Assessment and Supervision of Educational Interpreters: What Job? Whose Job? Is This Process Necessary?

Marty M. Taylor

Educational interpreters often work in isolation without the support of other interpreters. They may live and work in rural communities, interpreting in a school or a school district where only one deaf or hard of hearing child attends. Perhaps no other interpreters are in the vicinity. Interpreters may not have the opportunity to participate in professional interpreting organizations either because none exist in their area or because interpreters do not receive support for or time from the school district to attend these events.

Because of their highly specialized area of expertise and their responsibility for all access to aural communication, interpreters rarely have the day-to-day contact with others who share their experiences. This crucial difference distinguishes interpreters from others in the educational setting. Teachers have other teachers with whom to discuss issues; in addition, most administrators or principals have teaching backgrounds and can discuss relevant issues with teachers as well as assist them with problem solving, providing meaningful input on a regular basis. Even counselors have other counselors, if not in the same school, then at least in the district, with whom they can share their learning and from whom they can gain support for their work and their ideas. Usually, interpreters lack this camaraderie, support, and vital input.

Educational interpreters must be placed in appropriate settings with deaf or hard of hearing students. In these arrangements, the deaf or hard of hearing student must be able to work well with the interpreter, and the interpreter must be able to effectively express the communication that occurs in a classroom setting, including communication from the teacher, from the students to the teacher, and from students to other students.

Interpreters need to be assessed before being placed in a classroom with a deaf or hard of hearing child. This assessment includes consideration of their skills, expertise, knowledge of the subject matter, and ability to suit the needs of the situation and the individual child. Interpreters must be competent to provide interpretation for the specific students and teachers for whom they are being hired.

Once interpreters are successfully placed in the classroom, they must be assessed on a regular basis. This ongoing assessment is vital for the success of deaf and hard of hearing students enrolled in mainstream classes. These assessments include on-site observations by qualified individuals who can assess the accuracy of the interpreted messages expressed between English and sign language.

In addition, qualified experts in interpreting must have a clearly defined role in supervising interpreters. Unfortunately, supervision is often the responsibility of the teacher in the classroom, the principal, or at best, the itinerant teacher of the deaf. Consequently, supervision by these people will consist of reviewing interpreter behaviors such as timeliness and appropriateness to the classroom situation rather than the language proficiency and interpreting abilities used in the classroom. Although the type of supervision these professionals provide can be useful and is necessary, it is limited and does not provide supervision for the primary component of the interpreter’s job—interpreting. Typically, these staff members have minimal or no signing experience, and they do not have any training or education that qualifies them to supervise the interpreting skills of the interpreter. Thus, expertise must be brought in from external resources to assist in supervising the effectiveness of the communication process and the interpretation as well as to provide evaluations and recommendations for enhancing the interpreter’s language and interpretation skills.

THE NEED FOR ASSESSMENT

Before any discussion begins about the assessment of interpreters, one must first identify the interpreting needs that must be addressed. Addressing the interpreting needs should not be taken lightly or decided only on face value. The process is a complicated one that requires examination and reflection from all involved. Many questions come to the forefront when examining this important issue. For example, is a specific deaf child interested in enrolling in the school? Does this child know sign language or not? If the student does not possess adequate language, then an interpreted education would not be an accessible placement. If he or she does have language, from where did he or she learn it, and how fluent is the child? Is the child’s language adequate to enable him or her to benefit from interpreting? Does the child have adequate world and content knowledge to benefit from an interpretation? What communication support does the child require? Is the child hard of hearing? If so, what can he or she pick up aurally, and what, if any, additional assistance is required to make the environment accessible to the hard of hearing child? Often, these questions are overlooked, or if they are asked, they sometimes are not answered fully.

An important point to note is that those needing access to communication include not only the deaf and hard of children but also the rest of the school: non-deaf students, teachers, coaches, secretaries, and principals. Deaf and hard of hearing students should have opportunities to participate in the school as a whole, not just opportunities within their classrooms. They must have opportunities to participate in sports; leadership roles such as editor of the yearbook, officer in the debate club, student-body president; and other activities that are available to the general student population and are essential to a complete education.

Of course, the teachers and administrators must determine whether or not deaf and hard of hearing children can be adequately served in their school. This decision is based on the knowledge of what the student requires to succeed in the mainstream setting after identifying the needs stated earlier. Often, schools do not have the expertise available to them to make this determination. They must locate appropriate resources that can assist in the decision-making process to determine whether or not they have an appropriate situation with the necessary accommodation that will allow deaf and hard of hearing children to excel in their learning at this particular school.

