higher academic standards and to become well‐educated and contributing members of an ever changing and complex society. The development of the National Standards for School Counseling Programs (American School Counselor Association, 2003) positioned school counseling to play an increasingly important role in contemporary school improvement and in support of the recent educational legislative agenda the No Child Left Behind Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2001).