Critically evaluate competing theoretical models of bilingual reading development—cognitivist, sociocultural, and transfer-based—by comparing core assumptions, key empirical support and limitations, and explaining how each model informs assessment choices (e.g., static vs. dynamic measures, cross-linguistic tasks) and instructional practices (e.g., explicit decoding, scaffolding, facilitating transfer); then recommend justified assessment and instructional strategies for diverse bilingual learners, considering proficiency, linguistic distance, and sociocultural context.