After the teacher (or teachers), the school administrators, the parents, and the deaf or hard of hearing child determine that the child’s needs can be effectively accommodated within the mainstream school setting (e.g., classroom, extracurricular activities). When all opportunities for the student are determined, then identification of all the services necessary to properly support the student can continue. Interpreters may be only part of the necessary package; many other support personnel such as language development specialists and aural rehabilitation workers may be required. This chapter focuses on interpreters and not the other personnel who may be required for well-rounded support to individual deaf and hard of hearing children. After the needs of the students and the school staff members have been identified and a decision has been reached requiring interpreters, then the hiring process of interpreters can begin.

EDUCATIONAL INTERPRETERS: WHO ARE THEY? WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

Interpreters are not all alike. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Those involved in the hiring process must consider three important questions to consider before recruiting and hiring interpreters: (a) What academic credentials do they have? (b) What is their experience in providing interpretation in school settings? (c) How well will they be able to work as team players with the other professionals in this specific educational environment?

What Academic Credentials Do They Have?

Interpreters who graduate from interpreting programs are more likely to be appropriate for working in educational settings than those who have not had academic preparation in interpretation. Having made this claim, interpreter graduates are not all the same, nor are interpreting programs. Interpreting programs cover a multitude of topics within their course of studies. These may include English and ASL language development; interpretation skill and professional behaviors; and specialized work, including interpreting in educational or medical settings and working with different consumers such as those who are deaf-blind or oral.

Interpreting in educational settings is a very specialized area of study. Interpreting programs may or may not cover this area of expertise. For example, graduates of some interpreting programs may have no exposure to working in the educational setting, especially at the K–12 grade levels. Others will have graduated from programs that specialize in K–12 educational interpreting; these graduates would have learned about the various facets of educational environments and, most likely, would have completed at least one work placement in it.

What Is Their Experience in Providing Interpretation in a School Setting?

A degree from an interpreting program is quite different from actual experience working in a classroom with deaf and hard of hearing students. Interpreters should have experience in this setting, including interpreting for teachers, administrators, and deaf and nondeaf students. Interpreters should be able to document this experience through recommendations from the stakeholders who have had to rely on them for successful communication in the educational setting. Ideally, the interpreters applying for the position will have knowledge about and experience in the specific grade level involved; interpreting for a second grader is very different from interpreting for a tenth grader.

How Well Will They Be Able to Work as Team Players With the Other Professionals in This Specific Educational Environment?

When an interpreter has both the education and experience in interpreting in educational settings, then the questions about his or her background and experiences become more specific. Interpreters need to be able to work appropriately as a member of the professional team. They are professionals in the classroom, and they must have the responsibility and authority to act as professionals. They must have access to the teacher (or teachers) to discuss the content of lessons so they can prepare their interpretations in advance. They must be able to articulate their role to others and to participate in IEP meetings as these functions relate to the communication needs of the deaf or hard of hearing child. They must be able to professionally represent the effect of interpreting on the educational process and have the knowledge and skill to perform these tasks.

THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS BEGINS: WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT PROCESS?

When the school personnel fully understand the needs of the deaf or hard of hearing child (or children) and the qualifications to look for in seeking appropriate interpreters, then recruitment can commence. Assessment of interpreters begins at this stage of the process, during the recruitment and interviewing stages, before actually hiring interpreters.

The placement of an interpreter (or interpreters) in the appropriate class with a deaf or hard of hearing student is crucial to the overall success of the learning experience of the child. All too often, educators assume that someone with little interpreting experience is best suited for younger children. This assumption is false. In fact, the younger deaf and hard of hearing children are the students who need the most experienced and highly qualified interpreters because young children are still developing their language skills (Seal 1998). They do not have the ability to assess the interpretation and figure out what is accurate or inaccurate in it. Young children need exceptional interpreters for all of their classes so they can acquire the foundation for language and learning before being exposed to novice and inexperienced interpreters.

After interpreters are hired, their assessment should be a process, not a onetime event like an annual review. Assessment should be ongoing and should be done at frequent intervals, especially with newly hired interpreters. Often, a probationary period is appropriate during which the interpreter, the deaf or hard of hearing child, and the school personnel can judge whether or not the mediated interpreted situation is working.

