Professional Development

In 2020, NAETISL embarked on the process of creating a National Certification Test for Spoken Language Interpreters in Education. Our vision is that, just like Sign Language, Legal, and Medical interpreters, individuals working in early childhood and K-12 settings will be able to demonstrate that at a given point in time, they met the national standards and requirements set in collaboration with stakeholders and subject matter experts.

The Process

The national certification pilot test process started with the validation of our Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice (link to the Code) through focus groups and surveys with stakeholders nationwide. We are grateful to the Minnesota Department of Education and the National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Healthcare for providing us with a framework for a Code of Ethics that we then adapted to the specifics of our setting.

The next step to creating a national certification process for spoken language interpreters in education was a job task analysis. This is a critical component of national certification exams as it serves to validate the design content and ensure that exams determine whether the essential knowledge and skills have been mastered by participants. The job task analysis started with a thorough literature review to support the development of an initial list of tasks, knowledge, abilities, and skills. This review included job descriptions for those currently working in schools as interpreters, freelance interpreters, and those hired as bilingual staff members and subsequently tasked to interpret for education meetings.

This research resulted in a national certification test blueprint reflecting the expected competencies of spoken language interpreters in education, which was used to guide the process of writing the exam questions and designing the test format. NAETISL is in the pilot phase of this process and we expect the national certification test to be available in the fall of 2025.