§ 304. Examinations.
(a) Written examination.—After completing the orientation workshop, interpreters are eligible to take the written examination. The written exam is designed to measure the interpreter’s general English language proficiency and usage, knowledge of court-related terms, and familiarity with ethical and professional conduct.
(1) Multiple choice.—The first part of the written examination consists of multiple-choice questions. All interpreters, except those who are deaf, must take the multiple choice part of the examination, regardless of the language they interpret. Schedule B of these regulations discusses the number of questions on the multiple choice portion of the examination and the minimum number of questions that must be answered correctly for an interpreter to pass.
(2) Foreign Language Assessment Exercise.—Interpreters who interpret languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination must also take and pass a foreign language assessment exercise. Interpreters who interpret in more than one language for which a full or abbreviated oral examination exists must take the foreign language assessment exercise for each language. Interpreters must pass both the multiple-choice examination and the foreign language assessment exercise.
If no full or abbreviated oral exam exists in any of an interpreter’s working languages, he or she is not required to take the foreign language assessment exercise. Sign language interpreters are exempt from taking the foreign language assessment exercise.
Comment Interpreters are advised to take the foreign language assessment exercise in the language in which they are most fluent first. Subsequently, when attempting to become certified in a second language, they must take the foreign language assessment exercise for that language before taking the oral exam. Schedule B of these regulations discusses the content, passing requirements, and time allotted for the foreign language assessment exercise. Schedule C contains a list of languages for which full or abbreviated oral proficiency examinations exist.
(b) Oral proficiency examination.—
(1) Foreign language interpreters.—Interpreters who pass the written examination must next take an oral proficiency examination. The type and format of the proficiency examination depends on the language interpreted and whether there is a full or abbreviated proficiency examination available in that language. Interpreters who interpret more than one language must be certified in each language.
(i) Languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination.—Interpreters who interpret languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination must take and pass all available parts in order to become certified. Where there is only an abbreviated examination, the interpreter must pass the available parts and agree to take the remaining parts when available in order to remain certified. Schedule C of these regulations details the contents of the full oral proficiency examination and provides lists of languages for which there is a full or abbreviated oral proficiency examination.
(ii) Languages for which there is no oral proficiency examination.—To demonstrate linguistic proficiency, interpreters of languages for which there is no full or abbreviated oral performance examination must comply with one or more of the following requirements:
(A) pass an oral proficiency interview in their foreign language in which the interpreter’s foreign language skills are evaluated by expert raters during the course of a telephone-based interview session. Details of the oral proficiency interview are contained in Schedule C of these regulations;
(B) pass an oral English proficiency exam, such as the Versant Spoken English language test. When an interpreter’s English language skills are deemed insufficient, he or she may be asked to take and pass an English proficiency interview at the superior level at the discretion of the ICP; and
(C) agree to take a full or abbreviated test when available.
(iii) Administration of oral proficiency examinations.—The oral proficiency examination must be taken and passed in the manner, and within the time periods, described in Schedule C of these regulations.
(iv) Retaking the oral proficiency examination.—Interpreters who fail any portion of the oral proficiency examination may retake it in the manner described in Schedule C of these regulations.
(2) Sign language interpreters.—After attending the orientation workshop and passing the multiple-choice part of the written exam, sign language interpreters must comply with the following requirements in lieu of an oral examination:
(i) be certified by Register of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), Texas Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI), or National Association for the Deaf (NAD);
(ii) provide proof of RID, BEI, or NAD certifications (proof shall consist of a copy of the interpreter’s certificates and a valid active membership card, or a letter from RID, BEI, or NAD certifying the results of the proficiency examination and status); and
(iii) hold a relevant RID, BEI, or NAD certificate for legal interpretation as determined by the Court Administrator. A list of relevant RID, BEI, or NAD certificates for legal interpretation can be found in Schedule C of these regulations.
Source The provisions of this § 304 amended November 22, 2021, effective January 1, 2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (349442) to (349444).
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