Hi everyone,
I have just found out my score for the Spanish translation test, a disappointing 24/80 (EN to SP). I'm quite surprised at the low score and I was wondering if anyone else would like to share theirs and their opinion. I hope you had better luck than me!
Hello misterveils,
I also received my score from EN to GR, which is an even more dissapointing 1/80! This score suggests either that I have no knowledge at all of English either that there has been a technical problem regarding the saving of my translations either there is a very serious problem with the correction process. At this point I am not sure how to proceed towards EPSO, so any any suggestions are welcome.
I understand that EPSO does not disclose the corrections but they do provide the candidates answers.
Hi, I got 52/80 in the first translation test but only 32 in the second one so I am out (I took Spanish). I did expect it because I know the marking is very strict and scores are usually low. last year in many languages minimum score was enough to access the last phase. It is tough. EPSO will not disclose the corections to the texts.
It seems to me the scoring is quite random, it doesn't make sense that someone like Diony, who passed the language comprehension tests to access the next stage only manages a 1/80. And I feel sorry for you, Anna, as you were so close to reaching the assessment centre. I understand EPSO do not release any information about the correction process but I think at least the marking criteria should be provided to all candidates before the exam. Not that this would explain the almost ridiculous variation in scores.
In my case there was obviously some kind of mistake in the competition process, as I completed both translations to a high standard, so 1/80 is simply wrong. This is why I already filed a request for review and I am confident that the mistake will be detected. However, beware, because I already encountered a couple more candidates who completed their translations and received shockingly low marks. This makes me believe that some kind of irregularity has occured and this may be generalised and not individual.
Anyone can ask for an uncorrected copy of their answers. At least this way one can make sure that his translation was received correctly by the assessors.
Could you tell how does the translation part look like,please? I did the test in September, but failed at numerical reasoning part and therefore could not sit the translation part in December.
The score of 1/80 is indeed very strange. But you are not the only one with this score, as other commenters also indicate. It might be that your translation was of an unacceptable level? Who knows.
In any case, I can assure you that you stand zero chances of successfully challenging this mark, the Selection Board enjoys absolute discretion as far as marking is concerned; it is also very hard to ever find out scoring criteria, how your own mark was reached, etc.
However, if you are determined enough to find out what happened, you can follow the procedures stipulated in the competition notice and even file a complaint with the European Ombudsman. Even then, you stand a slim chance of ever getting access to your exam printout (things get even more difficult from the moment this specific exam took place in an online environment) and/or finding out why you had this low score.
Sorry to disappoint everyone, but this is how EPSO works. Good luck next time!
It is absolutely logical that the scores cannot be challenged, that's how competitions are conducted all over the world. However, I am not challenging the assessment of my performance. The 1/80 score suggests that there was no assessment at or that a blank answer was assessed. This is something that can be challenged successfully. If not, that would mean that these competitions are a joke and no matter how good a candidate's performance is, it would simply be not enough. I do remain calm though. I believe that EPSO is a serious body which acts professionally and I will eventually receive a reasoned explanation of what has happened.
I am only writing on this board because I am aware of a couple of candidates who received extremely low scores which do not correspond in any way to their knowledge of English. This makes me suspect that there may have been a generalised irregularity in this competition which has to be pointed out both to the candidates and to EPSO. EPSO has been notified through my request for review. Candidates could become aware of a potential mistake through this board.
Or the 1/80 score could simply mean that the candidate's TRANSLATION skills (obviously these capital letters are deliberate) in one of the languages are simply not sufficient for his/her answer to be worthy of further examination in the form of detailed marking.
Diony, being proficient at one language (and your English is obviously of an excellent level) does not necessarily mean that one is good or even sufficient at translating to his/her mother tongue, at least in accordance with the very strict requirements set by the Selection Board, as correctly indicated by Anna. If, as you say, "a blank answer was assessed", your score would most probably have been .00/80 (and this was the case for those candidates who had scores lower than 40/80 in the first test and who did not get their second test marked AT ALL, as you can read in the short discussions in the Facebook group for the specific competition).
