Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Advance Access originally published online on September 28, 2005
The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 2006 11(1):3-20; doi:10.1093/deafed/enj007
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Empirical Articles |
Look Who's Being Left Behind: Educational Interpreters and Access to Education for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students
University of Colorado at Boulder
Boys Town National Research Hospital
University of Haifa
For many deaf and hard-of-hearing students, access to the general education curriculum is provided, in part, by using the services of an educational interpreter. Even with a highly qualified interpreter, full access to the content and social life in a hearing classroom can be challenging, and there are many aspects of the educational placement that can affect success. The skills and knowledge of the educational interpreter are one critical aspect. This study reports results from a study of approximately 2,100 educational interpreters from across the United States. All the interpreters were evaluated using the Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment (EIPA), an evaluation instrument used to assess and certify classroom interpreters (see Schick, Williams, & Bolster, 1999). The results show that approximately 60% of the interpreters evaluated had inadequate skills to provide full access. In addition, educational interpreters who had completed an Interpreter Training Program had EIPA scores only .5 of an EIPA level above those who had not, on average. Demographic data and its relationship with EIPA ratings are explored. In general, the study suggests that many deaf and hard-of-hearing students receive interpreting services that will seriously hinder reasonable access to the classroom curriculum and social interaction.
1 Interpreting generally refers to the cross-rendering of two languages, such as English and ASL. Transliteration refers to a form of signing that represents the spoken language directly, such as using English grammatical structures and vocabulary. However, English transliteration borrows heavily from ASL, especially in those elements that are not lexical, such as prosody, nonmanual adverbial and clausal markers, and the use of spatial mapping for discourse and cohesion. 2 The RID is a professional organization in the United States that certifies interpreters who work with adults. See www.rid.org. 3 There is no full compilation of state standards for educational interpreters, and it is difficult to summarize requirements succinctly. Using state-specific data provided by L. Johnson (personal communication, April 30, 2005) and supplemented with other sources, we know the following (although this is probably not completely correct). Twenty-five states require some type of national test for educational interpreters (RID, EIPA, or NAD). Of these, 12 allow only the EIPA, 2 allow only RID, 2 allow RID or NAD, and 9 require either the EIPA, RID, or NAD. Eight states require some national assessment or a state-managed quality assurance program. 4 The NAD no longer administers their evaluation tool, but is developing, with RID, a new set of certification tools for community interpreters. 5 In many states, such as Colorado, requirements include standards on content knowledge, continuing education, and/or university degrees in addition to performance standards. 6 PSE, as it is intended in the EIPA, is a form of nativized English, used by members of the Deaf community. We do not refer to the type of English signing that hearing people produce because they are not yet fluent signers. We consider PSE to be rule governed, complex, and capable of representing a hybridization of English and ASL. PSE has also been described as a contact language (Lucas & Valli, 1989). See Davis (2005) and Kuntze (1990) for interesting discussions about nativized English signing. 7 MCE is the form of English signing that was developed specifically to teach deaf students English in a more accessible form. It follows the syntax and semantics of spoken English, although it borrows aspects of ASL, such as prosody, adverbial and clausal nonmanual morphology, and some spatial mapping. Interpreters do not have to follow a specific MCE system perfectly and, as with ASL and PSE interpreters, how well the message is conveyed is important, not just the ability to represent classroom communication using MCE signs. 8 Contact information for the EIPA Diagnostic Center: Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE 68131, 402 452-5033 or e-mail: eipa{at}boystown.org. 9 The first assessment did not use official EIPA videotapes, but the ratings were conducted by the EIPA Diagnostic Center. The second assessment followed all current EIPA procedures. 10 Some school districts have adopted a rule that the student must have language skills within 1.5–2 standard deviations of his hearing peers in order to be placed in a full-time interpreted-education setting. Note that this is the same criterion used to qualify students as having special needs in the domains of language development, speech, and many other areas. Correspondence should be sent to Brenda Schick, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, 2501 Kittredge Loop Road, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0409 (e-mail: Brenda.Schick{at}colorado.edu).
Received May 2, 2005; revised August 28, 2005; accepted August 30, 2005
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