Information on Evaluation/Assessment Tools
- Description of RID Certification Levels
- Description of NAD Certification Levels
- Sign Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI)
- Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA)
Description of RID Certification Levels
CT (Certificate of Transliteration) - Holders of this certificate are recognized as fully certified in Transliteration and have demonstrated the ability to transliterate between English-based sign language and spoken English in both sign to voice and voice to sign. The transliterator's ability to interpret is not considered in this certification. Holders of the CT are recommended for a broad range of transliteration assignments. This test is currently available.
CI and CT (Certificate of Interpretation and Certificate of Transliteration) - Holders of both full certifications (as listed above) have demonstrated competence in both interpretation and transliteration and have the flexibility of job acceptance as holders of the CSC (listed below). Holders of the CI and CT are recommended for a broad range of interpretation and transliteration assignments.
CLIP (Conditional Legal Interpreting Permit) - Holders of this conditional permit have completed an RID recognized training program designed for interpreters and transliterators who work in legal settings. Generalist certification (CI and CT, or CSC) is required prior to enrollment in the training program. This permit is valid until one year after the Specialist Certificate: Legal written and performance test is available nationally. CLIP holders must take and pass the new legal certification examination in order to maintain certification in the specialty area of interpreting in legal settings. Holders of the conditional permit are recommended for a broad range of assignments in the legal setting. The CLIP is no longer available.
CLIP-R (Conditional Legal Interpreting Permit-Relay) - Holders of this conditional permit have completed an RID recognized training program designed for interpreters and translators who work in a legal setting and who are also deaf or hard of hearing. Generalist certification for interpreters/transliterators who are deaf or hard of hearing (RSC or CDI-P) is required prior to enrollment in the training program. This permit is valid until one year after the Specialist Certificate: Legal written and performance test for deaf interpreters is available nationally. CLIP-R holders must take and pass the new legal certification examination in order to maintain certification in the specialized area of interpreting in legal settings. Holders of this conditional permit are recommended for a broad range of assignments in the legal setting. The CLIP-R is still offered.
CDI-P (Certified Deaf Interpreter - Provisional) - Holders of this provisional certification are interpreters who are deaf or hard of hearing and who have demonstrated a minimum of one year experience working as a interpreter, completion of at least 8 hours of training on the RID Code of Ethics, and 8 hours of training in general interpretation as it relates to the interpreter who is deaf or hard of hearing. Holders of this certificate are recommended to a broad range of assignments where an interpreter who is deaf or hard of hearing would be beneficial.
CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter) - Holders of this certification are interpreters who are deaf or hard of hearing and who have demonstrated a minimum of one year experience working as an interpreter, completion of at least 8 hours of training on the RID Code of Ethics, and 8 hours training in general interpretation as it related to the interpreter who is deaf or hard of hearing and have passed a comprehensive combination written and performance test. Holders of this certificate are recommended for a broad range of assignments where an interpreter who is deaf or hard of hearing would be beneficial. This test is being revised and only the written test is currently available. The performance test will soon be offered as well.
CSC (Comprehensive Skills Certificate) - Holders of this full certificate have demonstrated the ability to interpret between American Sign Language and spoken English and to transliterate between spoken English and English- based sign language. The CSC examination was offered until 1987. Holders of the certificate are recommended for a broad range of interpreting and transliterating assignments. This test is no longer offered.
MCSC (Master Comprehensive Skills Certificate) - The MCSC examination was designed with the intent of testing for a higher standard of performance than the CSC. Holders of this certificate were required to hold the CSC prior to taking this exam. Holders of this certificate are recommended for a broad range of interpreting and transliterating assignments. This certificate is no longer offered.
RSC (Reverse Skills Certificate) - Holders of this full certificate demonstrated the ability to interpret between American Sign Language and English-based sign language or transliterate between spoken English and a signed code for English. Holders of this certificate are deaf or hard of hearing and interpretation/transliteration is rendered in American Sign Language, spoken English, a signed code for English or written English. Holders of the RSC are recommended for a broad range of interpreting assignments where the use of an interpreter who is deaf or hard of hearing would be beneficial. This certificate is no longer offered. People interested in this area should apply for the CDI-P and/or take the CDI exam.
SC:L (Specialist Certificate: Legal) - Holders of this specialist certificate have demonstrated specialized knowledge of legal settings and greater familiarity with language used in the legal system. Generalist certification and documented training and experience is required prior to sitting for this exam. Holders of the SC:L are recommended for a broad range of assignments in the legal setting.
PROV. SC:L (Provisional Specialist Certificate: Legal) - Holders of this provisional certificate hold generalist certification and have completed RID approved training required prior to sitting for the SC:L exam. This provisional certification is valid until one year after the Specialist Certificate: Legal written and performance test is available nationally. Holders of this certificate are recommended for assignments in the legal setting. Prov. SC:L is no longer available.
