Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the idea of ¡§professional development schools (PDSs)¡¨ which was a new school setting and one of collaborative models with universities developed in the past decade in USA. The researcher inquired into PDS¡¦s goals, functions, operations, major influential factors, and ¡§PDS Standards¡¨ in depth, and aimed to explore the collaborative models and the developing stages of Taiwan¡¦s PDSs according to the five standards, which was the key concept of PDS model and was designated by National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. These five standards are ¡§learning community¡¨, ¡§accountability and quality assurance¡¨, ¡§collaboration¡¨, ¡§equity and diversity¡¨, and ¡§structures, resources and roles¡¨. The researcher selected six staffs as the participants from each partnership of university/affiliated high school and used qualitative research methods to collect research data, including documentary reviews and semi-structured interviews. After careful examination and analyses of the data collected, the following conclusions are reached: 1. About professional development schools: (1) PDSs are innovative school settings and establishments which were initiated and refined progressively along the educational reform movements. (2) PDSs are not only the ¡§learning communities¡¨; but also the settings for the professional development of participants. (3) The establishment of PDSs needs support in terms of structure and system building from both sides of the partnership. They also need more resources to be invested in. (4) ¡§PDS Standards¡¨ are both guidelines and criterion for the assessment of the PDSs. 2. About the collaborative models between universities and affiliated high schools: (1) The cases actually demonstrate the function of ¡§learning community¡¨, but the degree of ¡§collaboration¡¨ is not close enough. (2) The standard of ¡§accountability and quality¡¨ for the collaborative models can¡¦t be presented due to lack of evaluation measures for the partnership. (3) Two case high schools have developed some supportive activities for low-achievement students by their own. The involvements of two universities on this aspect are apparently not enough. (4) Two cases need to enhance their support for the partnership in terms of structure and system building. (5) According to the ¡§PDS Standards¡¨, the developing stages of two cases are between beginning level and developing level. (6) The collaborative models between universities and affiliated high schools are influenced by internal and external factors. According to the conclusions of this study and the related problems encountered, suggestions to government, two case partnerships, universities, high schools and future researchers have been proposed.