Career test group session for school counsellors: a plan

You've got a stack of results and one lesson slot. Here's a 45-minute plan that turns them into conversations, without ranking anyone.

The best use of a class set of results is a single 45-minute career test group session. You show the class pattern, let each student read their own result, and book short follow-ups for the few who need one. It beats a pile of one-to-one slots, and it's honest about what the results are: a starting point for a conversation.

Why a group session instead of one-to-ones?

Because there aren't enough hours. In the US the national average for 2024–25 was 372 students per school counsellor, against the 250-to-1 the American School Counselor Association recommends.^[1] Only four states came in at or below that: Colorado, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Vermont.^[1] If your caseload looks like the average, a 20-minute chat with every student isn't going to happen.

A group session gets everyone to the same starting line. Your one-to-one time then goes to the students who need it.

What should you have ready before the session?

• The results. Each student takes the 23-question test, which runs about 10 minutes. Ask them to bring their result, or just the two or three letters of their code.
• A class tally. Count how many students have each of the six letters (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) in their top two. Leave the names off.
• A way to opt out. Some students won't want to share, and that's fine. Don't ask anyone to read out their code, or to see it on the board with their name beside it.

The six areas are the standard Holland interest areas, the same ones the US Department of Labor's O*NET Interest Profiler uses.^[2] If students ask what the letters mean, our short guide to RIASEC has the answer.

What does a 45-minute plan look like?

The "one thing that doesn't fit" step matters most. Students think harder about a result they can argue with.

How do you read the class pattern?

Look for three things.

A spread. Most classes are mixed. That's normal, and it's worth saying out loud, because it shows students that no single type is "the" right one.

A cluster. If many students share a top letter, don't treat it as a fact about the class. It may reflect how the class was put together, or plain chance. Turn it into a question instead: "Why might so many of you lean this way?"

Close letters. When a student's top two or three letters sit close together, their order doesn't mean much. We explain this in our note on close letters, and it's worth five minutes in the session.

What does this mean for you as a counsellor?

It changes what your one-to-one time is for. The O*NET Interest Profiler is built so people can self-administer and self-interpret it,^[2] so students can do the first reading themselves. You don't have to explain every letter. Spend your minutes on the harder questions.

Pick your follow-ups from the session, not from the scores alone:

• Students whose plan and result point in different directions. Ask what the plan rests on.
• Students who said nothing fit. They may have rushed, or they may not know yet. Either way, they're worth a conversation.
• Students who are set on one path and haven't looked at any other. A second option costs nothing.

Keep your notes light. Students under 18 shouldn't feel you're logging their answers against them, so tell them who sees what before you ask anyone to share.

What should you avoid?

• Ranking. Don't line students up by type or score.
• Matching letters to jobs one-to-one. A code points towards groups of occupations, and the O*NET tool links interests to over 900 of them.^[2] It doesn't pick one for you.
• Promising outcomes. CAT supports career reflection: guidance, not a definitive answer. Say so to the class in your own words.

What's the next step?

Run the test with one class first, and time the session before you roll it out. To see how CAT works for schools, start at our page for counsellors. Then try the 23 questions yourself on the RIASEC career test page, so you know exactly what your students will see.

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