EIPA Testing

The family of Educational Interpreter Performance Assessments (EIPA) have become the national standard for assessing Educational Interpreters. School districts in several states are no longer permitted to hire staff with minimal sign language skills for children who are Deaf.

South Carolina defines an Educational Interpreter, as a person who engages in the practice of interpreting pre-kindergarten through 12th grade classroom content and discourse for students who are deaf or hard of hearing regardless of the title of the position held by the person.

Pursuant to Regulation 43-243.2, effective August 2026,  no local education agency (LEA) in the State shall employ, or maintain the employment of, a person as an educational interpreter unless the person demonstrates the following qualifications:

1. Documentation of the current national certification or an Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) rating of 3.5 or higher is required. If the interpreter has completed the EIPA Performance Assessment and is awaiting results, the LEA may wait to verify this requirement until the results are received.
2. Evidence of a high school diploma;
3. Documentation of valid, successful completion of the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment: Written Test (EIPA: WT);
4. A sworn statement that the applicant has read, understands, and agrees to abide by the National Association of Interpreters in Education Code of Ethics;
5. A background check pursuant to Section 59‑25‑115; and
6. Completing a minimum of 80 hours of continuing education every four years will begin with the 2026-2027 school year.

There is no provision for grandfathering currently employed Educational Interpreters not meeting the above standard.  An Educational Interpreter who scores less than an EIPA 3.0 are considered unqualified and are not able to provide access to an Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Cates & Delkamiller, 2021).  Such signers place the educational rights of deaf children at risk.

The South Carolina Educational Interpreting Center (SCEIC) as part of its partnership between Clemson University and the South Carolina Department of Education administers Educational Interpreter Performance Assessments (EIPA) and Educational Interpreter Knowledge Assessments (EIPA:WT) for educational interpreters working in South Carolina.

The SCEIC pre-pays for all testing using a coupon code.  Thus we cannot receive a refund if the you do not show up for the test date you have selected.

After registering, and once given a test time, you are required to attend the test on the date registered for.  

If you do not test on the date you registered for, you will be unable to receive any additional testing coupon codes from the SCEIC.

Per the EIPA Diagnostic Center rules, Educational Interpreters are only allowed to take one EIPA test annually.

It takes approximately 9-12 months for EIPA testing results to be processed by the EIPA Diagnostic Center.

The EIPA Performance Test (EIPA)

The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) is an important assessment because it provides very helpful and detailed feedback interpreters can use to create an action plan for improved interpreting performance. 

The Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) is not a language assessment rather it evaluates the ASL-English interpreting skills of educational interpreters working in elementary through secondary settings and assesses how well an interpreter is able to convey the classroom content in the following domain areas:

• ASL to English: Interpreting a series of classroom lectures
• English to ASL: Interpreting an interview with a Deaf student
• Vocabulary: Assessment of the vocabulary, fingerspelling, and number production and reception
• Overall Factors: Assessment of the overall factors within the interpreted product 

The EIPA Written Test (EIPA:WT)

The EIPA Written Test and Knowledge Standards (EIPA: WT) evaluates an interpreter's understanding of information that is necessary for working with students in an educational setting and includes the following content areas: Culture, Education, English, Interpreting Linguistics, Literacy and Tutoring, Professional Role and Conduct, Student Cognitive and Language Development, and Technology & Medical Aspects of Deafness.