Categories

• Resources in response to the “Science of Reading” movement
• Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
• Books/Chapters
• Technical Reports
• Public Press
• Paper Presentations

Resources in response to the “Science of Reading” movement
• Literacy Squared® Statement on the Teaching of Phonics in Paired Literacy Programs
• Webinar Series on the Approach to Teaching Phonics within the Literacy Squared Framework

Literacy Squared® endorses the National Committee for Effective Literacy (NCEL) as an important and relevant resource for educators searching for information and resources related to effective literacy instruction for bilingual learners. You can find research and resources on their website including a white paper authored by Kathy Escamilla, Laurie Olsen, and Jody Slavick.

Journal Articles
2021 Escamilla, K; Hopewell, S.; & Slavick, J. (2021). Teaching (bi)multilingual learners: Connecting languages. The Reading Teacher, 75(3), 363-371.
(view online)

Summary: The purpose of this article is to discuss how languages other than English (LOTEs) can be used to help emerging bilingual children, whether they are in English medium or bilingual programs. We propose that all programs educating emerging bilingual learners be guided by a holistic biliteracy framework that encourages the recognition and use of a student’s entire linguistic repertoire in service to language and literacy acquisition with a particular focus on helping students make cross-language connections. We provide three examples of how the holistic biliteracy framework might look when used for planning paired literacy instruction in bilingual settings and include considerations for English medium contexts.

2020 Butvilofsky, S.A., Escamilla, K., Gumina, D., & Silva Diaz, E. (2020). Beyond Monolingual Reading Assessments for Emerging Bilingual Learners: Expanding the Understanding of Biliteracy Assessment Through Writing. Reading Research Quarterly, 0(0), 1–18.
(view online)

Emerging bilingual learners’ biliteracy abilities are often underestimated when monolingual reading assessments, such as the DIBELS, are used to identify students as having difficulties in learning or to guide literacy instruction. The authors propose a holistic form of biliterate assessment that uses writing as a means to understand what emerging bilingual learners actually know about literacy. In this qualitative study, the authors raise serious concerns about using DIBELS and question its adequacy for measuring literacy skills for students in the early and intermediate stages of English‐language development, as well as its limitations in providing relevant information about students’ biliteracy. Through qualitative analysis of three sets of writing samples collected from 29 second‐grade students, the authors illustrate the biliteracy skills and abilities that these students possessed holistically across Spanish and English. The students selected for this study were identified by DIBELS scores as reading below or well‐below benchmark. However, through the qualitative analysis of their writing, the authors were able to document the students’ literacy understandings across languages in their second‐grade year through the organization of their written texts, change in sentence constructions, and alphabetic skills knowledge. This work is significant to the field of bilingual and biliteracy instruction in that biliterate writing assessment provides a means to understanding developing reading skills that is broader in scope and is appropriate for assessing the totality of emerging bilingual learners’ biliteracy development.

2019 Escamilla, K., Fine, C., Hopewell, S. (2019). Enhancing writing outcomes in Spanish/English biliteracy programs. TheBilingualReview/LaRevistaBilingüe, Special Issue on Biliteracy in the Latinx Community.

This paper examines the biliterate writing growth of students participating in a one-way Spanish/English dual language program under two different conditions: biliteracy program treatment (n=38) and biliteracy program control (n=72) over two school years. Utilizing the theoretical framework of holistic biliteracy, the study utilized a longitudinal study design that examined growth in students’ writing in Spanish and English in grades 1-3 from a quantitative perspective. Results of the quantitative analysis indicated a statistically significant difference between the Literacy Squared program and control group students in Spanish/English writing outcomes.

2017 Butvilofsky, S., Hopewell, S., Escamilla, K., & Sparrow, W. (2017). Shifting Deficit Paradigms of Latino Emerging Bilingual Students’ Literacy Achievement: Documenting Biliterate Trajectories. Journal of Latinos and Education, 1-13.
(view online)

The purpose of this single-subject longitudinal study was to document biliterate development (reading and writing) of US Latino Spanish/English speaking students, who the authors call emerging bilingual students. Findings reveal that across the 3 years of the study, using the researchers-developed paired literacy pedagogy within the overall Literacy Squared program, students made more than a year of growth each year in both Spanish and English. Even more significant is that whereas the greatest growth in Spanish occurred between kindergarten and first grade, the greatest growth in English occurred between the fourth and fifth grades. The study provides support of the innovative biliterate program known as Literacy Squared by evidencing the need to consider alternative methods to document emerging bilinguals’ biliteracy development. The article roots for the use of biliterate trajectories.

Butvilofsky, S., Roberson, N., Sparrow, W., & Hopewell, S. (2017). Lotta Lara: A promising biliterate reading strategy. Literacy Research and Instruction.
(view online)

This quasi-experimental study tested the efficacy of a research based biliterate reading strategy, Lotta Lara, that is part of a larger paired literacy instructional program. Its purpose was to investigate whether the biliterate reading strategy, which focuses on reading fluency, comprehension, and oracy through whole group instruction, impacted first grade emerging bilingual learners’ biliterate reading development. We utilized an Ordinary Least Squares regression model to compare students’ biliterate reading outcomes in the treatment group (n = 23) to those of the control group (n = 21). Despite the small sample size, positive and statistically significant effects were found on students’ Spanish reading outcomes. While students made growth in their English reading, significant effects were not detected on English reading outcomes. Our findings support the need to provide emerging bilingual learners with explicit and interactive biliterate reading instruction to promote biliterate reading development.

