How Counselors Can Use Data to Prioritize for Next Year

As the school year comes to a close, counselors are faced with a familiar challenge: finishing strong while simultaneously preparing for what’s next.

But with hundreds of students on each caseload, competing priorities, and constantly evolving graduation requirements, knowing where to focus first can feel overwhelming.

In a recent Conversations with Educators webinar, Brad Miller, School Counseling Director at Perry Meridian High School, shared how his team uses data to cut through that complexity, helping counselors prioritize students, reduce surprises, and start the next school year with clarity.

Drawing on years of experience leading a large counseling team, Brad offered a practical look at what it really takes to move from reactive support to proactive planning.

Key Takeaways from the Session

• Tracking student progress is the biggest challenge, and the biggest opportunity.
• Graduation-focused data (credits, requirements, completion) should drive prioritization.
• Early identification of risk depends on consistent, shared systems, not individual tracking methods.
• Master scheduling and course placement are critical levers for setting students up for success.
• Proactive workflows reduce last-minute issues and make the fall more manageable.

Why is it so difficult for counselors to feel prepared heading into a new school year?

Miller: The biggest challenge is just keeping track of everything. We're pulling from multiple data sources (student information systems, assessment tools, and graduation tracking platforms), and that information lives in a lot of different places. Without a unified approach, our counselors end up spending more time managing data than working directly with students.

We've worked hard to create more consistency across our team. We still use several systems, but now we have a centralized way to track progress as a department. Pathways has helped us bring it all together.

When you’re looking at a full caseload, how do you decide who to focus on first?

Miller: We start with what matters most, which is graduation. A lot of what we do is driven by whether students are passing classes and earning credits. That’s what we live or die by as counselors. We prioritize students based on:

• Credit attainment and course completion
• Missing graduation requirements
• Students at risk of falling off track

We’re asking questions like, “Is something missing here? Did we mark something incorrectly? Is there more going on with this student?” That level of review helps ensure no one slips through the cracks.

How do you identify students who may be at risk?

Miller: It’s about consistently monitoring the right indicators and not waiting until it’s too late. We regularly review:

• Graduation requirement progress
• Completion of key milestones (like employability or postsecondary readiness indicators)
• Students enrolled in required courses but still missing components

At the same time, data isn’t the only piece. We rely on teacher input as well. Teachers can provide important context that data alone won’t show, and that combination helps us identify risk earlier and respond more effectively.

What are you doing right now to prepare for next year?

Miller: Right now, everything starts with getting scheduling and placement right. Accurate scheduling is one of the biggest challenges we face, and it’s something that never really stops. At the same time, we're:

• Pulling data from feeder schools for incoming students
• Using performance data to guide course placement
• Collaborating with teachers and department leaders
• Auditing transcripts and graduation progress
• Finalizing course requests and building the master schedule

We’ve built a structured, data-informed process, but we also make sure to include input from other staff and departments. The work we do now has a direct impact on how smoothly we start next year.

How has your approach shifted to be more proactive over time?

Miller: We’ve gotten better at being intentional about using data earlier in the process, not after problems appear. We’re using data to guide placement decisions, making sure students are in the right courses from the start, and involving teachers more in those decisions.

Some of the changes we’ve made include:

• Incorporating teacher input into placement decisions
• Using structured data reviews instead of relying on intuition
• Expanding visibility across counselors and administrators

These shifts help reduce surprises in the fall and ensure students are set up for success earlier. We want to make sure we’re catching every student before small issues turn into bigger problems.

What should counselors focus on before leaving for summer?

Miller: The biggest thing is identifying gaps now and creating a plan to address them. Look at which required classes haven't been met and make sure students have a path forward. That includes:

• Running failure and credit deficiency reports
• Connecting students to summer school or recovery options
• Communicating clearly with families
• Double-checking graduation requirements for seniors

At the end of the day, we don’t want students falling behind, because once they do, it becomes much harder for them to graduate.

Final Thoughts

For counselors, the end of the school year isn’t just about wrapping up, it’s about setting the foundation for what comes next.

Brad’s approach highlights a simple but powerful shift: use data now to reduce uncertainty later.

By focusing on clear indicators, consistent systems, and proactive planning, counseling teams can spend less time reacting—and more time supporting students where it matters most.

Want to see what this looks like in practice?

Pathways is designed to help counselors prioritize caseloads, track graduation requirements, and reduce last-minute surprises—especially during this critical end-of-year window.

Book a quick demo to see how your team can start next year with more clarity and confidence.