Evaluative practices for assessing translation quality: A content analysis of Iranian undergraduate students academic translations

Translation evaluation is an indispensable part of teaching translation to determine whether the instructional objectives are met. The present study aimed at providing a meticulous, critical state of the art of the translation evaluation methods practiced by Iranian university teachers in undergraduate English Translation Program. Using an a priori coding scheme encompassing ten features of summative tests, the researcher conducted a thorough content analysis on a sample of 19 final translation achievement tests on each of the three major general translation courses administered in four different types of Iranian universities. The results revealed that the method commonly and currently used in the BA translation program does not seem to create a sense of satisfaction in either the students or in the teacher assessors themselves. The results of the present study may open new avenues for further research on academic translation evaluation, which is a crucial aspect of translation studies inquiry particularly in Iran.