Introduction

There is a longstanding need for valid, reliable measurements of interpreting competence for combinations involving both signed and spoken languages. Although rubrics and checklists are commonly used in both academic and employment settings, a review of available rubrics indicates that many do not focus on interpreting performance per se but rather on vocabulary and language. We argue the need for a shift toward more nuanced and evidence-based conceptualizations of interpreting, communication, and meaning, to improve the development and use of rubrics for assessment in interpreter education, certification, and professional development.

We report here on one facet of the work of the Teaching Interpreter Educators and Mentors (TIEM) Center’s Interpreting Assessment Project, in which a team of specialists in the assessment of interpreting performance worked to create valid rubrics for use in measuring proficiency in both signed and spoken language interpreting performance. This volume introduces the Interpreting Performance Assessment Rubric, which can be used to assess both simultaneous and consecutive interpreting performance, in terms of both process and product, in a variety of settings. The rubric encompasses domains and subdomains that have been identified as being fundamental to effective interpreting performance. We outline the descriptors for each domain and their respective scoring scales. Choosing source texts, which is a fundamental part of assessment and evaluation, is also discussed.