Escamilla, K., Butvilofsky, S., & Hopewell, S. (2017). What Gets Lost When English Only Writing Assessment Is Used to Assess Writing Proficiency in Spanish-English Emerging Bilingual Learners? International Multilingual Research Journal.
(view online)

Recent analyses of wide-scale writing assessment outcomes indicate that English writing achievement for fourth- and fifth-grade emerging bilingual learners continues to be an area of great concern. Utilizing the theory of holistic bilingualism and a mixed methods design, this study examines the writing skills of 44 emerging bilingual fourth and fifth graders. The purpose of this study was to compare and correlate various writing outcomes as measured by the state’s high-stakes writing assessment, English language proficiency writing assessment, and an informal biliterate writing rubric. Results indicate that the majority of students are not acquiring proficiency in English writing as measured by English-only assessments. When students’ Spanish and English outcomes are considered holistically, students’ outcomes in Spanish surpassed English for the majority. Findings indicate the potential for a writing assessment protocol that is intentionally biliterate and that displays Spanish and English together as a part of the assessment process.

2016 Hopewell, S., & Butvilofsky, S. (2016) Privileging bilingualism: Using biliterate writing outcomes to understand emerging bilingual learners' literacy achievement, Bilingual Research Journal, 39, (3-4), 324-338.

Language planning and policy with regard to bilingual education are greatly influenced by the ideologies outlined by Richard Ruiz. In this article, we demonstrate that Ruiz’s language-as-resource orientation requires that we use two-language assessments to study how program models are both developing and conserving the languages that students bring to school. We demonstrate through a study of students’ writing how scholars might use such assessments to privilege bilingualism and present a more complete understanding of students’ biliteracy development that counters the use of bilingualism in service to the hegemony of English, even when the same study includes a comparison of English outcomes of students in paired literacy as compared to students in English-only models. Findings reveal that students in paired literacy are becoming comparably literate in the domain of writing in Spanish and English as measured by a Biliteracy Writing Rubric. Furthermore, when their English language outcomes are compared to those of their peers in English-only contexts, the differences are found to be statistically insignificant.

Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., & Escamilla, K. (2016). Complementing the Common Core with Holistic Biliteracy. Journal of Education, 89-100.

In this article the authors propose a holistic understanding of language and literacy development. This holistic understanding has guided the creation of the holistic teaching pedagogy Literacy Squared. The authors propose that biliteracy is a more challenging and rigorous form of literacy than English-only orientations suggested by the Common Core State Standards (NGACBP & CCSSO, 2010). Authors advance the claim that biliteracy development requires its own pedagogies, methodologies, and assessment systems, because learning to read and write in two languages differs from learning to read and write in one. Data derived from the reported study support a trajectory toward bilingualism informed by the Literacy Squared framework which capitalizes on theories of integrated and holistic biliteracy assessments of emerging bilingual learners in Spanish and English.

Soltero-González, L., Sparrow, W., Butvilofsky, S., Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2016). Effects of a Paired Literacy Program on Emerging Bilingual Children’s Biliteracy Outcomes in Third Grade. Journal of Literacy Research, 1-25.

This longitudinal study examined whether the implementation of a Spanish-English paired literacy approach provides an academic advantage to emerging bilingual students over a sequential literacy approach. The study employed a quasi-experimental design. It compared the biliteracy outcomes of third-grade emerging bilingual learners participating in a paired literacy instruction from Grades K-3 (n=167) to those of students from the same schools who received sequential literacy instruction in K-2 and started to participate in the paired literacy model in third grade (n=191). Students’ writing and reading were assessed in both languages using informal measures; third-grade reading scores on a high-stakes state assessment were also examined. Independent-samples t tests were conducted to compare means on the four measures (Spanish and English writing and reading), and Cohen's d was calculated to generate effect sizes for each assessment in each language.

2014 Hopewell, S., & Escamilla, K. (2014). Biliteracy development in immersion contexts. Journal of Immersion and Content-based Language Education, 2(2), 181-195.

Biliteracy is a greater and more complex form of literacy than monoliteracy. This paper provides a brief review of the research in the area of biliteracy in immersion contexts, and culminates by setting a research agenda for the coming decade. Three critical areas for research are identified: (1) creating a comprehensive theoretical framework for biliteracy development, (2) identifying and clarifying trajectories to biliteracy, and (3) developing better pedagogical practices to accelerate biliterate competencies and improve qualities of instruction.

Hopewell, S., & Escamilla, K. (2014). Struggling Reader or Emerging Biliterate Student? Reevaluating the Criteria for Labeling Emerging Bilingual Students as Low Achieving. Journal of Literacy Research, 46(1), 68-89.

Data systems that use monolingual language frameworks to understand the reading achievement of third-grade students provide inadequate information about emerging bilingual (EB) learners. The authors of this research study apply two competing ideologies (parallel monolingualism and holistic bilingualism) to interpret one set of data. Their findings demonstrate that the same set of scores tells an entirely different story depending on the frames of reference and that these differences are statistically significant. Specifically, they use their analyses to problematize the impact of the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA) on the categorization of third-grade EB learners. Generalizing from the Colorado data, the authors consider the implications of their findings in a national context of increasing numbers of bilingual learners. Finally, they offer suggestions for site-based school district responses and broader state level policy implications by highlighting one school district's response to their findings.

Sparrow, W., Butvilofsky, S., Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Tolento, T. (2014) Examining the Longitudinal Biliterate Trajectory of Emerging Bilingual Learners in a Paired Literacy Instructional Model. Bilingual Research Journal, 37(1), 24-42.

This longitudinal study examines the biliteracy results of Spanish-English emerging bilingual students who participated in a K-5 paired literacy model in a large school district in Oregon. Spanish and English reading and writing data show longitudinal gains in students’ biliterate development, demonstrating the potential of the model in developing students’ biliterate trajectories. In addition, participation allows students to develop on a biliterate trajectory without hindering their literacy development in either language.

