Rating Scales for Interpreting Performance Assessment

This paper explores the use of rating scales as a tool for assessing interpreting performance. Drawing on common quality criteria in the interpreting literature, the researcher’s intuitive understanding of different levels of interpreting quality, as well as the rating scales used in second language assessment, a rating scale with three criteria was developed a priori and trialled by a group of raters. Two groups of raters – experienced professional interpreters and novice interpreters – rated five interpreting students’ consecutive interpreting performance using these scales and provided their feedback on the rating scales. The raters’ feedback suggests that this type of rating scale might be useful in multiple interpreting performance assessment, particularly as a means to enhance rating consistency. However, the marks produced by raters yielded mixed results. In both groups of raters, the single measure intra-class coefficient was high in accuracy assessment, but not in TL quality and delivery assessment. Further research is required before meaningful conclusions about the reliability of rating scale-based assessment can be drawn.