About CASLI Exams
Center for the Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation (CASLI) administers the exams which the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) uses for their national certification programs. Candidates must meet certain RID Certification eligibility requirements AND pass both a knowledge exam and a performance exam in order to receive their national certification.
CASLI exams determine minimal level of competency for national certification.
CASLI exams are pass/fail exams used to determine whether a candidate is able to demonstrate that they meet or exceed the minimum level of knowledge, skills and abilities an ASL interpreter needs to competently perform on the job in a conventional setting. CASLI Exams are not, nor are ever intended to be, diagnostic tests and should not be compared to other interpreting assessments that provide any feedback on a candidate’s strengths or weaknesses.
CASLI exams are validated by the ASL-English Interpreting Profession.
CASLI exams are based on information collected from ASL-English interpreter and consumer Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who participated in the Job Task Analyses (JTAs) used to design these certification exams. The JTAs list all of the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities of a competent ASL interpreter, and were verified by our colleagues in the field by way of national surveys. The results of these JTA reports became the foundation for CASLI Exams. Our exams were designed and written by Subject Matter Experts within the ASL Interpreting field and within CASLI’s Testing Committee, and under the guidance of nationally certified psychometrician, Clarence Chaffee of the Caviart Group, LLC.
CASLI exams are used specifically for RID’s national certification programs.
CASLI exams were developed for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf to use as one of several eligibility requirements for their national certification programs. These exams assess whether a candidate can demonstrate the minimum level of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to competently interpret in typical settings and as required for national certification. These assessments, along with educational requirements and other eligibility requirements are all components of the certification program and are not designed to be stand-alone indicators of whether a candidate is eligible for RID certification or not.