Puerto Rico Department of Education Recognized for Leadership in Complying with Digital Literacy Standards

Presented Certiport's Technology School Leadership Award for providing training and Certiport IC³ certification to country's educators

PUERTO RICO (Certiport LATAM Partner Summit) – June 15, 2010

Certiport, the leading provider of test delivery services for the global workforce and academic markets, presented the Certiport Technology 2010 Leadership Award to the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE), honoring visionary leadership in promoting the foundational knowledge needed to succeed in environments that require the use of computers and the Internet.

Certiport recognizes the PRDE for the sweeping impact they have made in utilizing the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³®) to assess, develop and validate the digital literacy skills of Puerto Rican students, teachers and school administrators.

Details about Certiport IC³: http://www.certiport.com/ic3

The IC³ Certification Project was approved by the PRDE in May 2009 to help bring the territory into compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), federal legislation that requires states to develop assessments in basic skills in order to close the achievement gap in schools.

Based on the belief that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals improves academic achievement, the PRDE certified 113 train-the-trainers technology specialists and school librarians in collaboration with Certiport, the International Society of Technology in Education and the Department of Continuing Education of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico at Metropolitan Campus.

Phase I of the IC³ Certification Project included:

• Assessment of technology literacy based on technology global standards
• IC³ digital literacy skills curriculum and instructional materials
• Validation of digital literacy skills through IC³ Certification
• Introduction to the National Education Technology Standards

"We appreciate the recognition from Certiport in our initial efforts to align ourselves with standards-based assessments aimed to close the achievement gap in our schools," said Dr. Robert Lee Turner Lugo, Associate Secretary of Special Education Programs, PRDE. "Puerto Rico is committed to meeting our national education technology goals, and we are working hard to effectively utilize the IC³ exam to ensure all of our students and teachers possess basic digital literacy skills."

The Certiport IC³ Global Standard 3, an internationally recognized standard for digital literacy, validates the most relevant computer skills with three individual examinations: Computing Fundamentals, Key Applications and Living Online. The IC³ certification pathway maps to the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) and Students (NETS-S), allowing states to leverage the IC³ program to comply with standards and NCLB digital literacy development imperatives.

The PRDE achieved the following results:

• 85% of participants passed all certification exams to obtain the IC³ Certification
• 99% of participants felt prepared to effectively use technology in their classroom
• 100% of participants indicated this professional development opportunity will enhance their teaching careers
• 98% of participants indicated they will be capable of providing support to other teachers, students and school administrators working towards IC³ certification

"Certiport chose to recognize the PRDE with the Technology School Leadership Award for their diligence in working to bring the entire territory into compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act through the IC³ Certification Project," said Quinn Sutton, Senior Vice President, Certiport. "We were impressed with the results of their train-the-trainers seminar, and are excited to work with them to ultimately deliver the IC³ exam to all Puerto Rican teachers and students."

Certiport is the exclusive solution provider of the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) program utilizing an expansive network of more than 10,000 centers in 142 countries worldwide.

About Certiport

Certiport is the leading provider of value-added, computerized test delivery services that include an expansive network of Certiport testing centers worldwide. Its comprehensive services encompass test development, psychometrics, program management, sales and marketing for the official Microsoft® Office certification programs, the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program, the iCritical Thinking™ Certification powered by ETS, the CompTIA Strata™ IT Fundamentals and the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³®). Certiport reliably delivers almost two million exams each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce and corporate technology markets in more than 142 countries and 24 languages worldwide.

"Certiport" and "IC³" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. "Microsoft" is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Brenda Armstrong
1.801.602.0305
barmstrong@certiport.com