Utah students best in country at teaching about personal finance

Utah is the only state in the nation to earn an A-plus grade in teaching high school students personal finance, according to rankings compiled by a Vermont college.

The “2017 Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools,” prepared by Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy, graded each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Four states — Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia — earned A’s.

Utah’s A-plus matched its grade in the 2015 version of the report. In 2013, it earned an A.

{mprestriction ids="1,3"}John Pelletier, director of the Champlain College center, noted that Utah requires all students to take a half-year course and pass a state-administered exam. Utah also requires teachers to be trained and provides them with resources and professional development in personal finance education.

“General financial literacy is a funded mandate in Utah,” Pelletier said. “For all their efforts, educators in Utah should be commended and looked to as a model for personal finance education.”

Pelletier pointed out that that there is a lot of work to do in most states, noting that research indicates that students from wealthy communities are much more likely to have access to personal finance education in high school than students in poor communities. “The poor should have equal access to personal finance education in high school. It shouldn’t be for just the rich,” he said. “But access is only possible if a state policy requires it.”

The center is pleased to see incremental improvements, “but more states with low or failing grades have to step up and strive to be more like Utah,” Pelletier said. “High school graduates are about to step into the world of work, military service or college, and they need to have the financial skills to navigate a complex world. We hope this report card will spur even more improvement across the country.”

In addition to compiling data from various sources, Champlain’s center conducted in-depth research on each state’s policies regarding the teaching of high school personal finance. The center reviewed state laws and regulations, graduation requirements, educational standards and assessment policies, and clarified questions in discussions with state education policy experts.

“The state of Utah should be commended for its efforts,” the report states. “Utah requires that all high school students take a half-year course exclusively dedicated to personal finance topics, and students are required to take an end-of-course assessment examination created and administered by the state. The state requires that educators teaching this course obtain a specific endorsement in general financial literacy that includes coursework on financial planning; credit and investing; and consumer, personal and family economics. The state also provides its educators with tools, resources and many professional development opportunities. General financial literacy is a funded mandate in Utah.”

The report says it is rare for states to have stringent educator requirements for teaching financial literacy. “Being self-taught is not optimal for education results,” it says. “Currently, the vast majority of states do not require educators to have demonstrable personal finance expertise prior to being allowed to teach a course. Utah currently has the most robust requirements in this area in the nation.”

Pelletier said studies show that financial literacy is linked to positive outcomes like wealth accumulation, stock market participation, retirement planning, and avoiding high-cost alternative financial services like payday lending and auto title loans.

Founded in 1878, Champlain College is one of the few colleges in America that require personal finance education for graduation. Its Center for Financial Literacy is a partnership among several financial institutions, nonprofit entities and governmental agencies to promote and develop financial literacy skills in K-12 students, college students, teachers (K-12 and college) and adults.{/mprestriction}