2013 Hopewell, S., & Escamilla, K. (2013). Struggling Reader or Emerging Biliterate
Student? Reevaluating the Criteria for Labeling Emerging Bilingual Students as Low Achieving. Journal of Literacy Research, 46(1), 68-89.

This paper examines the effects of inadequate reading assessment practices of emerging bilingual students that use monolingual language frameworks. The authors apply two competing ideologies (parallel monolingualism and holistic bilingualism) to interpret one set of data of third grade students. Their findings demonstrate that the same set of scores tells an entirely different story depending on the frames of reference and that these differences are statistically significant. The impact can result in the misplacement, negative labels and unnecessary interventions for emerging bilingual students who are on a positive biliteracy trajectory. Authors provide suggestions and implications for school districts.

Sparrow, W. (2013). Unconventional Word Segmentation in Emerging Bilingual Students’ Writing: A Longitudinal Analysis. Applied Linguistics, 35 (3), 263-282.

This study explores cross-language and longitudinal patterns in unconventional word segmentation in 25 emerging bilingual students’ (Spanish/English) writing from first through third grade. Spanish and English writing samples were collected annually and analyzed for two basic types of unconventional word segmentation: hyposegmentation, in which at least two graphic words are written without conventional spaces, and hypersegmentation, in which blank spaces are deposited within one graphic word. Hyposegmentation was more common in both languages and students had more instances of hypersegmentation in their Spanish writing. Findings illustrate the importance of understanding writing development from a bilingual perspective and indicate that teachers in the primary grades must explicitly teach word boundaries and assist children in learning the conventional concept of words and word boundaries.

2012 Butvilofsky, S., & Sparrow, W. (2012). Training teachers to evaluate emerging bilingual students’ biliterate writing. Language and Education, 1, 1-21.

Soltero-González, L., Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2012). Changing teachers' perceptions about the writing abilities of emerging bilingual students: Towards a holistic bilingual perspective on writing assessment. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 15(1), 71-94.

This study explored the application of a holistic bilingual view to assess the writing of emerging bilingual children. Teachers evaluated student writing samples using a writing rubric with a bilingual perspective and were trained to evaluate students’ Spanish and English language writing samples in a manner that allowed for cross-language comparison and analysis. Findings from this study suggest the need to support teachers to evaluate the writing of emerging bilingual children in ways that both challenge and expand on their current frames of reference. This paper posits that the utilization of a holistic bilingual lens to evaluate the writing of Spanish/English emerging bilingual children is a more robust and valid means of understanding language and biliteracy development in these children.

2011 Hopewell, S. (2011). Leveraging bilingualism to accelerate English reading comprehension. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 14(5), 603-620.

The purpose of this study was to examine how fourth-grade Spanish/English speaking bilingual students in the USA participated differently in English-as-a-second-language (ESL) literature groups when they were invited to use all of their linguistic resources vs. when they were restricted to communicate in English only. The theoretical underpinning was that a student’s learning burden is lessened when text comprehension is facilitated by access to all previous knowledge regardless of the language of acquisition. Findings include the understanding that the opportunity to teach and learn is stifled when educators insist on strict separation of languages, and there is a strong interaction between language of recall and the topic of the reading.

Books / Chapters

Hopewell, S., Slavick, J. & Escamilla, K. (2023). Towards a biliterate pedagogy. In J.A. Freire, C. Alfaro, & E. de Jong (Eds.), The Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education. Routledge.

This chapter addresses the development of a biliterate pedagogy for dual language/bilingual education (DLBE) programs, emphasizing the need to improve the quality of bilingual instruction. While DLBE's effectiveness is well-documented, there has been insufficient focus on pedagogies that recognize the unique experience of being bilingual. The chapter advocates for biliterate pedagogies that connect language environments and foster cross-language connections, integrating anti-racist content and addressing language status and xenophobia. It also discusses the current understanding of the bilingual brain and its impact on cognition and learning, identifies quality instruction issues, and presents the Literacy Squared Holistic Biliteracy framework based on existing research.

Hopewell, S. & Slavick, J. (2023). A new pedagogy is born: The conceptualization and actualization of the Literacy Squared Project. In D. Nieto, K. Escamilla, E. Almanza, T. Hogan, & J. Rodríguez (Eds.), ¡Qué BUENO! A History of Advocacy and Care for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners.

The Literacy Squared program, developed by the BUENO Center, is a biliteracy model rooted in theories of bilingualism and biliteracy in U.S. simultaneous bilingual children. This chapter explores the creation of Literacy Squared, emphasizing its collaboration with the BUENO Center, which provided the necessary infrastructure, teacher partnerships, and research support. These collaborations enabled the development and assessment of instructional tools aimed at enhancing biliteracy education. The BUENO Center’s teacher pipeline offered a network of schools committed to high-quality bilingual education, allowing Literacy Squared to implement and refine its model. The chapter highlights the mutual growth of Literacy Squared and the BUENO Center, underscoring their shared mission to advance bilingualism and biliteracy for Spanish-speaking students over the past two decades.

Butvilofsky, S., Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2023). Biliterate writing from the start: The Literacy Squared approach to asset-based writing instruction. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

This book provides bilingual educators with a comprehensive guide to utilizing the Literacy Squared holistic biliteracy framework for designing effective biliterate writing instruction in Spanish and English. Targeting emerging bilinguals in Grades K–5, the text offers research-based strategies for planning, implementing, and assessing biliterate writing instruction, focusing on integrating writing with other language arts skills. The book includes the Literacy Squared Writing Rubric, a valuable tool for evaluating students' writing development in both languages.

Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Soltero-González, L., Ruiz-Figueroa, O. & Escamilla, M. (2014). Biliteracy from the Start: Literacy Squared in Action. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing.

Biliteracy from the Start: Literacy Squared in Action shows bilingual education teachers, administrators, and leadership teams how to plan, implement, monitor, and strengthen biliteracy instruction that builds on students’ linguistic resources in two languages, beginning in kindergarten. Authors present a holistic biliteracy framework that is at the heart of their action-oriented Literacy Squared school-based project. Teachers learn to develop holistic biliteracy units of instruction, lesson plans, and assessments that place Spanish and English side by side. Educators also learn to teach to students’ potential within empirically based, scaffolded biliteracy zones and to support emerging bilinguals' trajectories toward biliteracy.

Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., & Butvilofsky, S. (2018). Exacerbating inequities for bilingual teachers and students through the enactment of the CCSS. In P. Ramirez, E., C. Faltis, & De Jong (Eds.), Learning from Latino English Language Learners: Critical Teacher Education (pp. 41-60). New York: Routledge.

This chapter documents the challenges that bilingual teachers and teacher educators face as they struggle to reconceptualize a monolingual, monocultural language arts curriculum (EngageNY) into a set of learning experiences that are linguistically and culturally appropriate for bilingual classrooms. It further argues that monolingual/monocultural standards make it difficult for bilingual teachers to receive the type of specialized professional development needed to become more effective bilingual teachers. The study is situated in one large urban school district where 40% of the students are emerging bilingual learners, and 60% are Latino. The authors of this study have been charged with reconceptualizing EngageNY for bilingual (Spanish/English) classrooms and with helping to develop the professional development program for in-service teachers who will be implementing it. The chapter will chronicle our dual experiences with this in-service teacher education project which entails first documenting the injustice of the adoption of a monolingual curriculum for a school district that is 60% Latino and secondly our efforts to help in-service teachers adopt and modify this curriculum for bilingual education classrooms.

Hopewell, S. (2013). Strengthening bi-literacy through translanguaging pedagogies. Dunston, P.J., Fullerton, S.K., Bates, C.C., Stecker, P.M., Cole, M. W., Hall, A.H., Herro, D., & Headley, K. N. (Eds.) 62nd Literacy Research Association. Yearbook.

This study examined the ways in which Spanish-English emerging bilingual students participated differently when using all of their linguistic resources to process English language text, and to explore how classroom language policy limited or enhanced students’ engagement and ability to negotiate text meaning. Bilingual students used all of their linguistic repertoire when processing text, and that their translanguaging processes aid in communication and comprehension of an English language text. Students’ use of Spanish differed in substantive ways when employed in the bilingual condition as compared to the English-only.

Butvilofsky, S. (2012). "What I Know About Spanish is That I Don't Talk it Much": Fifth Grade Students' Perceptions of Bilingualism. In J. C. Fingon & S. Ulanoff (Eds.), Learning from culturally and linguistically diverse K-12 Classrooms: Using Inquiry to Inform Practice (pp. 124-141). New York: Teacher's College Press.

This chapter explores the perceived functions of bilingualism and the relationship between Spanish and English as identified by Latino fifth grade students learning to read and write simultaneously in two languages. It provides a different perspective of the functions of bilingualism, as the perspectives come directly from students, and it also provides educators, researchers, and policy makers with a unique opportunity to learn first hand how children who participate in bilingual education programs feel about their experiences learning two languages. Acknowledging and understanding the importance of bilingual students’ perceptions of bilingualism and their experiences within bilingual programs might influence the degree to which children value, develop, and maintain their bilingualism.

Sparrow, W., Butvilofsky, S., & Escamilla, K. (2012). The evolution of Biliterate writing through simultaneous bilingual literacy instruction. In E. Bauer & M. Gort (Eds.), Early biliteracy development: Exploring young learners’ use of their linguistic resource (pp. 157-181). New York, NY: Routledge.

This chapter examines the longitudinal biliterate writing development of emerging bilingual children receiving instruction through a paired literacy approach. Authors emphasize the need to use a bilingual perspective that pays close attention to the positive bidirectional cross-language transfer strategies and behaviors students demonstrate and aid in their biliteracy development. The detailed examples portray students' biliterate writing development and in-depth analysis of how students employ such strategies.

Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2011). When Learners Speak Two or More Languages. In D. Lapp & D. Fisher (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts (pp. 17-21). New York, NY: Routledge

This chapter discusses the implementation of effective research-based instructional practices for students who speak more than one language. It provides a better understanding of bilingualism, particularly defining the growth and current bilingual population in the U.S. and the specific issues that entail the schooling of emerging bilingual students. It emphasizes the great need to implement quality, comprehensive and long-term programs for learners who speak more than one language that consider their unique strengths and needs.

Soltero-González, L., Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S. (2011). A Bilingual Perspective on Writing Assessment. Implications for Teachers of Emerging Bilingual Writers. pp. 222-244.

This chapter provides a rationale for why it is necessary to change the current prevailing paradigm about emerging bilinguals from that of parallel monolingualism to that of a holistic bilingual perspective. It also, illustrates how the utilization of a holistic bilingual framework when examining the writing of emerging bilingual children can yield more robust information about the writing strengths and needs of these children. Finally, it illustrates how the use of a holistic bilingual lens to evaluate the writing of emerging bilingual children can change the teachers’ perceptions about these children.

Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2010). Transitions to biliteracy: Creating positive academic trajectories for emerging bilinguals in the United States. In J. Petrovic (Ed.), International perspectives on bilingual Educational: Policy, practice, and controversy (pp 69-93). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Series.

