Puerto Rico Financial Literacy Standards
Wondering how the Empire State measures up against other states in terms of financial literacy benchmarks for public education? According to the National Report Card Champlain College issues every other year, Puerto Rico earned a “B” grade in 2015 for its public school financial literacy requirements. Puerto Rico State requires students to take a half-year course in economics to graduate from high school. Schools are encouraged to fulfill this requirement by offering a course titled “Economics, the Enterprise System and Finance.” This course has four standards, one of which includes personal finance-related content.
Based on these data, Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy estimates that Puerto Rico students receive approximately 15 hours of personal finance instruction during their high school careers. However, they do issue a caveat that Puerto Rico’s “B” rating is based on the assumption that most schools do teach and require the recommended course – whereas there may be schools that offer an economics course that doesn’t meet the personal finance guidelines. Champlain gives Puerto Rico additional credit for having enacted recent legislation requiring teens who participate in the state summer youth employment program to study personal finance.
The Council for Economic Education summarizes state-by-state data indicating standards for financial literacy in public education. Puerto Rico’s K-12 standards include personal finance education, and these standards must be implemented by each district. A high school course is required to be offered and taken, although in the case of Puerto Rico, personal finance is subsumed within a course of a different name (economics). There are no testing standards.
National Standards for Financial Education
Financial Literacy Standards for Older Youth & Adults (High School through Adults)
Although there is no direct mandate by the California State Board of Education, it is recommended that national standards be implemented. Financial education is a unique subject; all participants have developed financial habits and relationships with money before instruction begins.
National standards are those that have been proven in empirical and theoretical research to produce the highest improvements in participant test scores.
Financial Literacy Standards for Kids (Kids PK through 8th Grade)
In collaboration with education leader Heidi Jacobs, the NFEC created these financial literacy standards to define learning goals and educational targets for optimal child financial education. Guided by strong pedagogical theory, the standards ensure that instructional targets are age- and developmentally-appropriate and that lessons can be effectively scaffolded. Standards represent five sections based on topic areas in the NFEC curriculum.
Standards for Financial Education Instructors
The NFEC teamed with the well-known Danielson Group to develop the first and only national standards for financial educators – The Framework for Teaching Personal Finance – to define optimal educator skill sets and performance levels. The framework also identifies the financial educator responsibilities empirically proven to produce highest gains in participant test scores. This framework is used in all 50 states, including California.
