The Cued American English Competency Screening-E (CAECS-E ©2001, TECUnit) provides a framework for assessing and formulating diagnostic feedback for basic expressive cueing mechanics, form, prosody, and application in discourse. It does not assess cueing speed. The CAECS-E is not intended as an assessment of skills specifically related to the professions of cued language transliteration or instruction of Cued American English. Scores are valid for two years.

Administration: The CAECS-E is taken online by appointment. The candidate is recorded cueing a set of single words, then sentences.

Rating: Each submission is evaluated independently by two raters. These scores and feedback are received by the national office and combined into a single report. In rare cases when a rating discrepancy occurs, the candidate’s submission is sent to a third rater for review.

Results: Candidates receive results four to six weeks after the administration date.

Each numerical score for the CAECS-E fits into a level category described below. This is intended to help you (and employers) interpret your performance.

  • The testee performs accurately at the word and sentence level. The applicant performs consistently in areas of form, vowel accuracy, consonant-vowel constructions, sentence-level discourse, and inclusion of prosodic information like stress, prominence, and question forms. The testee should strive to maintain the aspects of his/her expressive performance which are in accordance with the accepted standards of cued American English.

  • The testee demonstrates many components of cued American English correctly. However, the testee omits and/or incorrectly models several essential aspects of cued English in at least four of the following areas: form, vowel accuracy, consonant-vowel constructions, sentence-level discourse, and inclusion of prosodic information like stress, prominence, and question forms. The testee should continue to advance his/her expressive cueing skills. At this level, testee’s performance is generally better at the word level than at the sentence or conversation-level. The omission and/or incorrect modeling of cueing mechanics at this level does not necessarily indicate that the cuer is unaware of these elements, but that he/she is unable to demonstrate these mutiple tasks cohesively. The cuer should continue training in order to learn appropriate standards of cued English as necessary, and strive to synthesize these essential elements to render cued discourse fully and accurately.

  • The testee demonstrates some components of cued American English, but also exhibits frequent and consistent errors. The applicant omitted and/or incorrectly modeled several essential aspects of cued English in the majority of these areas: form, vowel accuracy, consonant-vowel constructions, sentence-level discourse, and inclusion of prosodic information like stress, prominence, and question forms. The candidate is advised to attend appropriate training with a qualified instructor of cued American English. The cuer should devote regular practice time to cueing at a relatively slower rate in order to correct common errors, extraneous movements, and/or omitted elements.

  • The testee demonstrates few components of cued American English and exhibits numerous and consistent errors in nearly all of the following areas: form, vowel accuracy, consonant-vowel constructions, sentence-level discourse, and inclusion of prosodic information like stress, prominence, and question forms. The testee is advised to undergo appropriate training with a qualified instructor of cued American English and utilize appropriate training materials to re-learn basic cueing mechanics.

  • The candidate’s cueing contains too little accurate information to diagnose errors or prescribe corrective measures. The testee is advised to attend an introductory course conducted by a qualified cued language instructor.