District professional development activities in Florida are guided by Florida’s Professional Development System Evaluation Protocol. This evaluation model assesses the local planning, delivery, follow-up and evaluation of professional development activities according to standards modeled after the National Staff Development Council standards as well as Florida Statutory requirements. The Professional Development System Evaluation Protocol includes standards that serve to identify and recognize best practices as well as to identify local professional development systems in need of improvement.

The Florida Department of Education initiated the Professional Development System Evaluation Protocol in the Spring 2003 as a means to fulfill the requirements of section 1012.98, Florida Statutes. This legislation sets forth that the purpose of professional development systems is to increase student achievement, enhance classroom instructional strategies that promote rigor and relevance throughout the curriculum, and prepare students for continuing education and the workforce.

Florida’s Professional Development System Evaluation Protocol provides the criteria for evaluating the quality of each district’s professional development system. Systems are evaluated at the district, school and faculty level in four essential elements of high quality professional development, or strands, which are incorporated into each level: planning, delivery, follow-up, and evaluation. Judgments on 66 standards organized under these strands are made using a 4-point rating scale, with a midpoint of 2.5. A school district meets the adequacy provision when the average of the ratings for all of the standards is above the midpoint on the scale. District professional development systems are reviewed on a three-year cycle.

Overview of Protocol Standards

National Staff Development Council's Standards for Staff Development

Professional Development Protocol Review Preparation Podcast