The validity and reliability of a schema-based cloze multiple choice item test (MCIT) as an indirect measure of translation ability was concurrently explored by administering it with a Persian to English MCIT, and an English to Persian open ended translation examination (OETE). The results obtained on the performance of 110 non-native undergraduate university students showed that the schema-based cloze MCIT had the highest reliability ( = 0.91). The Persian to English MCIT enjoyed an acceptable degree of reliability ( = 0.84) whereas English to Persian OETE defied reliability estimates due to its subjective nature. Although the three tests correlated significantly with each other, they presented three significantly different measures of translation ability. Since the schema-based cloze MCIT provided the most reliable measure and correlated more significantly with its traditional counterpart and since it took less time to be scored, it is suggested that schema-based cloze MCITs be employed as indirect measures of translation ability to save time and remove subjectivity in translation.

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