Assessing Translation Competence in Jordanian Universities

Abstract

Translation assessment plays a vital role in enhancing students' translation skills, including their abilities in source text analysis, target text creation, and revision strategies. However, in translation studies, particularly in pedagogy-focused research, assessment methods are still underexplored. This study examines how translation instructors at Jordanian universities evaluate student translations, focusing on the types of grading systems and assessment rubrics used at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Two questionnaires were used to identify the most important aspects of translation performance from the professors’ perspectives and to highlight the areas most frequently assessed. The findings stress the need for adopting comprehensive and consistent translation-specific assessment tools to improve the reliability and validity of translation quality evaluations in academic settings. The study also proposes a holistic rubric designed to assess translation performance, aiming to promote more reflective and standardized practices in translation education and evaluation.

Highlights:

1. This paper highlights current translation assessment methods and rubrics used to evaluate students’ translation and performance in translation courses at Jordanian universities.
2. The study shows that the assessment offers valuable feedback to meet the demands of the professional translation market.
3. This study scrutinizes the importance of areas of assessment in translation
4. This study reveals that assessing and evaluating students' translation skills is essential for determining their proficiency and ability to accurately convey meaning from the source language to the target language
5. This research advances the field by creating an integrated rubric for assessing students’ translation quality.