Economy and Kids!

The National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education, created and maintained by the Jump$tart Coalition® for Personal Financial Literacy, delineate the personal finance knowledge and skills that K–12 students should possess.

The Jump$tart Coalition asserts that all young people graduating from our nation’s high schools should be able to take individual responsibility for their personal economic wellbeing. Broadly speaking, a financially literate high school graduate should know how to:

• Find, evaluate, and apply financial information
• Set financial goals and plan to achieve them
• Develop income-earning potential and the ability to sav
• Use financial services effectively
• Meet financial obligations
• Build and protect wealth

Many organizations have defined “personal finance” and “financial literacy.” The following, a distillation of the views of several sources, are the definitions underlying the National Standards.

Personal finance describes the principles and methods that individuals use to acquire and manage income and assets.

Financial literacy is the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage one’s financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security.

Financial literacy is not an absolute state; it is a continuum of abilities that is subject to variables such as age, family, culture, and residence. Financial literacy refers to an evolving state of competency that enables each individual to respond effectively to ever-changing personal and economic circumstances.

Because of limited experience and responsibility, a typical recent high school graduate will not exhibit the same degree of knowledge of personal finance as a financially literate older adult. Financially literate high school graduates, however, should have a general understanding of all key aspects of personal finance. These graduates will be confi dent in their ability to fi nd and use the information required to meet specific personal finance challenges as they arise. To this end, the National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education indicate the skills students must have to increase their personal finance knowledge continually as their responsibilities and opportunities change.

The Jump$tart Coalition intends the National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education to serve as a model. As such, the National Standards represent the framework of an ideal personal finance curriculum, portions of which might not be appropriate for individual instructors and students. The Coalition leaves it up to various stakeholders to decide how to address the topics in the National Standards.