An Activity in the School Interpreting Series
The School Interpreting Series (2026) was a 16-credit-hour, six-course series focused on the interpreting specialization for K-12 schools within the ASL-English Interpretation BA program at the University of Northern Colorado.
The School Interpreting Series recognized that effective school interpreting requires both technical interpreting skills and a strong foundation of educational and professional knowledge. The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) is the primary national instrument used by state education agencies to evaluate interpreters working in K-12 educational settings.
The EIPA includes two components: 1) a written knowledge examination and 2) a performance assessment of interpreting skills. The EIPA: Written Practice activities were designed to help interpreting students prepare for the written portion of the exam by applying course learning to questions aligned with EIPA content standards.
Overview
The EIPA: Written Practice was a culminating activity designed to help interpreting students assess their readiness for the EIPA Written Knowledge Examination.
Throughout the Childhood Development for School Interpreting course, students completed short practice quizzes. These quizzes served as low-stakes, ungraded, application activities that helped students assess their understanding of course content, aligned with the EIPA content standards, and become familiar with the types of questions on the EIPA written exam.
At the end of the course, interpreting students completed a longer practice test consisting of sample questions aligned with course content and EIPA content standards. While the practice test addressed similar concepts as the earlier quizzes, the questions were not identical and required students to apply their knowledge across themes.
The practice quizzes and test could be taken only once to simulate the conditions of the actual EIPA written exam.
Learning Scaffolding & Objectives
In general, learning was intentionally scaffolded across the School Interpreting Series through introduction (I), reinforcement (R), mastery in applied contexts (M), and structured assessments (A), creating clear learning pathways from program-level competencies to course-level objectives, assignments, and activities.
The EIPA: Written Practice was aligned with the program-level competency SIS C10: Professional Pursuits.
SIS C10. Participate in academic activities that lead to the post-graduation pursuit of professional credentials, professional development in education and interpreting, and supervision and accountability. (Knowledge, Skill, & Attitude)
Interpreting students developed SIS C10: Professional Pursuits through the following course-level objective.
Elements of the EIPA content standards were woven throughout the School Interpreting Series curriculum.
I - Introduction to School Interpreting
I/R - Systems & Structures for School Interpreting & An Interdisciplinary Approach to School Interpreting I
Insights
A common misconception is that the quality of interpretation is determined solely by technical skills in language and interpretation. In practice, the application of interpreting skills within educational settings is strongly influenced by the interpreter's knowledge foundation.
School interpreting occurs within a complex system shaped by education policies, instructional practices, and collaborative team structures. Effective interpreters must understand how their work intersects with these systems in order ot provide services that align with educational goals and student outcomes.
Preparation for the EIPA Written Knowledge Examination encourages interpreters to develop this broader knowledge base and apply it when making professional decisions in educational environments.
Approaches to Activity
The EIPA: Written Practice consisted of multiple-choice questions aligned with six major themes:
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Principles of Learning
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Child & Language Development
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Literacy Development
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Language & Information Deprivation
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IEP Assessment
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Systems Factors Affecting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
These themes corresponded with the EIPA content standards and reflected interdisciplinary knowledge areas essential to educational interpreting practice.
Practice Quizzes
Throughout the Childhood Development for School Interpreting course, interpreting students completed short practice quizzes on each theme. These quizzes were low-stakes, ungraded application activities that allowed students to verify their understanding and become familiar with EIPA-style questions.
Scoring was based on the correctness of the answer and was automatically generated, along with feedback, through the Learning Management System's quiz feature.
Practice Test
The final practice test integrated the six themes into a longer assessment designed (graded) to approximate the structure and expectations of the EIPA Written Knowledge Examination.
Scoring was based on the correctness of the answer and was automatically generated, along with feedback, through the Learning Management System's quiz feature.
Materials
The materials listed below are a sample of resources used in the School Interpreting Series to explore the EIPA content standards. This list is intended to illustrate the breadth of educational, developmental, linguistic, and systems knowledge reflected in the EIPA Written Test.
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Boys Town National Research Hospital. (2023). EIPA written test content and knowledge standards.
https://cdn.aglty.io/classroom-interpreting/resources/EIPAContentandKnowledgeStandards.pdf
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Marinello, D. (2023). The Learning Lounge: Learning and learning theories [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVz9_LhyDsM
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Stanzione, C. M., & Schick, B. (2014). Environmental language factors in theory of mind development: Evidence from children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing or who have specific language impairment. Topics in Language Disorders, 34(4), 296–312. https://doi.org/10.1097/TLD.0000000000000038
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Visual Language and Visual Learning Science of Learning Center. (2011, June). Reading research and deaf children (Research Brief No. 4). Gallaudet University. https://vl2.gallaudet.edu/research-briefs/258
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School Interpreting Series. (2023). Language deprivation: Through Deaf eyes [Google Slides]. Preparing School Interpreters Project, University of Northern Colorado. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NVejS_d00uG1hlS-kFyWjIyHihbp56fpj_J4PcVXxeE/edit?usp=sharing
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Johnson, C. D. (2011). PARC: Placement and readiness checklists for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. https://www.handsandvoices.org/pdf/PARC_2011_ReadinessChecklists.pdf
The PSI Project shares links as a resource and does not monitor or update them; PSI is not responsible for their content, accuracy, or availability over time.