This research study examined questionnaires that included responses from 4,886 teachers employed by 90 schools in the state of Tennessee. The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of teachers from an existing state-administered on-line questionnaire concerning the professional development activities they had participated in during the 2007-2008 school year. The characteristics of professional development that were evaluated for this study included duration, collaboration, focus, alignment, and quality. In addition, this study attempted to determine if the perceptions concerning professional development differed among teachers assigned to schools with different accountability ratings as determined by the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status of the school. A multivariate analysis of covariance (k-group MANCOVA) was used to examine the data collected from teachers representing each category of schools for the five dependent variables: duration, collaboration, focus, alignment, and quality. The results of this study indicated that teachers in higher performing schools, as determined by AYP status, did not have significantly different perceptions concerning the collaboration, quality, focus, and alignment of the professional development activities they had attended than did teachers in middle or low performing schools as categorized by AYP status. However, there was a significant mean difference among the perceptions of teachers in schools grouped according to AYP status for the variable duration. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]