While one cannot exclude an irregularity, in no way could it be generalised; if that were the case, it would be discovered immediately after the end of our exam sessions and you would be invited to an additional session, together with other candidates affected. This is not unheard of in EPSO competitions, in fact there was a power failure in the Brussels Prometric centre last year and a few hundred candidates were obliged to sit the exam on the following weekend, with new invitations published in their accounts, etc.
On the other hand, to give you the benefit of doubt, you may be an excellent translator and there was, indeed, an unfortunate technical problem in your case only, that resulted in your answer not being saved, for example. However, the fact that there at least a few other candidates who got the same score of 1/80 should make you think twice about such an explanation.
As I also said, it is EPSO's policy not to give detailed explanations, especially with regard to marking criteria. I give a 99.9% probability that they will give you an answer in line with what I've written above, it would be a shock if EPSO ever admitted it has made a mistake. This is also why they are extremely careful to exclude the slightest chance of 'irregularity'. The European Ombudsman will be a bit more attentive to your complaint but I doubt if they will consider seriously challenging a marking decision...
Achieving good marks in language comprehension does not guarantee that one will do a decent translation. The later depends on the former, but being able to adapt a text to another language still requires a whole other set of skills.
Note that if you fail to receive a pass mark in the first test (e.g. if you got 39/80), the second translation is not even corrected - it would be a waste of time to do so if you've failed one translation test, when the competition requires that you succeed in both. You haven't mentioned both your grades, but could this be the case? I can't be sure, but perhaps that 1/80 is the EPSO equivalent of a zero, and does not reflect a corrected and graded test.
In any case, the EPSO exam is hard - not ridiculously so, but hard enough to weed out candidates who would be unable to perform to the EU's standards from day 1. That said, I've noticed several howlers in translated EU texts, which makes me wonder whether EU translators even have the time to proofread/edit their work. So, don't feel bad if you didn't make it - in no way does that reflect badly on you as a person; evaluate your performance, learn from your mistakes, and move on.
Good luck to you all.
The EPSO translator competition is hard but it's not infallible. The European Civil Service Tribunal earlier this year gave a judgement on a case where a translator (who had of course passed the relevant exam) was let go after the probationary period, and not made a permanent official. The reason being that he simply could not translate well enough to his target language (= his mother tongue). And as said, the exam did not pick up on this problem. It is an extreme case but just goes to show that translation is a tough job and just having a language as a mother tongue does not mean that a person is able to translate well to that language.
"Achieving good marks in language comprehension does not guarantee that one will do a decent translation. The later depends on the former, but being able to adapt a text to another language still requires a whole other set of skills"
As a teacher of Spanish and qualified translator I am very aware of this. But when you devise an assessment process you need to be very clear of what you are assessing and why. As an institution, you must question the validity of a set of tests where the same candidate can achieve a 90% in one and a 0% in the other. At the same time, EPSO does not mention how texts are selected, how they make sure that they are of a similar standard, what the editing process is (one of my texts was poorly edited, meaning that information that appeared later on in the text had been removed). More importantly, we are not told how the translations are assessed: how are the mistakes quantified? what do they look for in a translation (fluency, fidelity to the ST)? How many assessors mark them? Is it double marked?
In any case, this is all irrelevant now but it still doesn't take away the feeling that the whole process is unreliable and random.
I think they mark very strictly. Like, each comma missing is one point marked. This would explain the low scores that almost everybody gets. I have asked a translator who works for the Court of Justice to look at my translations while preparing and I have asked him similar questions: how do they mark, how close one has to stay to the text. He replied that target language has to be fluent while keeping exactly the same amount of information that the source language has. closeness to the text is not the aim of the translation.
Somebody told me that it is indeed double marked but I have not verified this.
