History

Prior to 1980, the job of a cueing transliterator existed but was undefined. The first transliterators worked in school systems with mainstreaming as the goal for the deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Since this goal was defined for transliterators, the question that remained was how could a cueing transliterator support mainstream accessibility?

A small group of professionals gathered to pursue research, education and perfessional certification for cued language transliterators (CLT). In 1985, the first transliterator preparation program was established at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. The following issues were addressed:

  • What does a CLT need to know and what skills must a CLT have?
  • Is it possible for a CLT to acquire this knowledge and these skills?
  • Which of the identified knowledge and skills can be taught?
  • How can they be taught?
  • How can possession of the knowledge and skills be tested?

In 1988, in the commonwealth of Virginia, members of the cueing community gathered to help draft legislation requiring that all interpreters and transliterators in the state be qualified. As a result of these efforts, individuals who serve as interpreters or transliterators in Virginia must demonstrate professional qualifications via either a state assessment or national certification. Other states have since adopted similar mandates. To allow professional cueing transliterators to comply with these mandates, and in an effort to provide quality services for consumers, a national certification examination for transliterators was established. The Cued Language Transliterator National Certification Examination (CLTNCE) is administered nationwide and scored by the Testing, Evaluation, and Certification Unit, Inc. (TECUnit).

In addition, a state-level evaluation has been developed for use by states interested in administering a less comprehensive examination that measures for the national standard of practice. The TECUnit, Inc. provides information, guidance, and standards that facilitate cued language-spoken language transliteration. Standardized tests that assess basic expressive and receptive cueing skills are also administered by the TECUnit, Inc.