From the abstract: "Academic screener tools are commonly used within the context of multitiered systems of support, and it is expected that they have a high standard of technical adequacy, including reliability and validity evidence. In United States school systems, there are large numbers of students who speak languages other than English with varying levels of proficiency, and it is imperative that well-developed academic screening tools be accessible to active bilingual users/users of English (ABLE) in languages beyond English. This review evaluated the translation process, norming data, and National Center on Intensive Interventions (NCII) standards of academic screening tools that were available in the fall 2023 in early literacy, reading, and math in languages other than English. Information was coded using a rigorous, double-coding process. Findings revealed that academic screening tools for ABLE students are available only in English and Spanish. Very few academic screeners met development criteria for translated measures or met convincing evidence standards established by the NCII. Academic screening conducted in languages other than English is severely constrained by limited availability of high-quality measures. Additional effort should be devoted to developing new measures and appropriately translating and trans-adapting existing measures for ABLE students." Includes Star Alfabetización temprana, Star CBM Lectura, Star Lectura, and Star Matemáticas Citation: Huenergarde, M. C., Floyd, R. G., Harris, B., & Moreno, J. (2026). A systematic review of academic screening tools for active bilingual learners/users of English. Psychology in the Schools, 63(2), 314–331.

Executive Summary: "Early literacy screening plays a critical role in identifying students who may be at risk for reading difficulties. However, most widely used screening tools were designed and normed within monolingual English-speaking populations, limiting their utility when applied to multilingual learners. This white paper presents findings from a study examining the use of Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) within dual language contexts, with a specific focus on Spanish/English multilingual students. While Star CBM Lectura RAN benchmarks were developed using a large, multi-state norming sample, the findings presented in this paper draw exclusively from a focused study conducted in two dual language school districts in Oregon. Although both districts offer PK–12 dual language programs, the study sample consisted specifically of students in Kindergarten through Grade 3. Using Star CBM Lectura RAN measures, the study examined student performance across four RAN task types: colors, pictures, letters, and numbers, and analyzed language response patterns alongside teacher feedback collected during administration. Results demonstrate that RAN performance varies systematically by language of response. Students responding only in English showed faster naming speeds, followed by Spanish-only responses, while responses using both languages yielded the lowest scores. These differences reflect linguistic structure, and processing demands rather than reading ability or language proficiency, a finding consistent with cross-linguistic research on RAN and reading development (Georgiou et al., 2008; Landerl et al., 2013). Teacher feedback further highlighted the importance of interpreting RAN data through a bilingual lens, noting patterns of cross-language substitution, task-specific difficulty, and instructional relevance. The findings suggest that RAN can be a valuable early indicator of reading risk for multilingual learners when interpreted appropriately. However, equitable use requires responsive-to-language benchmarks, careful attention to task demands, and professional learning that supports educators in distinguishing bilingual processing patterns from indicators of reading difficulty." The study is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R69049>.

This whitepaper introduces the Renaissance Star assessment Biliteracy Trajectories Project, The full whitepaper is aavailable online: <https://renaissance.widen.net/s/vtlslkjdns/809564-biliteracytrajectories-whitepaper>.

Over the years, classroom bilingual teachers and the emerging bilingual learners they serve have made some of the most astute observations questioning the validity and reliability of assessments of early literacy in Spanish that are mirror translations of below represent a small fraction of observations representing a 40-year frustration with the prevalent practice of assessment via direct translations from English to Spanish, frequently without validity and reliability studies in Spanish. The full report is available online: <https://renaissance.widen.net/s/pxnqbtrpmh/530399-star-cbm-lectura-white-paper>.