American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators Awards UF/IFAS for Its Innovative Testing Platform.

Award-Winning Innovation in Certification Modernization

The University of Florida (UF) and Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS) were recently recognized for their innovative vision in modernizing the state’s certification exam system.

The Challenge: Modernizing a Legacy Testing System

Historically, certification exams were administered in person at test centers across the state. FDACS and UF sought to improve efficiency, enhance the user experience, and introduce greater flexibility through digital transformation.

A Human-Centered Approach to Solution Design

Everblue began by working closely with stakeholders across departments to understand their needs and challenges.

Through interviews, wireframes, personas, and user stories, the team developed a collaborative and iterative design process that ensured alignment before development began.

Building a Flexible, Scalable Testing Platform

Everblue implemented its platform using Moodle on AWS, enabling:

• Online and in-person exam delivery from a single test bank
• Seamless data integration between UF, FDACS, and Everblue
• Automated scoring and centralized reporting

The team also modernized adjacent legacy systems to enable real-time data exchange and built functionality to support multiple exam formats.

Launching and Scaling the Solution

The system launched with a pilot of five online exams, allowing FDACS to test functionality while maintaining its legacy processes.

After seeing significant improvements in efficiency and user experience, the state began accelerating its transition to the new system.

The Results: Automation, Flexibility, and Improved Experience

The modernized platform now enables:

• Online exam delivery
• Paper-based exam generation from a single question bank
• Automatic syncing of offline results
• Seamless data flow across multiple systems
• Expansion of exam offerings

From application to license issuance, the entire process is now automated.

Staff benefit from reduced manual work, while candidates enjoy a faster, more flexible testing experience.

Everblue’s partnership with the State of Florida continues to evolve as new opportunities for innovation emerge.

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