iCEV: CTE Curriculum, Certifications, and How Schools Use It

iCEV

Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares students for real jobs in fields like agriculture, health care, construction, business, and technology. Teaching those subjects well takes good materials, hands on activities, and a way for students to prove their skills to employers. That’s where iCEV comes in.

The company provides online CTE curriculum, industry certification exams, and tools that help schools track their programs. This guide explains what it offers, how it started, what changed in 2026, and how teachers and students can get the most out of it.

Quick Facts

What Is iCEV?

iCEV is an online learning platform built for CTE classrooms. It gives teachers ready made lessons, videos, interactive activities, and assessments across all 16 career clusters, from Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources to Health Science and Information Technology.

It also runs a testing platform where students can earn industry recognized certifications. These credentials come from partners like Elanco, BASF, Southwest Airlines, and Ducks Unlimited, and they show employers and colleges that students have real world skills.

History

From Videos to Digital Learning

The company traces its roots to 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. It began by making educational videos and instructional materials for agriculture and other CTE classes. As schools moved online, it built a digital platform with full courses, interactive lessons, and assessments.

Growth Through Investment

In 2021, The Riverside Company, a private investment firm, invested in the business. With that backing, the company grew quickly through acquisitions in 2022:

AES, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had served more than 2.1 million students before the deal. Adding it helped the company reach more schools across the US.

Timeline

Curriculum: What Students Learn

The course library covers all 16 career clusters. Each course includes lessons, videos, interactive activities, assessments, and teacher resources.

Sample Course Areas

Built for Every Learner

Recent updates added features that support different learners, including:

• Translation and text to speech for interactive activities
• Searchable video transcripts
• Printable and translatable assessments
• Pretests and posttests to measure growth
• Lessons aligned to the Modernized Career Clusters framework

Industry Certifications

Certifications are a big reason schools choose the platform. A certification proves a student has mastered skills an industry partner values. Many states also count these credentials in school accountability ratings.

Certifications Hosted on the Testing Platform

Heavy Equipment Simulator Certificates

Students who complete the SimScholars Cat Simulator Curriculum can earn proctored certificates for operating an excavator, advanced excavator, compact track loader, backhoe loader, and small dozer. These give students a head start toward construction careers.

Certification Alignments

For exams hosted elsewhere, such as ServSafe, NHA CCMA, and AAFCS Pre PAC, the company offers alignments. These are course materials designed to help students prepare for outside tests.

Digital Badges

Students who pass can share their credentials as Credly digital badges. Badges can be added to résumés, LinkedIn profiles, and college applications.

What’s New in 2026

In June 2026, the company announced a major set of updates:

The AI Literacy course stands out. As artificial intelligence changes many jobs, schools want students to understand how AI tools work and how to use them responsibly.

Eduthings: Managing CTE Programs

CTE programs involve much more than lessons. Teachers and directors track certifications, work based learning hours, student organization activities, advisory board meetings, and equipment inventory. Eduthings is the company’s data platform for managing all of that in one place. It helps schools report results to state agencies and plan program improvements.

How Teachers Use the Platform

1. Plan lessons: Choose ready made lessons or customize them.
2. Assign content: Students complete videos and activities online.
3. Assess learning: Use built in quizzes, pretests, and posttests.
4. Track readiness: Check which students are ready for certification exams.
5. Proctor exams: Give certification tests through the testing platform.
6. Report results: Share outcomes with administrators and state agencies.

Tips for Teachers

• Start with the pretest. It shows what students already know.
• Mix online and hands on work. Pair digital lessons with labs, shop work, or field trips.
• Use the readiness indicator. Don’t schedule exams until most students are ready.
• Connect to CTSOs. Link lessons to FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA, FBLA, and other student organizations.
• Celebrate credentials. Recognize students who earn certifications at school events.
• Use translation tools. Support English learners with text to speech and translation.