Bilingual education programs and policies are often based on paradigms that no longer apply to the current U.S. growing population of emerging bilingual students and are often primarily concerned with the language of instruction. This chapter discusses how such paradigms must begin to shift in order to implement effective bilingual education programs that focus on quality instructional practices. Authors identify specific problematic assumptions and preferred paradigms, elaborating particularly on how the Literacy Squared model and research address such issues. The chapter concludes with suggestions and implications for program development and practice.

Soltero-González, L., Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2010). A bilingual perspective on writing assessment: Implications for teachers of emerging bilingual writers. In G. Li & P. A. Edwards (Eds.), Best practices in ELL instruction (pp. 222-243). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

This chapter provides a rationale for the need to change the prevailing paradigm about emerging bilinguals from parallel monolingualism to a holistic bilingual perspective, particularly in writing. It also illustrates how a holistic bilingual framework can yield more robust information about the writing strengths and needs of emerging bilingual students. This shift in paradigms can also positively change teachers’ perceptions about emerging bilingual students’ biliteracy development and result in enhanced instruction.

Escamilla, K., Geisler, D., Hopewell, S., Sparrow, W., & Butvilofsky, S. (2009). Using writing to make cross-language connections from Spanish to English. In C. Rodriguez (Ed.), Achieving literacy success with English language learners, (pp. 141-156). Columbus, OH: Reading Recovery Council of North America.

This chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding how biliteracy development differs from literacy development in one language,
ighlighting the valuable cross-linguistic connections that afford academic benefits for emerging bilingual students. It defines and provides examples of instructional cross-language methods and strategies that build on cross-linguistic transfer by bringing attention to similarities and differences across languages.

Technical Reports

Butvilofsky, S. (2017). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Adams 14 - 2016-2017.

Butvilofsky, S., & Alvarez, A. (2017). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Hillsboro, Oregon - 2015-2016.

Butvilofsky, S. (2017). Literacy Squared® at Godsman Elementary: Technical Report - 2015-2016.

This technical report represents a report of all professional activities and research results for Year 4, 2015-2016, of a five-year (2012-2017) research partnership between the U.S. Department of Education: Title III National Professional Development Program, Literacy Squared at the BUENO Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Godsman Elementary in the Denver Public School District.

Butvilofsky, S., Fine, C., & Silva, E. (2016). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Adams 14 - 2015-2016.

This technical report provides detailed information of all professional development activities and students’ biliteracy outcomes for Year 1, 2015-2016, of a three-year project between Adams 14 School District and Literacy Squared at the BUENO Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Butvilofsky, S. (2016). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Hillsboro Oregon - 2014-2015.

This technical report represents a report of all professional development activities and students’ biliteracy outcomes for Year 2, 2014-2015, of a three-year project between two schools in the Hillsboro School District and Literacy Squared at the BUENO Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Abril-Gonzalez, P., Hopewell, S. , & Bloodsworth, A. (2015). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Pasco, Washington – Year 3 – 2042015, Phase I Final Report.

Butvilofsky, S. (2015). Literacy Squared® at Godsman Elementary: Technical Report - 2014-15.

This technical report represents a report of all professional activities and research results for Year 3, 2014-2015, of a five-year (2012-2017) research partnership between the U.S. Department of Education: Title III National Professional Development Program, Literacy Squared at the BUENO Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Godsman Elementary in the Denver Public School District.

Butvilofsky, S., & Alvarez, A. (2015). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Hillsboro, Oregon, 2013-2014.

This technical report provides detailed information of all professional development activities and students’ biliteracy outcomes for Year 1, 2013-2014, of a three-year project between two schools in the Hillsboro School District and Literacy Squared at the BUENO Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Butvilofsky, S., Holt, P., & Hopewell, S . (2015). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Pasco, Washington – Year 2 – 2013-2014.

Butvilofsky, S. (2014). Literacy Squared® at Godsman Elementary: Technical Report - 2013-14.

This technical report represents a report of all professional activities and research results for Year 2, 2013-2014, of a five-year (2012-2017) research partnership between the U.S. Department of Education: Title III National Professional Development Program, Literacy Squared at the BUENO Center at the University.

Hopewell, S., & Holt, P. (2014). Literacy Squared Technical Report: Pasco, Washington – Year 1 – 2012-2013.

Butvilofsky, S. (2013). Literacy Squared® at Godsman Elementary: Technical Report 2012-2013. BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, University of Colorado-Boulder.

This technical report represents a report of all professional activities and research results for Year 1, 2012-2013, of a five-year (2012-2017) research partnership between the U.S. Department of Education: Title III National Professional Development Program, Literacy Squared at the BUENO Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Godsman Elementary in the Denver Public School District.

Butvilofsky, S. & Escamilla, K. (2013). Literacy Squared® Phase II: Colorado Case Study Technical Report Year Three, 2011-2012. BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, University of Colorado-Boulder.

This technical report represents the third year of Phase II in Colorado, the final year of the Case Study research project and it provides a summary of the successes and challenges for researchers, practitioners, and school sites as they endeavored to implement all components of the Literacy Squared research project.

Sparrow, W., & Escamilla, K. (2013). Literacy Squared® Phase II: Salem-Keizer, Oregon Replication Study Technical Report: Year Four, 2012-2013. BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, University of Colorado-Boulder.

This report represents data from the research partnership between the University of Colorado and the Salem-Keizer School District in Salem, Oregon designed to foster and examine biliteracy development in Spanish and English. Research results reported herein include a cross sectional analysis of student outcomes from the fourth year of the partnership (2012-13 school year) and a longitudinal analysis of student outcomes from the entire length of the project (2009- 2013). A brief description of the collaborative work between the school district and the Literacy Squared research team is also provided.

