The department of American Sign Language and Interpreter Training has established a series of benchmarks to ensure that students are progressing appropriately through the curriculum. Each benchmark evaluation is an opportunity to assess where students are in their development and to identify potential problems early so that remediation can occur if it is needed. Each of these crucial checkpoints is briefly described below.

Mid-Program Evaluation – The mid-program evaluation consists of three parts. The first is a written exam over course content for the core departmental courses taken during the first year. This is followed by a written exam that assesses students’ ability to watch a signed discourse and answer questions based on that stimulus. Finally, students are asked to demonstrate their ability to express themselves in American Sign Language. Students are required to have completed the following courses prior to sitting for the mid-program evaluation: ASL I-IV, VGC, Intro to the Deaf Community, Fingerspelling and Numbers, Intralingual Skills, and Intro to the Interpreting Profession.

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English Proficiency Exam – The English Proficiency Exam is administered after Intralingual Skills and is designed to predict students’ performance on the Test of English Proficiency, a component of the BEI evaluation (see DARS/BEI below).

Benchmark Evaluation for Students at the conclusion of Interpreting I, Interpreting II, and Interpreting III. – The Benchmark Evaluation for Students (BES) is meant to serve as a mock evaluation experience. Interpreting I, II, and III administer a BES geared to the students expected skill level at the end of the semester. This evaluation serves as the final exam for the course and is weighted heavily in calculating the students’ grade for the course. The BES is intended to ensure that students have mastered the necessary skills to move on to the next higher interpreting course.

Exit Evaluation – The exit evaluation is a comprehensive exam taken as the final exam during the cooperative courses for Interpreting and DSS majors. The purpose of this comprehensive exam is to assess students’ mastery of the entire curriculum. This exam is similar to the course content written exam in the mid-program evaluation with the exception that this exam also includes core courses taken after the mid-program evaluation.

Deaf Support Specialist Panel Review - This benchmark occurs during the DSS Internship Class. Students will be given a series of questions to answer regarding the role and responsibilities of a DSS service provider. Their responses will be videotaped and evaluated for accuracy as well as sign production, vocabulary and ASL features.

Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, (DARS) Board for Evaluation of Interpreters, (BEI) Exam. – Students are required to pass state certification as a sign language interpreter in order to receive the AAS Degree / Sign Language Interpreter Option. The interpreter exam administered by the state consists of a mandatory background check. Once completed, candidates may apply to take the written Test of English Proficiency, (TEP) which measures candidates’ facility with the English language. The five parts of the TEP are Reading Comprehension, Synonyms, Grammar and Usage, Sentence Completion, and Antonyms. Candidates who successfully pass the TEP may apply to take the performance test. The Basic certification exam has four components. These are; Expressive Interpreting, Expressive Transliterating, Receptive Interpreting, and Sight Translation. Students who successfully complete all of the required course work and then pass both the TEP and the Basic certification exam have met all of the requirements for graduation with the AAS Degree / Sign Language Interpreter Option and are awarded their diploma.

• ASL Interpreting Internship

• ASL Interpreting Option Internship

• Deaf Support Specialist Internship