Master’s Level Counseling Students’ Clinical Efficacy

The admission of students into Counselor Education programs aims to select those applicants with the best potential to successfully complete the graduate program as well as acquire effective clinical skills. The primary method of measuring achievement potential for graduate students in Counselor Education programs represents Graduate Record Examination Scores (GRE); minimal scores on the examination are required for program admission. This study examined the relationship between student achievement of clinical skills and incoming GRE scores. The study participants were 47 master’s level Counselor Education students who were enrolled in Practicum in Counselor Education (MHS 6800) in the spring, summer, and fall semesters of 2002 as well as the spring, summer, and fall semesters of 2003. All students were required to submit videotapes of live counseling sessions conducted in the Community Counseling Clinic at the University of Central Florida. The videotapes were rated using the Global Scale for Rating Helper Responses, developed by George Gazda. An independent samples t-test was utilized to assess between group differences for the sample participants.