Butvilofsky, S. & Escamilla, K. (2012). Literacy Squared® Phase II: Colorado Case Study Technical Report Year Two, 2010-2011. BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, University of Colorado-Boulder.

This technical report presents the results of the second year of Phase II in Colorado. There were several purposes for the case study inquiry in Colorado including the relationship between fidelity of implementation and student biliteracy achievement, student achievement of experienced teachers who are high implementers of Literacy Squared, professional development, and longitudinal biliteracy achievement.

Sparrow, W. & Escamilla, K. (2012). Literacy Squared® Phase II: Oregon Replication Study Technical Report 2009-2012. BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, University of Colorado-Boulder.

This report presents the results and findings of the three-year partnership to implement Literacy Squared in thirteen bilingual schools in the Salem-Keizer School District in Oregon. This report describes the collaborative work between the district and the Literacy Squared research team to implement the four main components of Literacy Squared: research, assessment in two languages, professional development for leadership and teachers, and the Comprehensive Biliteracy Model instructional components.

Butvilofsky, S. & Escamilla, K. (2011). Literacy Squared® Phase II: Colorado Case Study Technical Report Year One, 2009-2010. BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, University of Colorado-Boulder.

This report presents the results of year one of Phase II in Colorado, which continues to examine academic outcomes, but also intends to refine the instructional model and better study fidelity of implementation. Phase II was designed to enable the project to do more in-depth case studies that were not possible to do in Phase I. Specific purposes for the case-study inquiry in Colorado include fidelity of implementation, professional development, biliteracy outcomes and well-qualified teachers, and longitudinal biliteracy achievement.

Escamilla, K., Ruiz-Figueroa, O., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., & Sparrow, W. (2010). Transitions to Biliteracy: Literacy Squared 2004 - 2009 Final Technical Report. BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, University of Colorado-Boulder.

This report outlines the creation of the conceptual framework that was developed for Literacy Squared as well as its evolution from a conceptual framework to a formal intervention to a research project. Research results for each of the five years are discussed in the report encompassing the four components of research, assessment, professional development and instructional intervention.

Public Press

Bielinski, J., Chávez-Linville, D., Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Johnson, C., Slavick, J., & Way, J. (2024). Biliteracy trajectories: Supporting literacy development in two languages. Introducing the Renaissance Star assessment biliteracy trajectories project [White paper], Renaissance Learning, Inc.

This white paper was a collaboration between Literacy Squared® and Renaissance Learning. It features: 1) a forward, by Dr. Kathy Escamilla; 2) a description of the Literacy Squared biliteracy trajectory, including its history, its research base, and its application, by Dr. Sue Hopewell and Dr. Jody Slavick; 3) A description of the approach taken by Renaissance to apply the Literacy Squared trajectory to their STAR assessment, by Doris Chávez-Linville; 4) A research analysis of over 13,000 students who took the STAR assessment in Spanish and English and the results viewed through the lens of the biliterate reading trajectory, by Dr. John Bielinski and Dr. Jason Way; 5) An interpretation of the key findings from the data analysis, by Dr. Carol Johnson; and 6) a Conclusion and call for future research, by Doris Chávez-Linville.

Alvarez, A., & Schepers, O. (Winter, 2014). The Literacy Squared® Summer Institute: Biliteracy Transcending Borders. Soleado: Promising Practices from the Field. A Publication of the Dual Language Education of New Mexico, p. 2-3.

This article provides a brief overview of the Literacy Squared Summer Institute held in Puebla Mexico in the summer of 2014.

Cano R., E. (2013). Investigación Educativa. Revista Soleado.

Esta narrativa presenta Lectoescritura al Cuadrado los componentes que lo conforman: investigación, evaluación y desarrollo profesional.

Soltero- González, L., & Butvilofsky, S. (2012). Connecting Spanish and English literacy instruction in kindergarten (pp. 8-9, 14-15). Soleado Newsletter. Promising practices from the field. A Publication of the Dual Language Education of New Mexico.

This article descriptively showcases a kindergarten lesson that portrays the Comprehensive Biliteracy Model developed by the Literacy Squared research project. The Comprehensive Biliteracy Model approaches literacy instruction in Spanish and English in a coordinated manner in which both literacies and languages are developed in reciprocal and mutually supportive ways. Each component of the model is discussed in the context of the kindergarten biliteracy unit presented, which incorporates the use of direct and interactive instructional methods, a gradual release of responsibility,  personally and  culturally relevant  materials, and  opportunities to learn and utilize both languages for meaningful, purposeful reasons.

Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Escamilla, K., Escamilla, M., Ruiz-Figueroa, O., Soltero-Gonzalez, L., & Sparrow, W. (2011) Literacy Squared. Rethinking instruction for bilingual students. Education Views (IRC).

This piece highlights the reconceptualization of biliteracy instruction through the introduction of a comprehensive biliteracy model that begins with the idea that literacies and languages develop cohesively in reciprocal and mutually supportive ways. The piece also includes results from longitudinal data that shows how using the paired literacy pedagogy resulted in students making steady gains in both languages in reading and writing. The study was expanded to five years (it was set at three years initially) to study the longitudinal effects of the implementation of the biliteracy model.

Hopewell, S., & Escamilla, K. (2010). The Promise of Paired Literacy. Illinois Resource Center Newsletter. Spring, Issue 6.

The focus of this paper is the holistic approach and promising method of paired literacy, which is the simultaneous literacy instruction in two languages. Authors discuss and provide examples of how paired literacy affords emerging bilingual students academic benefits and an accelerated trajectory towards biliteracy. Areas of careful attention to effectively implement paired literacy are also discussed, such as planning and instruction.

