The Cued American English Competency Screening-Fluency (CAECS-F) estimates a candidate’s fastest expressive cueing fluency rate where the candidate maintains accuracy >70% while maintaining clarity. Candidates are evaluated on their ability to cue a verbatim message accurately as it gradually increases in rate of delivery. Other transliterator skills like identifying speaker characteristics and matching the speaker’s pronunciation are not evaluated.

Administration: The CAECS-F is taken online by appointment. The candidate is presented with one continuous lesson delivered as audio only. The lesson begins at a rate of 1.5 syllables per second and increases in increments of half a syllable per second until the final section, which is delivered at 5.0 syllables per second.

Content was recorded at the indicated rate for each sentence. However, natural pauses were inserted within and between sentences to reflect natural delivery.

While paraphrasing can be an appropriate strategy during actual cued language transliteration assignments, candidates are expected to cue the content without changing the words or their sequence in any way.

Candidates may make corrections during test administration by immediately cueing the entire word again.

Rating: For each rated section, candidates are evaluated on the accuracy of all handshape and placement/movement cues synchronized with clear mouthshapes. The average accuracy is calculated and the candidate’s form for the section is categorized as one of the following:

Precise: Cues are exceptionally clear, appearing as they would in instructional materials.

Clear: Minor deviations in form may be present. Overall, cues are readily recognizable and distinct from one another.

Needs Improvement: Cues exhibit idiosyncratic differences that do not align with prescribed form and may reduce clarity (e.g., placements shifted off midline, hand bent). Deviations maintain contrast between cues and tend to be consistent, but require adaptation by the receiver.

Ambiguous: Production of cues is inconsistent within the section making reception unreliable and adaptation by the receiver difficult (e.g., multiple versions of the same handshape). Contrast between different cues is significantly diminished and may be difficult to recognize (e.g., only subtle differences between handshapes 4 and 5). Deviations may obscure or completely hide distinguishing features between cues (e.g., hand rotated back whereby receiver cannot see whether thumb is extended or not).

The allowance of Needs Improvement to pass a section is not intended to imply that clarity for that section is sufficient. This designation suggests that deaf consumers may have to work harder to understand the cued message. The candidate is expected to apply the feedback provided and improve clarity at that rate.

Dialect and pronunciation variations do not figure in to scoring. Candidates do not need to match the speaker’s pronunciation or identify any speaker characteristics (e.g., gender).

Time to Receive Results: Results are sent six to eight weeks after the administration date. Candidates receive a summary report with an estimated rate of fluency and diagnostic feedback.

Scores: The candidate’s estimated fluency score is determined as the fastest rate for which the average accuracy is 70% or above for the section while clarity is maintained (I.e., not ambiguous). An estimated fluency of 3.5sps on the CAECS-F is one prerequisite for applying to take the CLT National Certification Examination (CLTNCE).

Retaking the Test: A candidate may register to retake the CAECS-F thirty (30) days after receiving score report.

To assist candidates and other stakeholders in conceptualizing these rates of delivery, the following brief audio clips were prepared using the same procedures as actual test content. Note: The content presented here is different from actual test material and the length of each clip below is significantly shorter than sections of the test.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Candidates are not evaluated on their ability to match the speaker’s pronunciation. While consonant connections across word boundaries support cueing rapidly, they are not considered with regard to accuracy for this test.

  • The purpose of the CAECS-F is to evaluate accurate production of cues. While prosody is an important and meaningful aspect of cued English, it does not figure into the score of the CAECS-F. Other assessments evaluate a candidate’s ability to delivery a message with appropriate prosody and facial expression.

  • Cued language transliterators may be under pressure (e.g., by employers) to achieve a specific rate of fluency or to become nationally certified. The TECUnit requires a specific rate of fluency as a prerequisite before registering for the CLT National Certification Examination (CLTNCE). The purpose of national certification is to ensure a sufficient level of qualification appropriate for diverse consumers and across settings. CLTs must be fluent in cued English to become nationally certified.

  • Standard rating aims to efficiently identify the candidate’s fastest cueing rate where sufficient accuracy and clarity maintained. Typically, only three or four sections of the test must be rated to determine that rate.

    Comprehensive rating is available at an additional cost for those who wish to be evaluated across all rates of delivery (1.5sps to 5.0sps) with feedback for each section. This option is useful for employers needing to evaluate a transliterator’s expressive fluency.

  • Yes. Both rating types are accepted.

  • A candidate whose accuracy is >70% and exhibits form that is categorized as Needs Improvement, Clear, or Precise will pass that section.

    A candidate whose accuracy is <70% or whose form is described as Ambiguous will not pass that section.

  • Results are sent six to eight weeks following the administration date for both standard rating and comprehensive rating.

  • Standard rating starts at 3.0sps. When a section is passed, slower speeds are not rated. Once a section is failed, faster rates are not rated.

    Comprehensive rating is also available at an additional cost and provides scores and feedback for every section of the test.

  • The instructions state that the first few sections are typically not rated. Rating begins at 3.0sps. If a candidate is able to maintain sufficient accuracy at that rate, it is assumed that sufficient accuracy was maintained at slower rates.

  • The first few sections are typically not rated. If a candidate does not achieve sufficient accuracy for 3.0sps, scoring continues at slower speeds until the candidates estimated fluency can be determined.

  • Candidates must achieve an estimated fluency of 3.5sps or faster.