Professional Development Schools: How Partnerships Support Assessment Innovation and Teacher Learning

Published on February 13th, 2026 by the GraideMind team

Professional Development Schools (PDS) are partnerships between universities and K12 schools where teacher education, professional development, and innovation happen together. These partnerships create ideal conditions for assessment innovation because both university researchers and experienced teachers collaborate.

Assessment Innovation in PDS Partnerships

• Collaborative rubric development involving university and school educators.
• Teacher research on assessment practices with university support.
• Preservice teacher training on assessment in real classrooms.
• Innovation testing where new approaches are piloted.
• Shared professional development on assessment literacy.