SC:PA (Specialist Certificate: Performing Arts) - Holders of this certificate were required to hold RID generalist certification (CSC) prior to sitting for this examination and have demonstrated specialized knowledge in performing arts interpretation. Holders of this certificate are recommended for a broad range of assignments in the performing arts settings. The SC:PA is no longer offered.
OTC (Oral Transliteration Certificate) - Holders of this generalist certificate have demonstrated the ability to transliterate a spoken message from a person who hears to a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, and the ability to understand and repeat the message and intent of the speech and mouth movements of the person who is deaf or hard of hearing.
OIC:C (Oral Interpreting Certificate) - Holders of this generalist certificate demonstrated the ability to transliterate a spoken message from a person who hears to a person who is deaf or hard of hearing and the ability to understand and repeat the message and intent of the speech and mouth movements of the person who is deaf or hard of hearing. This certification is no longer offered.
OIC:S/V (Oral Interpreting Certificate: spoken to Visible) - Holders of this partial certificate demonstrated the ability to transliterate a spoken message from a person who hears to a person who is deaf or hard of hearing. This individual received scores on the OIC:C examination, which prevented the awarding of full OIC:C certification. The OIC:S/V is no longer offered.
OIC:V/S (Oral Interpreting Certificate: Visible to Spoken) - Holders of this partial certificate demonstrated the ability to understand the speech and silent mouth movements of a person who is deaf or hard of hearing and to repeat the message for a hearing person. This individual received scores on the OIC:C examination, which prevented the awarding of full OIC:C certification. The OIC:V/S is no longer offered.
IC/TC (Interpretation/Transliteration Certificate)- Holders of this partial certificate demonstrated the ability to transliterate between English and signed code English and the ability to interpret between American Sign Language and spoken English. This individual received scores on the CSC examination, which prevented the awarding of the full CSC certification. The IC/TC is no longer offered.
IC (Interpretation Certificate) - Holders of this partial certificate demonstrated the ability to transliterate between American Sign Language and spoken English. This individual received scores on the CSC examination, which prevented the awarding of full CSC certification or partial IC/TC certification. The IC was formerly known as the Expressive Interpreting Certificate (EIC). The IC is no longer offered.
TC (Transliteration Certificate) - Holders of this partial certificate demonstrated the ability to transliterate between spoken English and signed code English. This individual received scores on the CSC examination, which prevented the awarding of full CSC certification or IC/TC certification. The TC was formerly known as the Expressive Transliterating Certificate. The TC is no longer offered.
For more information, please go to the RID web site
Description of NAD Certification Levels
Level IV (Advanced) - The individual who attains this level possesses excellent voice-to-sign skills and above average sign-to-voice skills, and demonstrates the interpreting skill necessary for most situations.
Level III - (Generalist) - The individual who attains this level possesses above average voice-to-sign skills, and good sign-to-voice skills, and demonstrates the interpreting skill necessary for some situations.
Candidates who holds a NAD certification Level I or a Level II receive the profile/graph sheet, but are not certified as an interpreter.
Sign Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI) Levels
The SCPI, a conversational approach to sign language communication skills assessment, is based on the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) (also known as the Language Proficiency Interview/LPI). Like the O/LPI, the SCPI permits interview content to vary according to the job responsibilities, background, and interests of each person interviewed. Consistent with the O/LPI, the goal of the SCPI is to assess how well people are able to use sign language for their communication needs, and, as appropriate, to assist people in development of their sign language communication skills.
Superior Plus - Able to have a fully shared and natural conversation, with in-depth elaboration for both social and work topics. All aspects of signing are native-like.
Superior - Able to have a fully shared conversation, with in-depth elaboration for both social and work topics. Very broad sign language vocabulary, near native-like production and fluency, excellent use of sign language grammatical features, and excellent comprehension for normal signing rate.
Advanced Plus - Exhibits some superior level skills, but not all and not consistently.
Advanced - Able to have a generally shared conversation with good, spontaneous elaboration for both social and work topics. Broad sign language vocabulary knowledge and clear, accurate production of signs and fingerspelling at a normal/near-normal rate; occasional misproductions do not detract from conversation flow. Good use of many sign language grammatical features and comprehension good for normal signing rate.
Intermediate Plus - Exhibits some advanced level skills, but not all and not consistently.
