Preserving the Integrity of Our Role During Testing Season

As we move into the spring testing season, school counselors find themselves preparing students academically, emotionally, and logistically for the state assessment window. For many, that includes the added responsibility of serving as the Building Assessment Coordinator (BAC).

Yet, when school counselors are assigned to serve as the Building Assessment Coordinator, it shifts their focus away from students. This role is highly administrative and logistically demanding, involving test security, scheduling, reporting, training staff, and managing materials. While important, these tasks do not require the unique skills of a certified counselor.

Here’s what happens when we are pulled into that role:

• Student support is reduced or eliminated during crucial times.
• Ethical boundaries may be blurred when counselors become disciplinarians for testing misbehavior.
• Time-sensitive interventions may be missed due to counselor unavailability.
• Burnout increases, as counselors are forced to juggle incompatible demands.

What ASCA Says About Testing Responsibilities

The ASCA Position Statement on "Appropriate School Counselor Responsibilities" clearly states that coordinating and administering state testing programs is considered an inappropriate duty for school counselors. These tasks fall outside the scope of a school counselor’s training and ethical framework, which is centered on student advocacy, mental health, academic planning, and equity.

“School counselors should not be responsible for the coordination or administration of testing programs because these duties detract from the time needed to provide direct services to students.” – ASCA Position Statement

Despite this, many school counselors across the country continue to be tasked with overseeing assessments due to staffing shortages or administrative decisions. If you’re one of them, you’re not alone, and your position deserves to be acknowledged and supported with care and clarity.  When we’re pulled away from our primary role, students lose access to essential mental health and academic support.

A Better Way Forward

Counselors want to be team players; we always have. We understand that testing requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. But the solution isn’t to sideline the very people who are trained to support students' emotional and academic well-being during high-stress periods. Asking school counselors to step into a coordinator role isn’t a solution; it’s a redirection that comes at a steep cost.

Instead, schools can be better prepared for testing by:

• Designating a trained administrator or testing specialist, trained in logistics and compliance, as the BAC.
• Using support staff or classified personnel for materials and logistics
• Utilizing counselors as partners in student support, not as substitutes for administrative coverage.
• Respecting and protecting the counselor’s time to work directly with students.

Final Thoughts

When school counselors are reassigned to coordinate testing, it may feel like a practical solution. But the unseen cost is steep—students go unsupported, staff feels the strain, and the school climate loses its emotional heartbeat.



Counselors are not spare parts in a testing machine. We are essential professionals who help students thrive—not just survive—during one of the most stressful times of the school year. Protect the role, protect the student.