EIPA Testing
The family of Educational Interpreter Performance Assessments (EIPA) have become the national standard for assessing Educational Interpreters. School districts in several states are no longer permitted to hire staff with minimal sign language skills for children who are Deaf.
South Carolina guidance defines an Educational Interpreter, regardless of assigned job title, any individual who provides access to the school curriculum and environment by transferring meaning between languages in a PreK–12 educational setting for Deaf students.
The South Carolina Educational Interpreting Center (SCEIC) as part of its partnership between Clemson University and the South Carolina Department of Education administers Educational Interpreter Performance Assessments (EIPA) and Educational Interpreter Knowledge Assessments (EIPA:WT) for educational interpreters working in South Carolina.
The SCEIC pre-pays for all testing using a couupon code. Thusu we cannot receive a refund if the you do not show up for the test date you have selected. After registering, and once given a test time, you are required to attend the test on the date registered for. If you do not test on the date you registered for, you will be unable to receive any additional testing coupon codes from the SCEIC.
Per the EIPA Diagnostic Center rules, Educational Interpreters are only allowed to take one EIPA test annually.
It takes approximately 9-12 months for EIPA testing results to be processed by the EIPA Diagnostic Center.
An Educational Interpreter who scores less than an EIPA 3.0 are considered unqualified and are not able to provide access to an Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Cates & Delkamiller, 2021). Such signers place the educational rights of deaf children at risk.
EIPA Performance Test
The EIPA Performance Test (EIPA)
The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) is an important assessment because it provides very helpful and detailed feedback interpreters can use to create an action plan for improved interpreting performance.
The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) is not a language assessment rather it evaluates the ASL-English interpreting skills of educational interpreters working in elementary through secondary settings and assesses how well an interpreter is able to convey the classroom content in the following domain areas:
- ASL to English: Interpreting a series of classroom lectures
- English to ASL: Interpreting an interview with a Deaf student
- Vocabulary: Assessment of the vocabulary, fingerspelling, and number production and reception
- Overall Factors: Assessment of the overall factors within the interpreted product
The EIPA Written Test (EIPA:WT) The EIPA Written Test and Knowledge Standards (EIPA: WT) evaluates an interpreter's understanding of information that is necessary for working with students in an educational setting and includes the following content areas: Culture, Education, English, Interpreting Linguistics, Literacy and Tutoring, Professional Role and Conduct, Student Cognitive and Language Development, and Technology & Medical Aspects of Deafness.
Register for EIPA Testing
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Upcoming EIPA Test Dates
University Center of Greenville
(Two testing slots per date) 04 March 2025 06 March 2025 11 March 2025 01 April 2025 03 April 2025 08 April 2025 10 April 2025 15 April 2025 17 April 2025 24 April 2025 28 April 2025 06 May 2025 08 May 2025 13 May 2025 15 May 2025 22 May 2025 03 June 2025 05 June 2025 10 June 2025 12 June 2025 17 June 2025 19 June 2025 24 June 2025 26 June 2025 Sandhills REC Columbia
(Three testing slots per date)
20 February 2025 21 February 2025 Clemson Design Center in Charleston
(Three testing slots per date)
20 March 2025 21 March 2025 -
EIPA Performance Test Request Form
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING FORM TO REQUEST AN EIPA ASSESSMENT DATE
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Upcoming EIPA: WT Test Dates
Saturday, 12 April, 2025
09:00 am - 01:00 pm
University Center of Greenville
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To Register, email: jplacel@clemson.edu
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EIPA: Written Test
The EIPA Written Test and Knowledge Standards (EIPA: WT) evaluates an interpreter's understanding of information that is necessary for working with students in an educational setting and includes the following content areas:
Culture Literacy & Tutoring Education Professional Role & Conduct English Student Cognitive & Language Development Interpreting Technology & Medical Aspects of Deafness Linguistics The test itself consists of computer generated, 177 multiple-choice questions and can take up to three hours to complete.
