2014 NEW FROM THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH • APRIL Implementation of the Master Plan for Statewide Professional Staff Development for 2012-2013 This report examines four main aspects of the West Virginia Board of Education’s Master Plan for Statewide Professional Development: (a) basic information about the size and scope of the effort, including attendance, duration, and adherence to the newly adopted standards for professional development; (b) quality of the sessions, (c) alignment of sessions to Board goals, and (d) the impacts of the sessions on participants’ knowledge, practice, and attitudes/beliefs. Method of study. The following results are based on 1,018 session reports submitted by the Center for Professional Development (CPD), one institution of higher education (IHE, Marshall University), all eight regional education service agencies (RESAs), and 14 offices in the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE); and nearly 6,000 survey responses (64% response rate) from a random sample of participants in these PD sessions spanning the period June 1, 2012–May 31, 2013. Findings. The most notable 3-year implementation trend was the reduction by nearly two thirds of PD sessions submitted by the RESAs, while CPD increased its slate of sessions more than fivefold; IHEs held steady; and the WVDE more than doubled its offerings. The WVDE was responsible for more than three quarters of all participants in sessions offered through the PD Master Plan. Other notable implementation trends include (a) about a third of sessions offered were brief (up to 4 hours), another third were half-day to slightly less than 2-day technical training, and the remaining third lasted 2 or more days; (b) nearly 7,400 educators participated in sessions of 30 hours or more duration; (c) and overall, there was less than a 60% level of compliance with the new Board standards for professional development. As for perceived quality, goal alignment, and impacts trends during this time, we note the following: (a) at 3.9 on a 5-point scale, there has been only a slight gain (0.1 point) over the 3 years; (b) there has been a rise to 76.1% in agreement among participants that the sessions they attended were aligned to the Board goal they were intended to support, the highest rate so far; and (c) although perceived effect sizes ranged from moderate to very large, there was only a slight gain for perceived impacts on knowledge, and slight decreases for impacts on practice and attitudes/ beliefs during the three years. Taken together, these results show general participant satisfaction, but do not show much movement in improving the quality and impact. Limitations of study. Implementation and other findings in this report are based on self-reports by providers and participants, which may be subject to bias. Recommendations include (a) find ways to increase the participation of IHEs; (b) develop goals for professional development with a longer view, commit to those goals for a sustained period of time and publicize them broadly, to help providers align their efforts into a more coherent statewide system; and (c) provide information about the Board standards for professional learning to all professional development providers working in the state, and develop training and incentives that will motivate providers to craft their offerings to meet those standards. For more information, Patricia Cahape Hammer, WVDE Office of Research (phammer@access.k12.wv.us), or download the full report from the Office of Research website: http://wvde.state.wv.us/research/reports2014.html. The most notable 3-year implementation trend was the reduction by nearly two thirds of PD sessions submitted by the RESAs, while CPD increased its slate of sessions more than fivefold; IHEs held steady; and the WVDE more than doubled its offerings. Taken together, results show general participant satisfaction, but do not show much movement in improving the quality and impact. Nearly 7,400 educators participated in sessions of 30 hours or more duration. Office of Research 2014 NEW FROM THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH • APRIL Implementation of the Master Plan for Statewide Professional Staff Development for 2012-2013 This report examines four main aspects of the West Virginia Board of Education’s Master Plan for Statewide Professional Development: (a) basic information about the size and scope of the effort, including attendance, duration, and adherence to the newly adopted standards for professional development; (b) quality of the sessions, (c) alignment of sessions to Board goals, and (d) the impacts of the sessions on participants’ knowledge, practice, and attitudes/beliefs. Method of study. The following results are based on 1,018 session reports submitted by the Center for Professional Development (CPD), one institution of higher education (IHE, Marshall University), all eight regional education service agencies (RESAs), and 14 offices in the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE); and nearly 6,000 survey responses (64% response rate) from a random sample of participants in these PD sessions spanning the period June 1, 2012–May 31, 2013. Findings. The most notable 3-year implementation trend was the reduction by nearly two thirds of PD sessions submitted by the RESAs, while CPD increased its slate of sessions more than fivefold; IHEs held steady; and the WVDE more than doubled its offerings. The WVDE was responsible for more than three quarters of all participants in sessions offered through the PD Master Plan. Other notable implementation trends include (a) about a third of sessions offered were brief (up to 4 hours), another third were half-day to slightly less than 2-day technical training, and the remaining third lasted 2 or more days; (b) nearly 7,400 educators participated in sessions of 30 hours or more duration; (c) and overall, there was less than a 60% level of compliance with the new Board standards for professional development. As for perceived quality, goal alignment, and impacts trends during this time, we note the following: (a) at 3.9 on a 5-point scale, there has been only a slight gain (0.1 point) over the 3 years; (b) there has been a rise to 76.1% in agreement among participants that the sessions they attended were aligned to the Board goal they were intended to support, the highest rate so far; and (c) although perceived effect sizes ranged from moderate to very large, there was only a slight gain for perceived impacts on knowledge, and slight decreases for impacts on practice and attitudes/ beliefs during the three years. Taken together, these results show general participant satisfaction, but do not show much movement in improving the quality and impact. Limitations of study. Implementation and other findings in this report are based on self-reports by providers and participants, which may be subject to bias. Recommendations include (a) find ways to increase the participation of IHEs; (b) develop goals for professional development with a longer view, commit to those goals for a sustained period of time and publicize them broadly, to help providers align their efforts into a more coherent statewide system; and (c) provide information about the Board standards for professional learning to all professional development providers working in the state, and develop training and incentives that will motivate providers to craft their offerings to meet those standards. For more information, Patricia Cahape Hammer, WVDE Office of Research (phammer@access.k12.wv.us), or download the full report from the Office of Research website: http://wvde.state.wv.us/research/reports2014.html. The most notable 3-year implementation trend was the reduction by nearly two thirds of PD sessions submitted by the RESAs, while CPD increased its slate of sessions more than fivefold; IHEs held steady; and the WVDE more than doubled its offerings. Taken together, results show general participant satisfaction, but do not show much movement in improving the quality and impact. Nearly 7,400 educators participated in sessions of 30 hours or more duration. Office of Research