Wisconsin K-12 students are increasingly exposed to personal financial education content through classes, according to a recent survey, which said 44 percent of school districts require students to learn about personal finance before graduating.
The survey, which was initiated and funded by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institution in collaboration with the Department of Public Instruction and St. Norbert College’s Strategic Research Institute of De Pere, showed 74 percent of districts include personal financial literacy in their curriculum.
The classes are designed to teach students how to manage their own finances, including credit and debit issues, and how to become a critical consumer by learning to save and invest money correctly.
Additionally, 60 percent of school districts offer personal finance content at grade levels other than high school. In districts that require students to learn the content, 89 percent have aligned their content to fit Wisconsin’s Model Academic Standards for Personal Financial Literacy, according to the press release.
George Althoff, the communications director for DFI, said financial literacy is a very important issue in K-12 education and is also an area where educators can improve.
“The financial services industry has gotten more and more complicated and we need to equip young people with the tools that they need to be successful in life,”Althoff said. “In order to be successful, they need to have a grasp on … [the] financial services options that they have available … and how to use [the options] prudently [to be] good stewards of their own money.”
The survey included responses from 415 of Wisconsin’s 424 school districts.
