On January 18, 2017 approximately 200 students from the District 3 of Iowa DECA will be competing at Merle Hay Mall. These students will come from schools in the central portion of the state of Iowa. Students compete by taking an exam in one of the DECA cluster areas; marketing, finance, hospitality, or principles of business administration. Following the exam, students engage in a role-play interview with a judge showcasing their knowledge of handling business situations in their event category. As an integral part of the classroom curriculum, DECA’s industry-validated competitive events are aligned with the National Curriculum Standards in the career clusters of marketing, business management and administration, finance, and hospitality and tourism. DECA’s flagship evaluation process involves students in both a written component such as an exam or report and an interactive component with an industry professional serving as a judge. DECA’s competitive events directly contribute to every student being college and career ready when they graduate from high school.