The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2021 - 38

CERTIFICATION FORUM

By Jim Jones

ATA Certification and
COVID-19 Redux

one's leisure may also count,
but under Category B. An
example of this would be the
ATA58 recording recently
made available for free to

certification

exam sittings

motivating the Certification

training events in October

Program to consider ways to

and November, which, like

alleviate similar situations in

so much else last year, were

the future. One obvious focus

offered remotely rather

is on ways to administer

than in person. Designed

As most of you
are aware, ATA

were temporarily
suspended in 2020
and will continue to

he realities of social
distancing and stayat-home orders are

the exam remotely (i.e.,

be unavailable in

allow candidates to take the

early 2021. (You can

exam from home). With the

learn more about
that decision by
reading the May/June
Certification Forum
by David Stephenson,

pandemic, ATA has spent
more time and resources
exploring these options.
We're finding that exam
logistics and security options
have improved in recent
months. The " silver lining "

" COVID-19 and

of the pandemic, perhaps,

Certification. " 1)

is that it once again put at-

So, what has the
program been up to
in the meantime?

home testing at the top of our
agenda. We have researched
platforms, interviewed
vendors, and tested several
options. We haven't found the
right solution for us yet but
are working hard to get this
implemented in 2021.
Other significant
program activities last year

As one of the
Chinese>English graders,
I attended our most recent

and led by our longtime
grader trainer and expert
Larry Bogoslaw, those
Zoom sessions informed
us graders of the ongoing
improvements to our highly
detailed and regarded exam
grading rubrics, flowcharts,
procedures, and rules. Larry
is constantly reviewing these
tools and processes to ensure
the program is applying best
practices consistently and
fairly across all the language
pairs we test.
Speaking of online

the membership.2 If you
already passed the exam,
any downtime you might be
experiencing now might be
a good time to earn CEPs!
For more information about
CEPs, visit https://bit.ly/
ATA-CE-points.
One aspect of the program
that remains unaffected
is the practice test. In the
absence of exam activities,
this is a great time to take
one or more practice tests.
These are retired exam
passages that the candidate
purchases online, translates,
and returns for grading
and feedback. Because the
certification exam itself is
not returned, the practice
test is the only way we
can provide feedback to
candidates, so it is highly

offerings, conferences and

recommended. For more

other events that have

details, visit http://bit.ly/

been moved online are

ATA-practice-test.

still eligible for continuing

As we round the corner of

education points (CEPs).

this pandemic and head into

An approved live, online

a new year, the Certification

event counts for CEPs under

Program is looking forward

included grading practice

Category A, with the same

to returning to our former

tests, preparing new exam

points awarded and the

activity levels and offering a

passages, and developing

same restrictions as a live,

more convenient testing

and conducting continuing

in-person event. Anything

model to our members.

education for the graders.

recorded and reviewed at

Stay tuned!

NOTES
1
Stephenson, David. " COVID-19 and Certification, " The ATA Chronicle (May/June 2020), 38,
http://bit.ly/certification-COVID.
2

You can find the ATA58 session recording here: https://bit.ly/ATA58-virtual.

Jim Jones is a freelance translator for Chinese, German, and Spanish into English. He is also
an editor, illustrator, and cartoonist. He serves as the language chair of ATA's Chinese>English
certification exam. He has an MA in linguistics and is currently studying for a second MA (English
composition). han4yu3@gmail.com
38

The ATA Chronicle | Januar y/February 2021

www.atanet.org

https://www.bit.ly/ATA-CE-points https://www.bit.ly/ATA-CE-points http://www.bit.ly/ATA-practice-test http://www.bit.ly/ATA-practice-test http://www.bit.ly/certification-COVID https://www.bit.ly/ATA58-virtual http://www.atanet.org

The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2021

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