Elements of assessment should begin with a clearly stated series of purposes. These purposes should be directly related to the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of the interpreter. The purpose of the assessment is to determine

Then, the frequency for assessing each of the above elements should be outlined and forms for assessing them should be provided and completed at each stage. For example, assessing the interpreter’s strengths and weaknesses in the interpretation process would be crucial shortly after he or she is hired, then again in two to three months, and again before the end of the year to determine what steps, if any, need to be taken during the summer break before the interpreter’s contract is renewed. The forms related to the perceptions of the students, teachers, and interpreters could be completed weekly by each party in the beginning, then monthly or quarterly as deemed appropriate by each party.

Another purpose of the assessment process should be to determine which of the assessments are formative and which are summative. The assessment results must be shared directly with the interpreter, and the particular assessments that will be kept in the interpreter’s permanent personnel record should be clearly identified.

Why Should Interpreters Have a Written Professional Development Plan?

In addition to the assessments mentioned above, the interpreter may create a professional development plan to improve her or his own skills and knowledge. The interpreter’s priorities should be determined in conjunction with the specified needs of the classroom setting as well as the assessments done to date, and they should be developed in conjunction with and supported by the school administration.

This professional development plan might include working with an interpreter mentor. The association with a mentor would allow a newer interpreter an opportunity to improve his or her skills associated with signing and the interpretation process in an educational environment. At the same time, the opportunity could provide structured time to share experiences, which could lead to helpful advice for problem solving.

Why Are External Evaluators Required to Assess Interpreters’ Skills?

Administrators, teachers, and parents must base their decisions on the expert input of those who know about interpreting. Unfortunately, all too often, schools and school districts do not have the expertise to assess interpretation skills. At these times, during the assessment process, an external evaluator will have to be hired to provide this assessment. The external evaluator can provide input into what should be assessed and how often. One assessment tool used by many states is the Educational Interpreter Knowledge Assessment (EIKA) and the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA). See chapter 10 for more detailed information on this screening tool. Some states use the national interpreting tests offered by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf that include assessments for both skill and knowledge of the interpreter who works in a variety of settings. It is not specifically designed for assessing educational interpreters like the EIKA and the EIPA, but it provides a standard for assessing knowledge and skills of interpreters.

After an interpreter is hired, an external evaluator should be used to assess the interpretation process occurring in the classroom. This assessment can be conducted in one or several classes on a particular day. However, to have a complete assessment, the evaluator should optimally observe several times over the course of a month to provide a broader review of the skills used at different times, in different classes, and (if more than one child requires interpretation) with a variety of students.

Keep in mind that an interpretation at one time in one class may be effective and successful, yet at different times and in different classes, the same level of interpreting skill may be ineffective and unsuccessful. For example, interpreting for science may be more difficult for the interpreter than interpreting for an English class. Difficulties may occur because of the content, the teacher’s style, the interest level of the student (or students), or the technical nature of the presentation that day. If the interpreter is working with more than one student, the interpretation may be very successful for one while being inadequate and inappropriate for another.

The external evaluator, when viewing interpreters in the classroom, should assess both the interpreter’s interpretation skills and the decision-making process that is used when the interpreter chooses to interpret or not to interpret. For example, the interpreter may decide that refraining from interpreting is more helpful when the teacher is writing on the board and simultaneously saying what she or he is writing. Or when another child in the classroom wants to communicate with the deaf child, the interpreter may respect their choice to try to communicate without interpretation. Sometimes, allowing attempts at uninterpreted communication is very appropriate because it supports independent behavior. It allows the deaf child direct communication access to individuals other than the interpreter, communication through which the child can begin to develop independent relationships with others in the classroom. Or, perhaps, the interpreter provides only a partial interpretation, rather than the entire interpretation, because the nondeaf child already has accomplished some of the communication him- or herself. All of these moment-to-moment decisions of when to interpret and how much to interpret are an important part of the assessment process as evaluators look at the interpreter’s role in effectively facilitating communication.

Another area where schools and school districts may not have the necessary expertise is the ability to assess the degree to which the classroom environment is accessible to the deaf or hard of hearing child. For example, the interpreter may be providing an effective interpretation, but does the deaf child understand it? If not, why not? And if so, how well? In this situation, the school may need to hire a different evaluator who can assess the child’s language skills and ability to comprehend the interpretation. This type of assessment is totally different from that of the interpreter’s performance, yet it is integral to the success of the mainstream experience for deaf and hard of hearing children.

