CENTER for OUTREACH SERVICES
Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment
EIPA Written Test
The EIPA Written Test evaluates an interpreter’s understanding of information critical to interpreting for students in an educational setting. The test covers a range of topics from child development to education to Deaf culture.
The EIPA Written Test is available at testing sites in Ohio.
The EIPA Written Test is a multiple-choice assessment administered over the internet on computer with a local proctor. The cost for the test is $150. For more information or to register, visit the Boys Town EIPA Written Test web page.
Boys Town suggests that to prepare for the EIPA Written Test that you review the knowledge standards and the EIPA Code of Professional Conduct for Educational Interpreters on which the test is based and consider how you will apply this knowledge to different situations. You might also consider working with a mentor in the ISLR Mentoring Program to help you prepare.
EIPA Performance Test
The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) Performance Test evaluates the ability of an interpreter to convey classroom content and interactions voice-to-sign and child or teen sign language sign-to-voice. It is both a proficiency test and a diagnostic tool; the report the interpreter receives includes a rating between 0 to 5 as well as feedback and suggestions for professional development. The EIPA is administered by Boys Town National Research Hospital and is proctored by Local Test Administrators (LTAs) at testing sites around the country.
The Ohio School for the Deaf is one of the testing sites in Ohio for the EIPA Performance Test.
Candidates choose whether they want to be assessed at the elementary or secondary level. Candidates also choose whether to be tested using primarily American Sign Language (which the EIPA identifies as ASL-PSE), primarily Pidgin Signed English (identified as PSE-ASL), or primarily Manually Coded English (identified as MCE-PSE).
Videos of actual classrooms and interviews with deaf students are used as the interpreting stimuli. The candidate has a
warm-up period before the test to
review lesson plans and vocabulary for the voice-to-sign portion and view a
sample of the child/teen signer's language use for the sign-to-voice portion. The whole testing experience generally takes approximately two hours. The candidate's performance is recorded on video and sent to Boys Town National Research Hospital, the administrator of the EIPA, for rating. For a more in-depth description of the EIPA testing materials and process, see the EIPA's web page about the
EIPA Evaluation Process.
The
candidate's work is evaluated by a team of three trained raters using specific criteria. Psychometric review of EIPA has confirmed the inter-rater reliability and the validity of the test.
Raters watch for patterns of behavior, not minor errors. You do not need to interpret perfectly to obtain an excellent score. An
evaluation report including
results, feedback and professional development suggestions is sent to candidates within 90 days of testing. For more details about how the work sample is evaluated and reported, including the rating form used and a sample evaluation report, see EIPA's web page on the
EIPA Rating System.
Resources for Preparing for the EIPA Performance Test
You may find the following resources helpful as you prepare to take the EIPA Performance Test:
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EIPA Rating Form (pdf)
Reviewing the EIPA rating form can help you understand how your work will be evaluated.
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Consultations with ISLR Staff
You can contact ISLR staff members to answer questions, suggest resources that might be particularly appropriate for you, etc.
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Voice-to-Sign Practice Materials
Voice-to-sign practice materials for the EIPA you may want to seek are those which are most like the EIPA testing videos: classroom instruction videos that include student interactions, ideally with a written lesson plan and key vocabulary you can review in advance.
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There are additional sources for video of classroom instruction. See the ASL Resources for Math, the first of the Subject-Specific ASL Resources being developed by the Center for Outreach Services, for specific videos you may find helpful from these and other sources.
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Sign-to-Voice Practice Materials
Video source materials that are most like the EIPA will be child or teen signers discussing issues of importance to youth. In addition to the sources listed above, resources which may be helpful include:
Contact us for more information.