I have been having a “discussion” with a friend about counting rows of knitting and I haven’t been able to find an answer. Do you count the stitches on the needles as a row or not? I sure hope someone can help!!
Counting rows
I do. The stitches one the needle have already been worked. So they made a row.
Most people don’t count the st on the needle though. They’ve been ‘made’ but you don’t work them till the next row.
The concensus at the LYS says they are counted. After all, you knit them, it was “work” so they deserve to be counted. 
Think of it this way: Suppose you cast on some stitches and then knit a row. Wouldn’t that be Row 1? They’re still on your needles and your next row would be 2. The first row surely wouldn’t be row zero.
But the loops from the CO form R 1 when you knit them on that first row. And the ones on the needle made on R 1 form the sts for R 2.
Of course the stitches on the needle are considered a row. If you were knitting off of a chart, that row was part of the chart, therefore you knit a row of the chart - so it counts.
However, some folks consider the cast on row to be row 1 of the pattern, while others don’t consider the cast on row as anything other than the cast on and consider the first row worked to be row 1.
Tomato, To-mah-to?