Escamilla, K., Geisler, D., & Hopewell, S. (2007, January/February). Transitions to Biliteracy: A pilot Study and a Promising Program. NABE News, 30, 5-7.

This article offers a rationale and description of the conceptualization and early beginnings of Literacy Squared as it developed from a pilot study to a full research
project. It includes an overview of Literacy Squared and mostly focuses on the research results of the pilot year, which offer promising instructional features and findings that support biliteracy development.

Paper Presentations (AERA)

Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Robberson, N., & Hopewell, S. (2016). Testing the Efficacy of a Biliterate Reading Strategy. Paper presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington D.C.

This quasi-experimental study tested the efficacy of a research-based biliterate reading strategy, Lotta Lara, that is part of a larger paired literacy instructional program. Its purpose was to investigate whether Lotta Lara, which focuses on reading fluency, comprehension, and oracy through whole group instruction, impacted first grade emerging bilingual learners’ biliterate reading development. We utilized an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model to compare students’ biliterate reading outcomes in the treatment group (n= 23) to those of the control group (n=21). Despite the small sample size, positive and statistically significant effects were found on students’ Spanish reading outcomes. While students made growth in their English reading, significant effects were not detected on English reading outcomes. Our findings support the need to provide emerging bilingual learners with explicit and interactive biliterate reading instruction to promote biliterate reading development.

Soltero-González, L., Sparrow, W., Butvilofsky, S., Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2014). The Impact of Paired Literacy Instruction on the Spanish and English Writing Outcomes of Emerging Bilingual Children. Paper presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Researchers Association, Philadelphia, PA.

This study examined whether the earlier and sustained implementation of a Spanish-English paired literacy approach provides an academic advantage to students over an early-exit transitional bilingual education (TBE) program. The study employed a quasi-experimental design. It compared the biliteracy outcomes of third grade emerging bilingual learners participating in paired literacy instruction from Grades K-3 (n=167) to those of students from the same schools who were in early-exit TBE programs in K-2 and started to participate in the paired literacy model in third grade (n=191). Students’ reading and writing in both languages were assessed using informal measures; third grade reading scores on a high-stakes state assessment were also examined. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare means on the four measures (Spanish and English writing and reading). Cohen’s d was calculated to generate effect sizes for each assessment in each language. Frequencies were run to determine the percentage of students who met or exceeded the state test performance standards. Findings indicate that the paired literacy group scored considerably higher than students in the comparison group on all measures. Furthermore, differences between groups were statistically significant for each outcome measure in each language with moderate to large effect sizes (0.42 to 0.90). Also, a larger percentage of students in the paired literacy group met or exceeded the state test performance standards. These findings provide evidence that early and sustained paired literacy instruction lead to stronger literacy outcomes in both languages than early-exit TBE. Implications for practice and future research are provided.

Butvilofsky, S., Hopewell, S., & Escamilla, K. (2013). Assessing the English Writing Outcomes of Spanish speaking Emerging Bilinguals: Issues in Interpretation. Paper presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Researchers Association, San Francisco, CA.

This study examined how writing assessment practices currently utilized with Spanish-English emerging bilingual students in the U.S. may be modified to be more culturally appropriate. The modifications included variations in writing prompts, and the utilization of two writing rubrics for assessing progress. Findings indicate the prompt does not affect students’ capacity to demonstrate writing abilities when using a culturally/linguistically appropriate writing rubric. When scoring both writing samples using a high-stakes rubric, students scored higher on the culturally appropriate response, and the difference between scores on the prompts was significant. Findings have important implications for assessment practices involving emerging bilingual students.

Soltero-González, L., & Cano, E. (2013). The Bilingual Writing Development of Spanish-English Emerging Bilingual Children in School Contexts: Results from a Three-Year Longitudinal Qualitative Study. Paper presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Researchers Association, San Francisco, CA.

This qualitative study investigated the bilingual writing development of four children in first to third grade in a bilingual program The study’s purpose was to examine patterns of transfer[LS1] and bilingual writing behaviors. This study is part of a larger project that investigates biliteracy development in children in elementary grades. A total of 6 writing samples were collected for each student in the spring of each year during a 3 year period. A researcher-developed analytic rubric was used in the comparative analysis of students’ writing development in both languages. Findings revealed patterns of bilingual writing related to interliteracy, bidirectional transfer and language specific approximations. Developmental shifts observed within these phenomena helped to better describe the bilingual writing trajectories of students receiving paired literacy instruction.

Butvilofsky, S., & Sparrow, W. (2011). Training Teachers to Evaluate Emerging Bilingual Students’ Biliterate Writing, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, 2011.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore and identify issues related to training teachers to use a bilingual writing rubric designed to examine emerging bilingual students' biliterate writing. Findings indicate the need to provide clarifications on the rubric rating criteria and the need to pay attention to the differences between Spanish and English rhetoric, as levels of consensus were lower when teachers rated Spanish content. This finding also indicates a need to revise the rubric itself. High levels of consensus were reached when teachers rated spelling and structural elements in both languages. When conducting an analysis of students’ Spanish and English writing, teachers noted students’ ability to transfer writing abilities across languages. This study is significant to the advancement of this biliteracy model and to the education of emerging bilingual students. It is also important to develop a shared vision of what it means to be bilingual and to understand how biliteracy develops using a holistic lens.

Sparrow, W., Butvilofsky, S., Wiley, E., & Escamilla, K. (2012). Assessing Fidelity of Implementation of an Instructional Model: Targeting Student Trajectories toward Biliteracy, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, Canada, 2012.

