Assessment of professional development systems: improving rural special education services

The ability to measure the results of professional development programs and activities remains an elusive goal for most educators in rural settings. While students in classrooms continue to face extensive assessment requirements related to the attainment of educational content outcomes, there has been little effort to assess the impact of professional development designed to enhance the effectiveness of educational professionals who carry the major responsibility for the facilitation of learning outcomes for all learners. These issues sometimes become more difficult to address in rural schools if there are limited resources and support services. To realize the benefits of effective professional development, assessment approaches that link the effectiveness of such efforts to increasing student achievement are described. In this article, the prevailing approaches to professional development in rural schools are identified with evidence about best practices also provided.