Chapter 7: An Approach to Increasing Student Achievement: Teacher-Intern-Professor Groups with Anchor Action Research

As our university entered into conversations with area schools systems regarding their possible involvement in implementing clinical teacher education within professional development schools, I (William Curlette) began discussions with the research directors of those school systems. From the beginning, the research directors expressed their desire that our professional development school (PDS) activities address, in some fashion, increasing student achievement. From a university perspective, we had also observed that state education officials and grant makers often asked about student achievement when considering whether to fund PDS activities. Furthermore, we all realized that across the country educational leaders in school systems and in colleges of education who are deciding whether or not to move toward a PDS model may ask for student achievement data. Such information helps to demonstrate the effectiveness of school-university partnerships and is beneficial for educators to consider as they contemplate whether to adopt a PDS approach.