Curriculum

Financial-Literacy Challenges Seen

By Rhea R. Borja — May 17, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Financial education in the nation’s schools seems to have taken one step ahead and a half-step back.

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia include economics in their academic standards—that’s up from 38 in 1998, according to the National Council on Economic Education, a group based in New York City. In addition, 17 states require high schools to offer an economics course, and 15 states have made it a graduation requirement.

Yet a hard-won $1.5 million federal grant for economic education has been tagged for elimination in President Bush’s budget plan for fiscal 2006. And the proposed cut comes as a new national survey shows that many college students are, if not financially illiterate, then fiscally challenged.

The NCEE was the first recipient in 2004 of what is called the Excellence in Economic Education Grant. Over the past year, the NCEE has used that money to award mini-grants to more than 100 nonprofit groups, universities, and schools for financial-literacy teacher training, classroom materials, and economic education research.

Chad Colby, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education, said the program may be cut because it has a limited impact.

The grant’s uncertain status concerns Robert F. Duvall, the chief executive officer and president of the NCEE.

“I cannot understand the rationale for penciling out this program,” he said.

Personal savings, for example, have dropped from 7 percent of disposable income in 1990 to 1.2 percent in 2004, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Young Americans don’t seem to be doing any better, according to a new survey for Citi Credit-ED, a credit education program run by Citigroup, the giant financial-services company based in New York City.

While 90 percent of the 1,060 college students surveyed said that good credit is important, a third have missed a credit-card payment or paid one late, according to the survey conducted by Harris Interactive Inc., a Rochester, N.Y.-based market-research firm.

“We’ve got to get to kids precollege,” Mr. Duvall said. “Financial literacy is not something you’re born with. It’s a learned behavior. And you’re either going to learn it from teachers, or you’re going to learn it the hard way.”

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum How an International Baccalaureate Education Cuts Through the ‘Noise’ on Banned Topics
IB programs offer students college credit in high school and advanced learning environments.
9 min read
James Minor teaches his IB Language and Literature class at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla., on Jan. 23, 2024.
James Minor teaches his IB Language and Literature class at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla., on Jan. 23, 2024.
Zack Wittman for Education Week
Curriculum Explainer Social Studies and Science Get Short Shrift in Elementary Schools. Why That Matters
Learn why the subjects play a key role in elementary classrooms—and how new policy debates may shift the status quo.
10 min read
Science teacher assists elementary school student in the classroom
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Letter to the Editor Finance Education in Schools Must Be More Than Personal
Schools need to teach students to see how their spending impacts others, writes the executive director of the Institute for Humane Education.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Whitepaper
Media Literacy for the Digital Era: A Must-Have Guide
Equip educators and students with strategies to discern truth amidst misinformation and AI with practical strategies and interactive acti...
Content provided by Britannica Education