Intermediate - Able to discuss with some confidence routine social and work topics within a conversational format with some elaboration; generally 3-to-5 sentences. Good knowledge and control of everyday/basic sign language vocabulary with some sign vocabulary errors. Fairly clear signing at a moderate signing rate with some sign misproductions. Fair use of some sign language grammatical features and fairly good comprehension for a moderate-to-normal signing rate; a few repetitions and rephrasing of questions may be needed.
Survival Plus - Exhibits some intermediate level skills, but not all and not consistently.
Survival - Able to discuss basic social and work topics with responses generally 1-to-3 sentences in length. Some knowledge of basic sign language vocabulary with many sign vocabulary and/or sign production errors. Slow-to-moderate signing rate. Basic use of a few sign language grammatical features. Fair comprehension for signing produced at a slow-to-moderate rate with some repetition and rephrasing.
Novice Plus - Exhibits some survival level skills, but not all and not consistently.
Novice - Able to provide single sign and some short phrase/sentence responses to basic questions signed at a slow-to-moderate rate with frequent repetition and rephrasing. Vocabulary primarily related to everyday work and/or social areas such as basic work-related signs, family members, basic objects, colors, numbers, names of weekdays, and time. Production and fluency characterized by many sign production errors and by a slow rate with frequent inappropriate pauses/hesitations.
Contact Russell Anderson at 859-239-7017 extension 2171 for more information or see the Kentucky School for the Deaf Outreach Program.
Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA)
The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) is a tool designed to evaluate the voice-to-sign and sign-to-voice interpreting skills of interpreters who work in the elementary and secondary school classroom setting. The EIPA evaluates the ability to expressively interpret classroom content and discourse and the ability to receptively interpret student or teen sign language. It is not limited to any one sign language or system. EIPA is used to evaluate interpreters who work with students and teenagers who use predominately American Sign Language (ASL), Manually-Coded English (MCE) and Pigdin Sign English (PSE).Level 1: Beginner - Demonstrates very limited sign vocabulary with frequent errors in production. At times, production may be incomprehensible. Grammatical structure tends to be nonexistent. Individual is only able to communicate very simple ideas and demonstrates great difficulty comprehending signed communication. Sign production lacks prosody and use of space for the vast majority of the interpreted message.
An individual at this level is not recommended for classroom interpreting.
Level 2: Advanced Beginner - Demonstrates only basic sign vocabulary and these limitations interfere with communication. Lack of fluency and sign production errors are typical and often interfere with communication. The interpreter often hesitates in signing, as if searching for vocabulary. Frequent errors in grammar are apparent, although basic signed sentences appear intact. More complex grammatical structures are typically difficult. Individual is able to read signs at the word level and simple sentence level but complete or complex sentences often require repetitions and repairs. Some use of prosody and space, but use is inconsistent and often incorrect. An individual at this level is not recommended for classroom interpreting.
Level 3: Intermediate - Demonstrates knowledge of basic vocabulary, but will lack vocabulary for more technical, complex, or academic topics. Individual is able to sign in a fairly fluent manner using some consistent prosody, but pacing is still slow with infrequent pauses for vocabulary or complex structures. Sign production may show some errors but generally will not interfere with communication. Grammatical production may still be incorrect, especially for complex structures, but is in general, intact for routine and simple language. Comprehends signed messages but may need repetition and assistance. Voiced translation often lacks depth and subtleties of the original message. An individual at this level would be able to communicate very basic classroom content, but may incorrectly interpret complex information resulting in a message that is not always clear.
An interpreter at this level needs continued supervision and should be required to participate in continuing education in interpreting.
Level 4: Advanced Intermediate - Demonstrates broad use of vocabulary with sign production that is generally correct. Demonstrates good strategies for conveying information when a specific sign is not in their vocabulary. Grammatical constructions are generally clear and consistent, but complex information may still pose occasional problems. Prosody is good, with appropriate facial expression most of the time. May still have difficulty with the use of facial expression in complex sentences and adverbial non-manual markers. Fluency may deteriorate when rate or complexity of communication increases. Uses space consistently most of the time, but complex constructions or extended use of discourse cohesion may still pose problems. Comprehension of most signed messages at a normal rate is good but translation may lack some complexity of the original message. An individual at this level would be able to convey much of the classroom content but may have difficulty with complex topics or rapid turn-taking.
Level 5: Advanced - Demonstrates broad and fluent use of vocabulary, with a broad range of strategies for communicating new words and concepts. Sign production errors are minimal and never interfere with comprehension. Prosody is correct for grammatical, non-manual markers, and affective purposes. Complex grammatical constructions are typically not a problem. Comprehension of sign messages is very good, communicating all details of the original message. An individual at this level is capable of clearly and accurately conveying the majority of interactions within the classroom.
Contact Rita Zirnheld at 859-239-7017 for more information or view the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment web page for more information.
Updated: 12/15/2005