The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2020 - 14

MEMBER OPINIONS: DISCUSSION ON OPENING ATA'S EXAM TO NONMEMBERS continued
claimed. Second, ATA has stated that
of the estimated 55,000 working
translators in the U.S., approximately
2,000 hold ATA certification, which
amounts to 3.6%. Additionally, our
exam is offered internationally, and
with global estimates of the number of
working translators exceeding 500,000,
ATA-certified translators represent
less than 1% of the global translation
workforce. Courts would entertain
restriction of trade claims if the number
of certified individuals were 25-30%
of the practitioners of that profession.
Our numbers are infinitesimally small
compared to that threshold, so this
threat is practically nonexistent, and
this justification for decoupling is
consequently irrelevant.

WHAT CAN-AND SHOULD-BE DONE
TO ENHANCE OUR CREDENTIAL?
If the overall aim of ATA's Board is
to enhance the recognition of our
credential, then there are various
concrete steps that can be taken to
do so. For example, promotion of the
credential among business and industry
associations, through a speakers' bureau,
fact sheets provided to translation
users, such as university foreign student
admission offices, or perhaps a separate,
dedicated website for the certification
credential and its benefits directed
specifically at translation buyers/users.
Engaging ATA-certified translators,
external stakeholders, educators, and
clients is a key component needed to
determine the strategic next steps for our
credential, and I welcome the fair and
open dialogue ATA is now supporting.
Lastly, many solid, beneficial, and
lasting improvements have been made
to ATA's Certification Program in the
years following (and truly because of) the
Hamm report. Grader training has been
expanded, and quality and consistency
improvements have been implemented
across language combinations.

CONCLUSION
As we move forward toward a
membership vote in Boston this fall, I
stand firmly against opening our valuable
credential to nonmembers, based on the
14

The ATA Chronicle | January/February 2020

unproven and erroneous arguments put
forward as justification by ATA's Board
to date. I look forward to engaging
discussion through the fora provided by
ATA and in other discussion venues.
NOTES
1.
ATA Accreditation Program Report
(Michael Hamm & Associates, 2000), 18,
http://bit.ly/Hamm-report.
2.

An Executive Summary: Review
of the ATA Certification Program,
http://bit.ly/Hamm-executive-summary.

3.

Hamm, 16-17, http://bit.ly/Hamm-report.

4.

"From the President," The ATA
Chronicle (August 2001), 9,
http://bit.ly/Chronicle-2001.

5.

ATA Board Meeting Summary
(October 26-27, 2019),
http://bit.ly/summary-October2019.

6.

ATA Board Meeting Minutes (April 18-19,
2015), http://bit.ly/summary-April2015.

Opening the Exam:
Too Many Unknowns
By Jessica Hartstein, CT, CI
ATA-certified (Spanish>English and
French>English), Credentialed Interpreter
Legal (Spanish)
Houston, Texas
Members, this is your chance to vote
and let your voice be heard! When you
decide whether you want to open ATA's
certification exam to nonmembers, there
are several factors to consider.

CREDIBILITY
First, let's consider why ATA wants to
open the exam to nonmembers and
whether doing so would achieve ATA's
goal. The main rationale for opening the
exam to nonmembers, as stated in The
ATA Chronicle and other ATA forums,
is to enhance the credibility of the
Certification Program.
Question #1: Does the ATA
Certification Program have a
credibility issue? Among my clients
and colleagues, I've found that ATA's
Certification Program is very well-

respected. Being ATA-certified has
opened numerous doors for me
professionally, and I suspect that's true
for many of you as well.
Even if there were a credibility issue
(which I don't think there is), what
are some other potential solutions? I
would think the best solutions would
have something to do with the nature
of the exam itself. For example, time
constraints, passage length, passage
difficulty, preventing cheating,
consistency of the grading process, and
the qualifications of the candidates. No
such changes are being presented along
with decoupling, so the exam results
themselves wouldn't become more
respected by opening the exam.
Do your clients know that ATA
certification is only available to
members? Would they find it more
credible if nonmembers took the exam?
Question #2: Would opening the exam
to all translators around the world
drive more clients to you? The FAQs on
decoupling published in the November-
December issue of The ATA Chronicle
say that more certified translators
would increase the recognition of the
profession.1 If Harvard doubled the
size of its graduating class, a degree
would be less valuable for each Harvard
graduate. Harvard would create more
alumni telling others about their school,
but eventually the graduates themselves
would not be as respected as they are
now. The FAQs on decoupling indicate
there are around 40,000 U.S.-based
translators who are not ATA members,
and, according to the Translators
Association of China, as of 2012, there
were an estimated 640,000 translators
worldwide. Per ATA's website, we offer
the exam in 10 countries worldwide
(seven of them in Spanish-speaking
countries), but they could be
held anywhere.

USING THE HAMM REPORT AS
THE BASIS
Question #3: Does the Hamm Report
clearly state that opening today's
exam is the correct course of action? I
recommend you read the entire 21-page
Hamm Report, as it's the basis for ATA's
www.atanet.org
http://www.bit.ly/Hamm-report http://www.bit.ly/Hamm-executive-summary http://www.bit.ly/Hamm-report http://www.bit.ly/Chronicle-2001 http://www.bit.ly/summary-October2019 http://www.bit.ly/summary-April2015 http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2020

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