During the 1994-95 academic year, faculty and administrators in the College of Education at Illinois State University (ISU) (Normal, Illinois) along with teachers and administrators from the Community Consolidated School District 21 (Wheeling, Illinois) began discussions to establish a Professional Development School (PDS). In August 1995, 32 ISU elementary education majors were placed at school sites where they would receive their final education courses and participate in day-to-day classroom activities under the direction of a mentor teacher. A study was undertaken to gauge the effect of the PDS program on the various participant groups. PDS participants were compared against traditional teacher education program participants on a 150-item questionnaire covering 8 areas of teaching and teacher preparation and on an open-ended questionnaire. Results from these data found that the PDS effort was generally successful in inculcating the ISU students into the profession of teaching. Although student and mentor opinions were generally similar, some statistically significant differences suggested that elements of this PDS program had a positive influence in the perceptions of students and mentor teachers. The study also raised some critical issues for future consideration. These include the problems of distance and traveling time between the university and the participating district, ways to improve communication, student and faculty workloads, and ways to provide similar experiences for on-campus students. Seventeen tables of survey data and the questionnaire are appended. (Contains 37 references.) (JLS)