Economy and Kids!

Organization of the Standards 

The National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education describe the minimum requirements for functional financial literacy. They are orga- nized as follows:

• Standards
  The K–12 standards trace a path to a minimal level of competency upon completion of high school. They describe what personal finance instruction should enable students to know and do. The standards fall into six major categories of personal finance—Financial Responsibility and Decision Making; Income and Careers; Plan- ning and Money Management; Credit and Debt; Risk Management and Insurance; and Saving and Investing. Each category focuses on an overall competency derived from the Jump$tart Coalition’s defi nition of financial literacy.
  
  
• Expectations
  The statements of expectation describe how students can apply knowledge to everyday financial decisions and actions at three points in their consumer development—at grades 4, 8, and 12. The expectations refl ect a progression of student learning in which increasing com- plexity builds on earlier knowledge. Educators will take into account that students learn at different rates because of a variety of learning styles, interests, and experiences outside the classroom.
  
  
• Knowledge Statements
  These statements show relationships among the key concepts underlying the standards and expectations. They provide further guidance for publishers as they develop and revise cur- ricula and for educators as they select classroom materials and plan lessons. Like the Glossary, the Knowledge Statements are not meant to be exhaustive.
  
  
• Glossary
  The list of definitions is meant as an aid to understanding the Standards, Expectations, and Knowledge Statements. It includes only a sampling of key terms.