EPSO tests are always comparative therefore, providing that minimum score is reached, chances of passing depend on what other people do. If the process is random, or impossibly hard, it is so for everybody else.
It is true that texts are sometimes poorly edited, a few years ago there was a text in english where the cut and past made a passage totally impossible to understand (the original complete article was on the web, and it was fairly easy)
6 people passed with Spanish option 2 (my option). I feel sorry for the two that will have to drop from the list!
Oh well, if we're starting with missing commas, i.e. improper grammar and syntax, who knows what other mistakes have crept into the translation. And people are still wondering why that they had low scores? I would be even stricter than that, after all it's not more than a few hundred words of text.
As to your other points, I do not agree that all EPSO tests are comparative. In translation tests, it is obvious that many candidates did not even achieve the minimum mark stipulated to get to the next phase. This means that one only had to do well enough in the test to get the minimum score required.
Moreover, I don't understand your final point about poorly edited texts. What does it have to do with the quality of your translation? You have to struggle with what you have in your hands. It's not the quality of the actual content but the quality of the translation that matters (for this exam, at least!).
Yes, you are right, but my point was exactly this: the method of assessment is flawed if these things are allowed to happen and you are the unlucky translator that gets that text.
Which brings me to disagree with trollepso's: anyone with a little experience in translation knows how important the source text is. Even the best translators cannot cope with a ST that makes no sense.
Hi Anna,
It is quite clear they mark very strictly. At least, that is how I would do it and that is why one has to pay A LOT of attention when translating AND proofreading.
Have you made it to the AC yet? Will have it next week (option 1) and I am starting to feel a bit nervous.
Kind regards,
J.
Hello everyone,
I did the same exam, option 1.
My exam was marked 8 out of 80. After getting the requested review from the Selection Board, I got told by them that my translation was incomplete. I had to contact the Ombudsman to get my uncorrected copy, because EPSO was not sending it to me. Hmmm…it does not seem to me that I left out any text.
Anybody else with the same experience?
Hi! I just got back from my AC and I'm wondering if it's ok for me to change the topic of conversation in this thread. Does anybody mind?
After this final phase, I am wondering if some of the candidates in this competition were on a previous reserve list of translators but never got hired, so they had to go through the whole procedure a second time? Does that apply to anybody you know?
Also, does anybody know if there will specific merit groups within the reserve list?
Any idea how high the chances are of getting hired if you make it to the reserve list in September?
Fernando,
I suppose you are not referring to a recent communication by EPSO which was titled "comments", because this would not be a response to your request. This was a letter sent to all the candidates who did not achieve the pass mark.
I am in a similar position as I have submitted a request for review for an unexplicably low score (1/80), however I have not received any response yet. EPSO informed me that a decision will be issued some time in June. Didn't the response you received have any specific reasoning answering the points you raised? Was it only a comment about the incompleteness of the translation?
Hello Diony,
on the 27th May I got a comment in my EPSO account. In one sentence it was stated that my exam was incomplete, and that my knowledge of both languages (source and target) was not sufficient. Never mind that I am perfectly bilingual in both, that I hold a Degree in Translation and that I happen to be an experienced translator. Oh, and they did not include a copy of my script.
In the end, I contacted the Ombudsman so that I could l get my original script, which thanks to their swift action, I did. Of course you do not get the original text that we had to translate, but at least I have the "souvenir" from my experience - as far as the incompleteness is concerned, it remains a mystery to me.
I hope you have better luck than me!
Hello Fernando,
I had the same experience. According to the letter I received on the 27th May, my performance in the 1st translation test -which I did not pass, so my 2nd test was not corrected- was "unsatisfactory" for every indicator (understanding of the source text, command of target language and quality and completeness of my translation). I, like you, hold a degree in Translation and Interpreting and have worked as a translator for several years. Thus, I wonder which the correction criteria are, because it is clear -to me, at least- that EPSO is not actually assessing the quality of the translations but something else they cannot explicitly state. What that something is, it remains a mystery to me. Maybe they are looking for people that the institutions can shape to their requirements more easily than seasoned translators.
