How are the interpreter tests graded?

All tests are constructed so that they can be graded objectively. This is accomplished by selecting "scoring units" in the text of the test and assessing each examinee’s rendering of each scoring unit. Scoring units are particular words and phrases that have been selected by the test developers to measure specific linguistic phenomena. A description of the types of scoring units that are distributed throughout the test is attached at Appendix C. Anyone who wants further information about how the scoring units work should read "Credentialing Court Interpreters," an essay published in PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ANNUAL INSTITUTE FOR COURT INTERPRETERS (August 1990). The examiners determine whether each scoring unit is interpreted correctly or incorrectly, and only these elements of the test are actually graded. When grading exams, the examiners consider correct any rendering that would be acceptable in any variety of the target language. For a scoring unit to be counted wrong, each of the examiners must agree that it is wrong. The overall score of each test section is calculated by dividing the total number of scoring units in that test section into the total number of scoring units interpreted correctly.