HOW IS SUPERVISION OF INTERPRETERS UNIQUE AND WHY IS IT NECESSARY?

The interpreter’s direct supervisor, with the input from the external consultant, is responsible for the probationary period of employment. As mentioned above, the probationary period is crucial to the interpreter and to the educational success of the deaf or hard of hearing student.

Interpreters working in a mainstream setting are in a unique situation. Because their skills are so specialized, the school, the school district, or both often do not have the necessary expertise or personnel to provide supervision for all the various tasks the interpreter performs. Of course, the school personnel can observe the interpreter’s interpersonal skills and behaviors as well as his or her timeliness as an employee of the school, just as they observe these factors in teachers. The difficulty arises in assessing the actual interpretation process and the skills necessary to do this work effectively, which calls for ongoing skill assessments that may have to be provided by external consultants.

The on-site supervisor should be responsible to monitor the day-to-day work of the interpreter, with the exception, perhaps, of the interpretation skills themselves. Supervision also needs to involve assisting the interpreter in achieving a manageable workload, and supervisors must have the authority to act immediately when necessary. For example, the interpreter may need a team interpreter for some or all of the classes and extracurricular activities that require interpreting. Overuse syndrome, or repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a serious result of constant interpreting without sufficient rest periods (Premier’s Council 1994). Many schools have lost their interpreters because of the serious nature of this work-related injury. And many interpreters have been forced to stop interpreting altogether because of it.

The supervision should entail monitoring the degree of success in achieving the stated goals in the interpreter’s professional development plan. The supervisor must be aware that not all professional development activities designed for teachers are useful for interpreters to participate in or to attend. Alternate professional development opportunities need to be offered to the interpreter, not always, but certainly on occasion. Providing this assistance to interpreters includes allowing them to attend regional and national interpreting workshops and conferences where they can hone their skills and network with other interpreters, thus reducing their sense of isolation.

Interpreters can also study on their own during their planning time. Interpreters should not be in the classroom interpreting from 8:00–3:00 every day. A regimen of this kind is not physically possible over the long run unless interpreting work is scheduled so the interpreter has less interpretation required in some of the classes than in others (Seal 1998; Premier’s Council 1994).

Retention of qualified interpreters is essential. Reasons that interpreters either are not able to stay on the job or choose to leave are numerous. One reason is that interpreters may be overworked. They may be required or feel obligated to interpret for everything that occurs in the classroom in addition to extracurricular activities and assemblies. Interpreters can perceive either that he or she must interpret for all of these situations or that the deaf or hard of hearing student will be left out of the communication, the event, and the learning and bonding that occur in these various venues. Another reason interpreters may leave a position is because they feel isolated. Often, interpreters are either the only employee or one of a select few with this skill set and this grave responsibility to facilitating communication.

To retain interpreters, the work must be manageable and the interpreter must feel that he or she is a contributing member of the educational team. Ways to retain interpreters are to offer appropriate professional development opportunities, provide guidance in achieving their professional goals, allow opportunities to team interpret, and respect them as professional members of the educational team.

CONCLUSION

Interpreters are a unique part of the educational team when it comes to working with deaf and hard of hearing children in mainstream settings. They are highly specialized professionals. Before interpreters are hired, educators and parents must identify the needs of the individual deaf or hard of hearing child planning to attend school. In instances when an interpreted education is deemed appropriate for the deaf or hard of hearing child, the process of recruiting, hiring, assessing, supervising, and retaining interpreters begins and continues throughout the term of employment for the interpreter. Usually, external consultants will be required at several of these stages, including when assessing the interpreter’s interpretation skills before hiring and when evaluating the interpreter on a regular basis to determine the effectiveness and completeness of his or her work in the classroom or during extracurricular activities. Interpreters often work alone, and many times, no other interpreters are working at the school or even in the district. To help reduce this sense of isolation, interpreters should have the support from their school to seek appropriate professional development opportunities in which they can participate and learn from other interpreters who do the same work.

REFERENCES

Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities. 1994. Standards for interpreting in educational settings: Early childhood services to grade 12. Edmonton, Alberta: Government of Alberta.

Seal, B. C. 1998. Best practices in educational interpreting. Needham Heights, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon.