What is the interpreter's role for standardized educational assessments?

What is the interpreter's role for standardized educational assessments?

• A. The interpreter should translate the entire test including items
• B. The interpreter's role is to interpret instructions but not the actual test items, unless the test aims to assess content knowledge rather than literacy
• C. The interpreter should only observe and not participate
• D. The interpreter should modify test items to suit language

Answer: (B)

In standardized assessments, the goal is to measure what the student knows and can do, not how well they navigate language. The interpreter should restate or translate only the instructions and any procedural details so the student understands what to do, but should not translate or alter the actual test items. This preserves the test’s validity and fairness because changing or translating items can change their meaning or difficulty and introduce bias. There is a note: if the test is explicitly designed to assess content knowledge rather than literacy, there might be more flexibility, but the default practice remains to avoid modifying test items. By focusing on clarifying directions, the interpreter helps the student participate accurately without changing what the test is measuring.

In standardized assessments, the goal is to measure what the student knows and can do, not how well they navigate language. The interpreter should restate or translate only the instructions and any procedural details so the student understands what to do, but should not translate or alter the actual test items. This preserves the test’s validity and fairness because changing or translating items can change their meaning or difficulty and introduce bias. There is a note: if the test is explicitly designed to assess content knowledge rather than literacy, there might be more flexibility, but the default practice remains to avoid modifying test items. By focusing on clarifying directions, the interpreter helps the student participate accurately without changing what the test is measuring.