Professional Development (PD) for mathematics and science teachers and administrators is a key component of the Detroit Urban Systemic Program (DUSP). PD through DUSP is based on the assumption that PD is essential to school development and should be context-bound. An array of experiences, including university courses, after school and Saturday workshops, peer coaching, statewide inservices, mini-grant programs and conferences, are available to teachers to update content and pedagogy needs. The widely distributed document, "The Constructivist Vision for Teaching and Learning and Staff Development" guides DPS District PD.

Summer Institutes represent an important vehicle for the delivery of professional development. For example, participants at last summer's institute and the December follow-up session discussed the process of examining student work as a means of improving achievement. Consultant Cathy Cooks' summer institute keynote address, entitled Learning to Look: Analyzing Student Work to Improve Teacher Practice, discussed what student work tells us and concluded by providing two benefits of analyzing student work:

• Continuing to ask questions and analyze student work helps teachers to be more flexible and responsive to individual students' needs;
• Teachers become more self-efficacious and empowered and realize that they can find a way to make sure their students "get it".

Those assembled at the Saturday, December 2, 2000 follow-up session heard Sandra Wilcox, Ph.D., Michigan State University extend the discussion and highlight principles related to classroom-based assessment. These are:

• Assessment is an activity aimed at gathering information about what students are coming to understand;
• Assessment should be informative; it should yield information about what students know, what they are feeling confident about, where they are struggling;
• Assessment information should be gathered in multiple ways-by observing and listening to students as they work on a task, talking with them, asking them probing questions, examining their products;
• Assessment should be timely; the information needs to be gathered in ways that make it possible to shape instructional decisions-it should help teachers decide where to go next;
• Assessment must be practical; assessment activities must fit within the constraints of the complexity of daily life in classrooms and schools.

Understanding student thinking by analyzing student work and utilizing appropriate assessment strategies will help all students achieve a high standard of learning and development. Professional development through DUSP reflects the best available research and practice in teaching, learning, leadership and promotes continuous inquiry.