Professional development practices implemented in rural school systems have often led nowhere. These practices seem to produce adult learning activities with few results other than participants' mounting frustration and another innovation left by the wayside. To encourage the development of productive professional development, many studies are beginning to indicate the importance of making evaluation central to the design of professional development. Employing an evaluative approach may assist staff developers in addressing the frequent criticism that professional development activities are disconnected from one another and do not form part of a coherent program of teacher learning and development. The CIPP Model was formulated by Stufflebeam (1966) to show how evaluation contributes to the decision-making process in the program management. We propose a similar conceptual model for ongoing data-based professional development in rural settings. This model provides practitioners with a useful and manageable tool for incorporating an evaluative approach to the design, development, and delivery of professional development. In addition, we provide a practical application of the model to an ongoing rural professional development project. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)