2018 Survey of the States Reveals Slow to No Growth in K-12 Personal Finance and Economic Education

Now in Its 20^th Year, Council for Economic Education Study Highlights Wide Gaps in Financial and Economic Education Throughout U.S. States

A 2017 study from the American Psychological Association reveals that money is the second leading source of stress in the United States, and the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety, which financial woes can easily trigger. Yet, according to Council for Economic Education’s (CEE) 2018 Survey of the States: Economic and Personal Finance Education in Our Nation’s Schools, financial independence may be out of reach for many because K-12 students are not receiving adequate tools and training to make informed financial decisions; only one-third of the U.S. states require high school students to take a course in personal finance, while less than half require them to take a course in economics before graduating.

Now in its 20^th year, Survey of the States findings indicate that progress has been achieved, yet gains have slowed in recent years. CEE will unveil the full results at an event today at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Research shows that students in states that require financial education have higher credit scores as well as more responsible spending habits and are less prone to compulsive shopping, reducing their financial risk greatly. However, 2018 Survey of the States findings reveal:

• The number of states that require high school students to take a course in personal finance (17) has not changed over the past four years.
• Since 2016, there been no change in the number of states which include personal finance in their K-12 standards and require those standards to be taught.
• 22 states require high school students to take a course in economics—less than half the country but two more states than in 2016.
• There has been no change in the number of states that require standardized testing of economic concepts since 2014.

“When we initiated this survey in 1998, only one state required enrollment in a personal finance course while 13 required enrollment in an economics class, so clearly we’ve made some gains. Michigan, Georgia, Utah and Texas are leading the way by requiring personal finance and economics courses to be offered and taken, as well as by implementing state standards and standardized testing,” said Nan J. Morrison, President and CEO of the Council for Economic Education. “However, the majority of U.S. states are failing our students by declining to offer these fundamental courses which are critical to their financial stability and security later in life.”

CEE conducts The Survey of the States: Economic and Personal Finance Education in Our Nation’s Schools every two years. The report collects data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and includes commentary from experts and educators in the field to provide a comprehensive look into the state of K-12 economic and financial education in the United States.

The 2018 Survey of the States is available for download at: www.councilforeconed.org/surveyofthestates 

About the Council for Economic Education

The Council for Economic Education (CEE) is the leading non-profit organization in the United States that focuses on the economic and financial education of students from kindergarten through high school—and we have been doing so for nearly 70 years. We carry out our mission by educating the educators: providing the curriculum tools, the pedagogical support, and the community of peers that instruct, inspire, and guide. All resources and programs are developed by educators, and delivered by our national network of affiliates. Our goal is to reach and teach every child. Each year CEE’s programs reach more than 55,000 K-12 teachers and over 5 million students across the United States. EconEdLink – our free, online educator gateway for economic and personal finance lessons and resources – attracts more than 1 million unique visitors annually.

Media Contacts:  

Lisa Fels Davitt
lisa@successioncommunications.com
(973) 886-1917

Kate Alexander
kate@successioncommunications.com
(201) 638-3946

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