@Fernando and MI
As I wrote in a previous comment, the communication received on the 27th of May IS NOT a response to our requests for review. It is a standardised comment sent to all the candidates who failed the tests. If you read the letter attentively you will see that it refers to the "letter dated 7 April 2015 informing you of your results in the translation tests" and not to the request for review.
From the information I received from EPSO, the response to my request (and everybody's I suppose) is expected to be issued until the end of June. So, do not despair, not yet at least!
I am quite relieved to hear that your translation was complete, because my greatest fear following the shockingly low score was that there may have been an instance of data loss. However, if the data is there I remain positive that EPSO will provide us with some reasoned answers.
(This comment is in response to MI's message of 18 June)
While I understand that it is upsetting to fail the translation tests and you are justified in requesting an explanation from EPSO so as to gain a better understanding of where you went wrong and how you might improve for another competition, I think that casting aspersions on the criteria employed by EPSO when correcting the translations or implying that those criteria may not be consistent or anything other than objective is mean-spirited and not fair on the other candidates that did manage to pass the exams and were invited to the final stage. Having completed a degree in Translation and Interpreting or acquired several years of experience as a translator is no guarantee that a particular translation under specific exam conditions will meet the exacting standards of the European Personnel Selection Office. Believe it or not, the standards are incredibly high in these competitions and the candidates that make it through to the final stage have absolutely earned their places at the assessment centre. Having made it to the final stage this year, I was really impressed by every candidate I met and felt honoured to have been invited.
My understanding is that the institutions need translators that are competent and skilled, not people that they can shape according to some obscure requirements. This kind of conspiratorial thinking is not helpful to anyone. You are implying that those who passed are less qualified than yourself (again, having a degree in translation is no guarantee that someone will be a better translator than another candidate with a deep knowledge of another academic field and a flair for translation) and less experienced (you wonder if they are looking for more malleable candidates rather than "seasoned translators", as if experience were something that could count against a candidate, when this is not the case at all).
Maybe this is not what you intended to imply in your comments, but it is what comes across to the reader.
Apologies for the formatting issues with the bold text above.
Finally, I hope you do receive constructive feedback from EPSO and that you go on to be successful in another competition. EPSO competitions are long and stressful but if you made it through to the second stage then you're definitely more than half-way there already. Most people don't get over the hurdle of the reasoning tests.
You might find the Institute of Linguists' DipTrans Examiners' Reports to be useful as they discuss the kind of "mistakes" or "issues" that can mean a translation doesn't meet their standards. As the DipTrans is also awarded on the basis of candidates' performance translating specific texts under exam conditions, it is good practice for the translation exams held by EPSO and other international organisations. The Examiners' Reports are very detailed and you can find a huge number of reports for several language combinations on their website.
Don't be disheartened because your academic background and experience (including this experience of not passing the translation tests) are definitely assets that will stand you in good stead in upcoming competitions.
First of all, well done to you, SeasonedTranslator. Having gone through the experience yourself and the satisfaction of making it to the AC, I think you can understand the frustration of receiving a standard letter with a meaningless score - a very low score in some cases and one that you cannot challenge. This is, by no means, a lack of respect to those of you who were successful but a distrust of the institution's lack of transparency. You mention the Diploma in Translation, which could not be any different in terms of the information provided to their candidates. The organisers, the CIOL, publish an examination handbook explaining the process, their expectations and their marking. They organise workshops and seminars and you can request the marker's comments, ask for an additional marker and, as you say, read their reports in a variety of language combinations. Having sat and passed the DipTrans in French and English, it is even more evident to me how the EU competition could be better managed, starting by how the texts are edited and providing some sort of marking criteria.
But this is no use to any of us now, so I just would like to wish you the best of luck in the last stage of the competition!