This study examines the degree that student outcomes associated with a bilingual/biliterate instructional model vary as a function of teachers’ fidelity of implementation (FOI). It is critical to ascertain the levels at which teachers implemented the model in order to help determine its potential to foster positive trajectories toward students’ bilingual/biliteracy development. We used principal components factor analysis with an oblique rotation to assess the dimensionality underlying the collection of FOI measures (i.e) the patterns of correlations between the various analytic model; these factor scores subsequently serve as the independent variables in models of student bilingual/biliteracy outcomes (in particular, scores on Spanish and English reading and writing assessments). Factor analytic results suggest eight dimensions underlying 35 FOI measures collected. Linear models of student outcomes on standard normal, regression-method scores generated for these factors suggest differential effects associated with FOI dimensions and Spanish and English reading and writing outcomes. Findings inform the revision of FOI assessment measures and improve professional development targeting program implementation. Detailed attention to FOI is critical to valid assessment of proposed educational innovations for bilingual students.

Sparrow, W. (2011). Fidelity of Implementation within an Innovative Biliteracy Model, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, 2011.

The purposes of this mixed methods study were to examine the fidelity of implementation of an innovative biliteracy model to determine the different characteristics of high and low implementing teachers and to investigate the connection between teacher implementation levels and classroom outcomes. In order to examine teacher characteristics, case studies were conducted in first through third grade classrooms. Data were collected through classroom observations, teacher interviews, and the collection of lesson plans and student outcomes. findings indicate that high implementers already possessed characteristics of effective teachers and were able to overcome barriers and integrate the new model into their classrooms, but low implementers already struggled with daily teaching. Teachers’ implementation levels appeared to be connected to classroom outcomes. Findings have implications for bilingual education, program implementation and improvement, and the model itself.

Sparrow, W. (2011). Preliminary Results of a Biliteracy Model: On Trajectory toward Biliteracy, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, 2011.

An innovative biliteracy model for Spanish/English emerging bilingual students, Literacy Squared®, utilizes high quality of instruction that is beneficial for emerging bilingual students.The purpose of this study is to examine preliminary results from the first year of the replication study in Phase II of Literacy Squared. To determine first year outcomes, informal reading and writing assessment data were collected from participating classrooms at each school and descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed to determine student outcomes.

Butvilofsky, S. (2009). "Saber dos idiomas me (h)a ayudado a conseguir muchas cosas": Fifth grade students’ perceptions of bilingualism, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA, 2009.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceived functions of bilingualism and the relationship between Spanish and English as identified by Latino fifth grade students learning to read and write simultaneously in two languages. This study provides a different perspective of the functions of bilingualism, as the perspectives come directly from students, and it provides educators, researchers, and policy makers with a unique opportunity to learn first hand how children who participate in bilingual education programs feel about their experiences learning two languages. Findings from this study illuminate bilingual students’ perceptions of the many functions Spanish and English serve, the benefits and struggles experienced in becoming bilingual, and the asymmetric relationship between Spanish and English in the United States. Acknowledging and understanding the importance of bilingual students’ perceptions of bilingualism and their experiences within bilingual programs might influence the degree to which children value, develop, and maintain their bilingualism.

Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Escamilla, K. (2008). Transitions to Biliteracy: A Longitudinal Analysis of Biliterate Writing Development in Grades 1-3, paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York City, 2008.

This paper explores the longitudinal writing development of 25 emerging bilingual children (Spanish/English) from first through third grade. Spanish and English writing samples were collected annually and analyzed by comparing the average number of words per T-unit. T-unit analysis enabled the examination of linguistic complexity in students’ writing across grade levels and languages. Students’ writing demonstrated growth in linguistic complexity in Spanish and English as they advanced in grade level. Students showed the most growth in English writing between first and second grade. Samples were also analyzed qualitatively to examine the specificities of transfer. Findings demonstrate student's' potential to develop writing skills simultaneously in two languages and illustrate the importance of viewing bilingual students’ literacy development through a bilingual lens.

Escamilla, K., & Hopewell, S. (2007) The Role of Code-Switching in the Written Expression of Early Elementary Simultaneous Bilinguals. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, 2007.

This paper draws on previous research which posits that emerging bilingual students use multiple strategies in the process of cross language transfer. A central and often controversial aspect of cross-language transfer in the writing of bilingual children is code-switching, which has been labeled as deficit behaviour used only by children limited in both of their languages. Our findings support the view that code-switching is not done because children are deficient or confused by their two languages, rather than they are living their lives in bilingual environments where code-switching is an important and at times necessary element of communication.

Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Geisler, D., & Ruiz, O. (2007) Transitions to Biliteracy: Beyond Spanish and English, paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, 2007.

This study had two purposes. The first was to examine the potential of an instructional intervention designed to teach reading and writing in Spanish and English simultaneously to children in grades 1-3. A secondary purpose was to examine the relationships between Spanish and English literacy. The research design was quasi-experimental, included an intervention group (n=433) and a control group (n=148) and addressed six research questions. The study administered informal reading assessments in Spanish and English in the fall of 2005 and again in the Spring of 2006, and informal writing assessments in Dec./Jan. 2005-2006. Findings indicated that students in both intervention and control groups grew in Spanish and English reading in all grades. However, growth in English reading was greater for intervention students particularly in the first grade. Mean scores on writing in Spanish were similar for intervention and control students, however mean scores in English writing favored the intervention students. Further, the number of students in the study’s hypothesized ‘Trajectory toward Biliteracy’ was significantly greater for intervention than control students. Finally, findings indicate a significant correlation between the informal Spanish reading assessment used in the study and a formal state mandated literacy test. Overall findings suggest the potential in the Literacy Squared intervention and in simultaneous literacy acquisition as implemented in this study.

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