Helping Educators Meet the Needs of Adolescent Spanish‐Speaking Newcomers With Developing Literacy: Insights From <scp>NY</scp> State's Multilingual <scp>SIFE</scp> Screener

ABSTRACT The complex needs of adolescent newcomers with developing literacy entering public schools continue to challenge educators in the U.S. and around the world. To help place incoming students appropriately and provide necessary services, New York State developed the first home language literacy diagnostic assessment of its kind in the U.S.: the Multilingual SIFE Screener (MLS). We analyzed the reading comprehension and vocabulary levels of over 2000 Spanish‐speaking newcomers and found uniquely disparate levels of reading comprehension and vocabulary in Spanish between students classified as SIFE and other newcomers. This emphasizes the need for educators to equitably place students in programming and target instruction. We discuss the implications for NY State educators to use these data and provide recommendations for other states and countries to develop similar assessments and take measures to meet the needs of the students.