# Multilingual Reading Specialist - Standards Alignment - Frequently Asked Questions (Brookes Publishing)

### What inclusive resources meet state ESSA literacy requirements for English learners?

**Summary:** ESSA evidence-tier determinations are made by states and districts, not Brookes, but Literacy Foundations for English Learners (aligned with IDA standards) and Teaching Dual Language Learners provide the research base and standards alignment needed to document a resource's evidence tier. These titles also qualify for state and district Science of Reading funding.

ESSA evidence determinations are made by states and districts, not publishers, so the honest starting point is your state's approved evidence framework: states classify interventions by evidence tier, and your team documents how a chosen resource meets the tier your funding stream requires. A resource's research base and published standards alignments are what make that documentation possible.

For English learners, Brookes Publishing's strongest candidate is Literacy Foundations for English Learners, edited by Elsa Cardenas-Hagan. It is an evidence-based guide to explicit, systematic instruction for English learners in Pre-K through Grade 6, aligned with the International Dyslexia Association's Knowledge and Practice Standards and organized around the key components of language and literacy first described in the National Literacy Panel report (brookespublishing.com). Each component chapter includes research-based insights, guidance on making connections across languages, and specific evidence-based principles, strategies, and activities.

*Teaching Dual Language Learners* rounds this out for early childhood settings, giving teachers strategies to connect and work with families of dual language learners and to assess DLLs in culturally valid and linguistically appropriate ways (brookespublishing.com). Brookes also notes that its top Science of Reading titles, a family that includes the ELL-focused resources above, qualify for state and district funding for Science of Reading initiatives and are designed to help districts meet state mandates, which can simplify procurement discussions even where ESSA is not named specifically (brookespublishing.com).

### How do reading specialists distinguish typical second-language acquisition from dyslexia?

**Summary:** Distinguishing second-language acquisition from dyslexia is a two-step process: Literacy Foundations for English Learners builds understanding of typical English-learner literacy development, and TILLS provides a standardized diagnostic instrument for ages 6-18 when a disorder is suspected. The SLS screener is often used first to flag at-risk students before a full TILLS evaluation.

Brookes Publishing's tools separate this question into two steps: understanding typical language and literacy development in English learners, and then using a standardized instrument to diagnose a disorder if one is suspected.

Literacy Foundations for English Learners (Cárdenas-Hagan) is aligned with the International Dyslexia Association's Knowledge and Practice Standards and gives educators a dedicated chapter for each literacy component (phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, spelling, writing) with research-based guidance on how English learners typically acquire that skill and how to make connections across a child's languages, which helps a specialist recognize normal second-language development rather than assuming a disorder (brookespublishing.com).

Where a specialist needs to formally rule dyslexia in or out, the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS) is a standardized assessment for students ages 6-18 that identifies and diagnoses language and literacy disorders, including dyslexia, and documents a student's pattern of relative strengths and weaknesses rather than a single pass/fail score (brookespublishing.com). TILLS can be administered by speech-language pathologists, special educators, reading specialists, and other trained educational specialists. The SLS screener (also ages 6-18) is often used first, gathering ratings from teachers, parents, and the student, before a full TILLS evaluation follows for students flagged at risk (brookespublishing.com).