Specifically, the MDCC is addressing questions related to the efficacy of grantee-developed research-to-practice models—how well they achieve specified outcomes, for whom, and in what contexts. The MDCC also is addressing the kinds of questions that will be on the minds of potential adopters of those models, such as district administrators, principals, and teachers: what it takes to implement a new program or practice and what the implications of adopting a model are for their districts, schools, and classrooms. The MDCC is:

• Facilitating a collaborative partnership with MDP grantees and advisory teams in designing the evaluation of each cohort of models and enhancing grantees’ work by creating opportunities to learn and share ideas.
  
• Developing a cross-site evaluation plan, instruments, and procedures to assess the context, implementation, and efficacy of each model and across models within a cohort.
  
• Identifying key issues in translating research to practice, developing approaches for MDP grantees to use in collecting data on them, and analyzing and synthesizing data across MDPs and cohorts to illuminate the issues.
  
• Developing a data dictionary to promote data commonality and a web-based data system to track, enter, and process data efficiently across sites, while minimizing burden on data managers and making data accessible to MDP grantees and the MDCC for analysis and reporting.
  
• Applying multiple analytic methods to answer evaluation questions regarding both the efficacy of models and bridging the gap between research and practice.
  
• Producing high-quality, compelling, useful, and accessible products that communicate findings to key audiences.

Each year a new cohort of two to three MDPs is added; each cohort has a different focus. The MDPs are demonstrating and implementing a variety of promising practices within the cohort’s topic area:

(C1) The first cohort of MDPs began in 2006 and is focusing on approaches to progress monitoring for children from preschool through fourth grade in general and special education classrooms.

(C2) The second cohort of MDPs began in 2007 and is developing tertiary behavior interventions for elementary and middle schools for children and youth with the most challenging behaviors.

(C3) The third cohort of MDPs began in 2008 and is developing and implementing model demonstration projects that focus on early childhood language interventions for children birth to age 5 with developmental disabilities and delays.

(C4) The fourth cohort of MDPs began in 2010 and is focusing on tiered approaches to improving the writing proficiency of high school students.

The MDCC is documenting model development, model implementation, and model outcomes for each cohort, as well as analyzing MDP experiences and results across cohorts to provide information to help OSEP bridge the chasm that can exist between identifying evidence-based practices and achieving their widespread use.