Tips for Students

• Treat certifications seriously. They can help you land jobs and internships.
• Use practice exams. They show what to expect on test day.
• Take notes during videos. Searchable transcripts make review easier.
• Ask about your badge. Add it to your résumé and LinkedIn profile.
• Explore new fields. Try a course outside your main pathway to discover new interests.

Logging In

Students and teachers usually access the platform through a web browser with accounts set up by their school. Many schools connect it to their learning management or student information systems, which can make login easier. If you can’t sign in, ask your CTE teacher, since accounts are typically managed by the school.

Pricing

The company sells mainly to schools, districts, colleges, and workforce programs rather than individuals. Pricing usually depends on the courses, number of students, and certifications a school needs, so schools typically request a quote. Some certification exams may have per student fees.

Why CTE Certifications Matter

Why CTE Is Growing

Career and Technical Education has become a top priority for many states and school districts. Employers in skilled trades, health care, manufacturing, and technology report shortages of trained workers. At the same time, many families want lower cost paths to good jobs that don’t always require a four year degree.

CTE programs answer both needs. Students take courses tied to real careers, practice hands on skills, and often earn credentials before they graduate. Some go straight into jobs, while others continue to community college, apprenticeships, or universities with a head start. Platforms that combine curriculum and certifications make it easier for schools to build these programs, especially in rural areas where finding specialized teachers can be hard.

A Sample Pathway: From First Course to Certification

Here’s how a student in an agriculture program might use the platform over a few years:

A student on a business pathway might follow a similar plan, earning Business Office Technology, Career Preparedness, and Personal Financial Literacy along the way. By graduation, the student has a portfolio of skills and digital badges to show employers.

How Administrators Benefit

CTE directors and principals often need to prove that programs work. Dashboards and reports make it easier to see how many students are enrolled, how many are ready for exams, and how many earn credentials. That data helps schools apply for funding, meet state reporting rules, and decide which programs to expand.

Working With Student Organizations

CTE programs often connect with career and technical student organizations, called CTSOs. These include FFA for agriculture, HOSA for health science, SkillsUSA for trades, FBLA for business, and FCCLA for family and consumer sciences. Teachers can use iCEV lessons to help students prepare for CTSO competitions, such as livestock judging, floral design, or public speaking events. Linking classwork to competitions gives students a goal and helps them build confidence in front of judges and industry experts. Many students say these events are where their career interests first become clear, and some even meet future employers there. That real world connection is a big part of what makes CTE effective.

Pros and Cons

Alternatives

Frequently Asked Questions

What does iCEV do? It provides online CTE curriculum, industry certification testing, and program management tools.

Where is the company based? In Lubbock, Texas. It has served CTE educators since 1984.

What certifications can students earn? Options include Elanco Fundamentals of Animal Science, BASF Plant Science, Southwest Airlines Professional Communications, Personal Financial Literacy, and many more.

What’s new in 2026? New courses like AI Literacy, a Certification Readiness Indicator, the Insights dashboard, and Smart Notifications.

Who owns the company? The Riverside Company invested in it in 2021.

Final Thoughts

iCEV has grown from a small Texas video producer into a major CTE platform used across the country. Its mix of curriculum, industry certifications, and program management tools helps schools prepare students for careers in agriculture, health care, business, technology, and the trades. For teachers building strong CTE programs, it’s a resource worth exploring.

Key Takeaways

• iCEV is a Lubbock, Texas company that has served CTE educators since 1984.
• It offers online curriculum across all 16 career clusters, plus certification testing and Eduthings.
• Students can earn industry certifications from partners like Elanco, BASF, and Southwest Airlines.
• In 2026, it added 17 new and updated courses, including AI Literacy, and a Certification Readiness Indicator.
• It now offers 90+ certification alignments from 14 certifying agencies, with 12 available in Spanish.
• The Riverside Company invested in 2021, and the company acquired AES in 2022.
• Schools typically buy access through quotes based on courses and student numbers.