Cathy White Computer Applications Instructor Certifications Offered Microsoft Office Specialist Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook   Employer Merced High School Location Merced, California

In her own words: "Microsoft Office Specialist certification will definitely help our students get jobs over someone without a certification. I hope they will use it to their advantage. They can really use this in the real world."

California High School's Emphasis on Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Leads to State Recognition and Student Excellence
Merced High School's attention to certification success results in student progress and acknowledgment

High school students in Merced, California, are developing valuable computing skills, making goals for college and career success, and earning local and state recognition because of Merced High School’s unique emphasis on Microsoft® Office Specialist certification. Tenth, 11th, and 12th-grade students are taking Computer Applications, a course that prepares them to take and pass the Office Specialist exams required for the Microsoft Office Specialist Master credential. With proof of their expertise in hand, students are making valuable contributions in the school, as well as plans for future achievements.

BACKGROUND
Merced High School is located in Merced, California, just two hours from the busy and technologically fluent San Francisco Bay Area. Merced County’s first recipient of the California Digital High School Grant, Merced High School has an ethnically diverse student population of more than 2,700. With access to information, coursework, and grades through a networked system of computers, both teachers and students at the high school are encouraged to use technology to enhance their educational experiences.

When Merced High School first began offering Office Specialist exams, little emphasis was placed on availability of exams or their value to students. Then Keith Petiti, Chair of the school’s business department, experienced the thrill of earning certifications first hand. While attending a DDC Training Services conference, he was given the opportunity to take Office Specialist practice tests and, by the end of the conference, earned his first Office Specialist certifications. “I spent a lot of time there and earned Microsoft Word and Excel certifications,” he said. “I was having a blast working with DDC’s tools.” As a result, he purchased courseware from DDC Training Services, a Certiport Approved Courseware Provider, and made plans to advance the Office Specialist certification program at Merced High School.

PROCESS
Merced High School recruited Cathy White to head up the program in the business department and to encourage students to prepare for, take, and pass Office Specialist exams. The 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade students in her elective Computer Applications course already had keyboarding, business correspondence, and introductory computer experience from a prerequisite 9th-grade class. In Computer Applications, White used DDC courseware to help students prepare for Office Specialist certification exams.

White ensures students are ready to pass an Office Specialist exam before they make an attempt. “It’s been a learning experience to know which students are really capable of earning the certification,” she said. “But we give them all the training we can.”

Office Specialist exams are an optional component of the Computer Applications course. “But we push it,” Petiti said. “We want them to do it.” Merced High School uses monies from the Karl Perkins Vocational Education Fund to pay for student exams.

CERTIFICATION
After she was hired, White administered 45 Office Specialist exams, from which students earned a total of 38 certifications.

Martin Reyes was the first Merced High School student to earn Office Specialist Master certification as a result of the school’s newfound emphasis on the program. “Someone has to hire this kid,” Petiti said. “In just five months he earned Master certification. He’s passed every test we have!” Reyes recently joined Merced High School’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter. A national association of business students, FBLA sponsors career development programs and events that test participants’ knowledge of business skills, including computer applications. With his Office Specialist certifications, Reyes was already prepared to take the FBLA’s written objective test. He scored well on the FBLA test, earning second place in California’s Central Section and achieving a position in the Top 10 in the state.

RESULT
“We’re really excited with the results that have happened,” Petiti said. “I never could have imagined the students would be this successful.” Petiti reported that Office Specialist certification has benefited student self-confidence and future career and educational opportunities. “Not everyone can pass this test,” he said. “It’s a big deal. When students go out in the real world and try to get a job, they’ll be amazed at how practical and useful this knowledge is. With this certification in hand, our graduates should be able to get well-paying jobs easily.”

Petiti also hopes his students leverage their Microsoft Office expertise and credentials when applying to colleges and universities, such as the University of California, Merced. “This is a certification that says you can actually perform a job skill,” he said. “As competitive as things are today, students need this practical experience.”

White agreed students will have myriad opportunities to benefit from their Office Specialist certifications in their post-high-school lives. “It will definitely help them get a job over someone without a certification,” she said. “After students complete the Computer Applications course, they are prepared for Master certification, which is really nice. I hope they will use it to their advantage in getting a good job. They can really use this in the real world.”

Mai Lee, a 12th-grade student at Merced High School, is an Office Specialist Master certified in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. When the time comes, she plans to include her certifications on her college applications. Until then, her certifications are helping her succeed in her high school courses. “I can perform tasks more easily when I use the programs to write essays, create PowerPoint presentations, and do other projects,” she said. Lee said she has gained a lot of experience with technology that will someday help her in college and to get a job.

Reyes recently graduated from Merced High School. With his Office Specialist Master certification, he is pursuing a degree in computer systems analysis in college this fall. Reyes initially took the Office Specialist exams because he was interested in the programs and was curious about the exams. “My teachers told me it would lead to jobs,” he said. “Certification is a big thing.”

During the certification process, Reyes learned more about the Microsoft Office system of business productivity programs, including how to use some of the lesser-known features of the programs. “Excel is my favorite,” he said. “It has many features, such as data validation, that I didn’t know about before. Now I use them all the time.”

Reyes is now a bit of an icon at Merced High School and enjoys the reputation his expertise has given him around the school. “More teachers know me and recognize me for what I can do with these programs,” he said. “The staff knows me. I help them all around the campus, giving them my extra class time. They all call me ‘The Master.’”