COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

Computer Applications challenges members to demonstrate their proficiency in using a variety of software applications to manage and communicate business information. Through a production test, members apply skills in word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation tools to complete real-world business tasks efficiently and accurately.

 

Event Overview

Division: High School
Event Type: Individual
Event Category: Production
Event Elements: Production Test
Production Test Time: 2 hours, due by date specified to district directors
Career Cluster Framework Connection: Management & Entrepreneurship
NACE Competency Alignment: Career & Self-Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Technology

 

Items Competitor or School Must Provide: Sharpened pencil for Objective Test, Computer for Production Test, Printed Production Test Reference Guide, Conference-provided nametag, Attire that meets the Florida FBLA Dress Code

Items FBLA Provides: Production Test Tasks
Objective Test Competencies

· Spreadsheet Functions and Formulas

· Creating and Formatting with Word Processing

· Developing Slides & Presentations

· Integrating Spreadsheets and Word Processing

· Integrating Presentations and Spreadsheets

District

Check with your District leadership for District-specific competition information.

State

Eligibility

·        FBLA membership dues are paid by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on December 1 (or earlier date specified by District Director) of the current program year.
·         Members may compete in an event at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) more than once if they have not previously placed in the top 10 of that event at the National Leadership Conference (NLC). If a member places in the top 10 of an event at the NLC, they are no longer eligible to compete in that event.
·         Members must be registered for the SLC and pay the state conference registration fee in order to participate in competitive events.
·         Members must stay within the official FBLA housing block in the official FBLA hotel to be eligible to compete.
·         Each district may be represented by participant(s) based on the Florida FBLA scaled quota system found on the Florida FBLA website.
·         Each member can only compete in one individual/team event and one chapter event (American Enterprise Project, Community Service Project, Local Chapter Annual Business Report, Partnership with Business Project).
·         Only competitors are allowed to plan, research, and prepare their production tests.
·         Each competitor must compete in all parts of an event for award eligibility.
·         If competitors are late for a production test, they may either be disqualified or permitted to begin late with no extension of the time as scheduled.
·        Participants must adhere to the Florida FBLA dress code established by the Florida Board of Directors or they will not be permitted to participate in the competitive event.

Recognition

·         The number of competitors will determine the number of winners. The maximum number of winners for each competitive event is 5.

Event Administration

·         This event consists of a production test that will be proctored and completed prior to the State Leadership Conference.

 ·         Production Test

  1. o   Submission Deadline: An accessible link to all the tasks must be uploaded in the conference registration system by the date specified in the state conference registration packet.
    o   The production test is administered and proctored by an adult at a designed school-site prior to the SLC. Administration procedures for the production test are determined by the state chair/adviser.
    o   The production test is a set of tasks based on the competencies for the competitor to complete.
    o   Documents produced for this event must be prepared by the competitor without help from the adviser or any other person.
    o   Calculators cannot be used on the production test.
    o   A printed copy of the Production Test Reference Guide, available on the Competitive Events section of the FBLA website (www.fbla.org), may be used during the test.

Scoring

·         The rating sheet will be released with the production test.
·         All judging decisions are final. Results announced at the National Leadership Conference are considered official and will not be changed after the conclusion of the National Leadership Conference.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

·         FBLA complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing reasonable accommodations for competitors. Accommodation requests must be submitted through the conference registration system by the official registration deadline. All requests will be reviewed, and additional documentation may be required to determine eligibility and appropriate support.

Penalty Points

·         Competitors may be disqualified if they violate the Competitive Event Guidelines or the Honor Code.

Electronic Devices

·         Unless approved as part of a documented accommodation, all cell phones, watches, electronic devices, and headphones must be turned off and stored away before the competition begins. Visible devices during the event will be considered a violation of the FBLA Honor Code.

National

If you are competing on the National level, be sure to see the National guidelines at:  https://www.fbla.org/divisions/fbla/fbla-competitive-events/


 

Study Guide: Competencies and Tasks

A. Slide Deck Applications

1. Use software to create a slide deck with multiple types of slides incorporating effective use of text, graphics, fonts, animation, and transitions.

2. Design engaging slide presentations using features such as diagrams, customized visuals, animations, backgrounds, interactive elements (e.g., action buttons, hyperlinks), multimedia (e.g., audio and video), and speaker notes.

3. Insert and adjust visual aids—such as images, charts, icons, and infographics—within slide content using modern layout and formatting tools.

4. Create original visuals using digital drawing tools, clip art libraries, and imported graphics from design software or mobile apps.

5. Edit, crop, and export images in appropriate file formats (e.g., PNG, JPEG, SVG) for presentation use across platforms.

6. Design and format presentation slides with multimedia elements such as text, images, audio, and video.

B. Spreadsheet Applications

1. Create, edit, save, and print spreadsheets using functions (e.g., SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, IF, AND, PMT, FV, VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, TODAY, etc.), formulas, and data tools within spreadsheet software.

2. Organize and modify worksheet structure by inserting, deleting, moving, and copying rows, columns, and ranges.

3. Generate and customize charts and graphs with appropriate titles, legends, and formatting to visually represent spreadsheet data.

4. Rename, reorder, and link multiple worksheets within a workbook to create integrated, multi-sheet projects.

5. Enhance the visual design of spreadsheets by applying fonts, colors, cell styles, and alignment tools for improved readability and presentation.

6. Create and manipulate pivot tables to summarize, analyze, and present data trends using sorting, filtering, grouping, and calculated fields.

C. Word Processing Applications

1. Use the Production Test Reference Guide to create a variety of documents.

2. Use help features and reference materials to learn software and solve problems.

3. Create, save, and retrieve word processing files.

4. Demonstrate the use of character formatting features (bold, underline, italics, font styles and sizes, superscript, and subscript).

5. Demonstrate the use of paragraph formatting features (tabs, indentations, line spacing, and enumerated items).

6. Demonstrate the use of page formatting features (margins, justification, vertical placement, orientation, page breaks, headers, and footers).

7. Demonstrate document editing skills using spell/grammar check, thesaurus, search/replace, and other document properties.

8. Create documents using mail merge features.

D. Application Integrations

1. Create integrated projects by combining content from word processing, spreadsheet, and slide deck application tools.

2. Collaborate using word processing, spreadsheet, and slide deck applications by inserting, reviewing, and responding to comments and tracked changes.

3. Embed charts or tables from a spreadsheet into a document or slide deck.

4. Link live spreadsheet data to word processing or slide deck applications.

5. Generate a report using spreadsheet data and summarize in a slide deck application.

6. Create a unified project across all three applications.

E. Formatting, Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, and Proofreading

1. Apply consistent formatting and layout techniques to letters, reports, tables, spreadsheets, charts, and graphics.

2. Produce professional documents using correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

3. Use built-in editing tools (e.g., spelling and grammar check, editor suggestions, and comments) to review and revise content.

4. Apply rules for capitalization, punctuation, and number formatting while proofreading and editing documents for accuracy and clarity.

5. Export or save documents in appropriate formats (e.g., PDF, DOCX, CSV) for sharing, printing, or submission.

The Study Guide represents all knowledge areas that may be covered in the production test.