The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2023 - 37

CF
Fourteen of the 31
language pairs each had
fewer than 40 exams. (See
Table 2.) Their combined
pass rate is 42.2% (20042014:
35.88%). The results
for these language pairs
have been combined in the
figures shown in Table 2.
This is done because these
language pairs cannot be
averaged reliably due to
their low volume. Another
reason is that some
languages were not offered
for the entire period.
The graph in Figure 1
presents the data on the
high-volume languages
in 2011-2021. The dashed
horizontal red line shows the
mean pass rate. No standard
deviation is provided for
the pass rate percentages
because the language pairs
have widely divergent
numbers of exams. Overall,
Figure 1 shows that the pass
rates differ for each language
pair. The pass rates for the
high-volume pairs range
from a low of 4.00% for
English>French to a high of
44.44% for Chinese>English.
Newer language pairs, such
as Chinese>English, may
also show a higher pass
rate initially due to pent-up
demand that may decline in
the future.
The average pass rate of
38.14% for the aggregated
ELV languages (4.17% of
all exams) represents 14
language groups averaging
two or fewer exams per year.
A slightly higher or lower
number of ELV exams passing
in any data set can greatly
skew the individual average.
The pass rate for the highvolume
Spanish>English
language pair (19.40%) and
English>Spanish language
www.ata-chronicle.online
American Translators Association 37
Table 2: Extremely Low Volume (ELV) Language Pairs with Fewer than 40
Certification Exams (14 Language Pairs)
2011-2021
Language Pair
Croatian>English
Danish>English
Dutch>English
Italian>English*
Polish>English
Swedish>English
Ukrainian>English*
English>Croatian
English>Dutch
English>Finnish
English>Hungarian
English>Polish*
English>Swedish
English>Ukrainian
Totals:
Number of
Exams
2
9
15
31
7
20
6
5
6
4
19
35
13
22
194
Percentage
of Total
Exams
(n=4,649)
0.04%
0.19%
0.32%
0.67%
0.15%
0.43%
0.13%
0.11%
0.13%
0.09%
0.41%
0.75%
0.28%
0.47%
4.17%
Number
of Years
Offered:
1999-
2023
18
17
24
16
16
11
7
18
24
24
24
24
12
17
2004-2014
Comparison
Number of
Exams
7
12
25
16
26
7
N/A
14
10
8
20
7
14
166
Percentage
of Total
Exams
(n=5,463)
0.13%
0.22%
0.46%
0.29%
0.48%
0.13%
N/A
0.26%
0.18%
0.15%
0.37%
See Table 1
0.13%
0.26%
3.04%
* Notes: Italian>English was reinstated in 2015. Ukrainian>English started testing in 2017.
English>Polish has dropped into the ELV category.
Figure 1
http://www.ata-chronicle.online
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