Financial Literacy of High School Students

Five, large-scale, biennial national surveys of high school seniors from 1997 to 2006 have been used to measure the financial literacy of young American adults. The results show a low level of ability to make age-appropriate financial decisions in their own self-interests. Low baseline results in 1997 have further deteriorated with scores on the 31-question, multiple choice exam now hovering just over 50 %. Students from families with greater financial resources tend to be substantially more financially literate than those from families that are less well-off, thereby exacerbating the inequality of economic welfare among families. Moreover, high school classes in personal finance and money management have not proven to be effective in raising levels of financial literacy.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Finance, State University of New York at Buffalo, University at Buffalo, 375 Jacobs Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260–4000, USA Lewis Mandell

1. Lewis Mandell