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Introducing a New “Learn and Earn” Certification Model

Steve Waddell • March 1, 2025

We are proud to introduce a new model for teachers to reward their career and technical students with international industry-recognized certifications. Read on for how our new model provides schools, teachers, students and parents with a better alternative to the old model of students earning certifications.

The Old Way

We all know the traditional model of earning a certification: the school proctors an exam, usually from a testing company that sells the exams. Teachers are forced into teaching for the exam to try to increase student scores. More than half of students suffer from moderate to high test anxiety, which adds to the burden of teachers preparing students for exams. Students prepare by cramming for the exam, using test prep guides and even memorizing questions—and after completing the exam they often forget what they learned. Exams can cost $70-$120 per student, which can be a burden for schools and families. 

A Better Way

Our Learn and Earn approach enables students to earn their certifications as they work through our career and technical education courseware. At the end of the course—based on their grades, completion of the projects, and building their career-ready portfolio—the learner is rewarded with their certification without needing to sit for any high stakes exam. The Learn and Earn path means there is no exam, no exam fees, and no test anxiety. Instead, students learn hard and soft skills, build real-world projects, and demonstrate technical aptitude that they can take with them into future educational and career opportunities. Our courses funnel students into high-demand and high-paying career pathways including web design, mobile game design, video game design, web animation and more.

How Did We Do This?

CTeLearning partnered with the Web Professionals Global Organization to build this better model. We have been working closely with WebProfessionalsGlobal.org since around 2011 and producing curriculum that aligned to their certifications since 2013. We worked with their executive team to address the primary concerns we heard from educators: the first barrier was trying to schedule a proctored exam at the end of the semester when time is short, and the second barrier was exam fees. Although teachers want to provide opportunities for their students to earn industry certifications, it is not always financially feasible for a school department to underwrite the costs for students.  

After signing NDAs, and promising to secure all of the organization’s content and testing intellectual property, we took all of the industry exam domains and exam questions and weaved them into a group of our courses that were already aligned to specific certificates. This was no easy feat, but it meant that we were able to show the association that students who completed the curriculum, fully, were meeting all of their certification requirements. A partnership between CTeLearning and Web Professionals Global Organization as well as select association members underwrites the certification fees for every student who completes the curriculum and meets the minimum requirements for the certificate.

The Learn and Earn model was born from recognizing that the old “teach to the test” model is not preparing our students for the changing economy where having real-world experience is so important. By rethinking what certification really means, and modeling how industry sees success, we are helping educators to prepare their students for whatever educational or career pathways they choose.

  •     Web and Mobile Game Design
  •     Web Design for Business and Marketing
  •     Web Animation for Marketing
  •     Web Technologies
  •     WordPress for Business
  •     AI for the Workplace

Learn More

If you want to be part of a new way of preparing students for their futures, today is the day. Curious? Contact us at imagine@ctelearning.com or call our lead developer, Steve, directly at 913-764-4272.

 

 

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By Steve Waddell • March 21, 2025
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