What Assessment and Professional Learning Services Does CTD Offer to Schools and Educators?

Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development (CTD) offers schools and educators three connected service areas: assessment support to help schools understand and use data, professional learning for teachers and administrators, and program design, consulting, and review for gifted education services. These services are aimed at schools that want to identify advanced learners, measure their growth, and build or improve talent development programming. The CTD site presents these as educator- and school-facing offerings alongside its PreK–Grade 12 student programs.

Assessment for Schools

CTD’s assessment services are framed around a practical goal: helping schools “understand and use data to inform instruction, measure growth for advanced learners, and plan for programming.” In other words, assessment is not presented as testing for its own sake, but as an input to instructional decisions and program planning.

The site points schools to “assessment options” and “assessment for schools” pages for details. The page evidence does not list specific tests, timelines, or reporting formats, so schools should review those linked pages before assuming a particular instrument or service level.

A useful way to think about this service: a school may already have achievement data but need help turning it into decisions about which students need acceleration, where to place them, and how to check whether a program is working. CTD positions its assessment support in that translation role.

Professional Learning for Educators

CTD offers professional learning described as “practical, timely topics to help teachers and administrators effectively identify and meet the needs of gifted students.” This is directed at both classroom teachers and school leaders, which matters because identification and service design usually involve both groups.

The site also lists a specific event: the Intrepid by Design Summer Talent Development Workshop for Educators and Youth Development Specialists, scheduled for June 25, 2026, at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Educators can visit the event page for details and registration.

Beyond scheduled workshops, CTD frames its professional learning as ongoing support rather than a one-time session. The site’s “Professional Learning” section is the entry point for current offerings.

Program Design, Consulting, and Review

For schools rethinking their gifted education services, CTD offers program design, consulting services, and program review. The site describes this as an opportunity to “re-imagine your gifted education services using our talent development framework.”

This service area is relevant when a school wants to:

• Review whether current identification practices reach the students they should
• Align services across grade levels
• Use a talent development framework to structure programming
• Bring in outside expertise for a program review

The site also mentions curriculum resources and student programming that schools can bring into their own classrooms, which can complement consulting work.

Family and Educator Resources Alongside School Services

CTD also provides gifted education resources and family consulting, including conversations with a CTD expert about understanding a child’s abilities and planning for talent development. For schools, these family-facing services can be useful context: families may arrive with assessment questions or program plans that connect to school decisions.

How to Choose Among These Services

The site does not publish pricing, eligibility requirements, or application steps for these school services in the provided page evidence. Schools should use the contact and program pages to confirm scope, cost, and scheduling before planning.