SEQUIM — Sequim High School is currently ranked in the top five of all secondary schools statewide for the percentage of students who have received a pass rate on Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Exams during the 2015/16 academic year.
Sequim High School business students have earned a total of 89 certificates, missing the top 10 in overall numbers statewide — regardless of school size — by just one certificate, Mark Knudson, IT Academy instructor, said Monday.
Upon successful completion of the exams offered through the school’s IT Academy courses, students earn Microsoft Office Specialist certifications recognized worldwide in a specific Microsoft Office program such as Excel, Powerpoint or Word.
The exams offered at the school are the same taken by adults to earn certifications, Knudson said.
Holding such a certification can earn an entry-level business employee as much as $16,000 more in annual salary than uncertified peers, according to Microsoft.
These exams cost the general public approximately $150 each, which does not include the training they would need for preparation, Knudson said.
For the students in IT Academy, the exams are provided free of charge through a partnership between the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Microsoft, he said.
“Since the tests are usually around $150, I want to take advantage of that and do as many as I can for free,” Morgana Fergusson, 14 and a freshman in Knudson’s class, said Monday.
Students who successfully complete the exams leave high school with these professional-level certifications in their portfolio and are entered in an international Microsoft Certification database, Knudson said.
The certifications “will definitely look good on job applications, which is a plus, and I hope that it will help with college applications,” Fergusson said.
To earn a pass rating and receive certification, students must earn at least 700 out of 1,000 points on each exam, Knudson said.
The exams are managed and proctored by Certiport, a Pearson company.
Students also can pursue Microsoft Office Specialist Expert and Microsoft Office Specialist Master certifications by passing the exams in each Microsoft Office program.
Fergusson, a Future Business Leader Association (FBLA) member, has received the Microsoft Office Specialist Master Certification, the only student on campus to accomplish that feat so far this school year, Knudson said.
Fergusson will compete in Microsoft Office Specialist events at upcoming FBLA conferences, which could lead to a national competition in Atlanta at the end of the year, Knudson said.
Special software
The tutorial course software is web-based and students are encouraged to access it at home to extend the learning day, Knudson said.
“They do a project based on the tutorial and they keep on doing that until they get to the end,” he said.
“Then they have to do a certification exam without the tutorial and they have to pass to get that certification.”
The software used for instruction and assessment by the IT Academy includes an accommodations tool allowing for additional attempts, time and a reduction of tasks and assignments for students when necessary.
And the IT Academy instructors, Knudson and Charles Kleinberg, work collaboratively to maintain a consistent approach for all students, they said.
This includes the use of “mastery-based learning,” they said, allowing students as much time and practice as they need to enhance their skills.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.