New Jersey Financial Literacy Standards
New Jersey’s high school graduation requirements earn the Garden State a “B” for financial education standards in 2015, according to the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College. Champlain publishes a report card every other year, grading each state based on criteria for teaching its students financial literacy. New Jersey gets a B because it mandates that high school students must complete a half-year course in financial, economic, and entrepreneurial literacy, or to take electives that integrate required content and skills, in order to graduate.
Based on the educational benchmarks, Champlain estimates that New Jersey students are exposed to about 15 hours of personal finance instruction upon matriculation. The Garden State also gets extra credit because, when the New Jersey School Board Association surveyed school districts to find out how they delivered financial education, nearly half of responding districts claimed they offered a stand-alone financial literacy course.
New Jersey includes personal finance education in its K-12 standards, reports the Council for Economic Education. Each district must implement this mandate by requiring a high school course to be offered and taken. However, New Jersey has no standardized tests to measure student outcomes from completing the mandated coursework.
National Standards for Financial Education
Financial Literacy Standards for Older Youth & Adults (High School through Adults)
Although there is no direct mandate by the California State Board of Education, it is recommended that national standards be implemented. Financial education is a unique subject; all participants have developed financial habits and relationships with money before instruction begins.
National standards are those that have been proven in empirical and theoretical research to produce the highest improvements in participant test scores.
Financial Literacy Standards for Kids (Kids PK through 8th Grade)
In collaboration with education leader Heidi Jacobs, the NFEC created these financial literacy standards to define learning goals and educational targets for optimal child financial education. Guided by strong pedagogical theory, the standards ensure that instructional targets are age- and developmentally-appropriate and that lessons can be effectively scaffolded. Standards represent five sections based on topic areas in the NFEC curriculum.
Standards for Financial Education Instructors
The NFEC teamed with the well-known Danielson Group to develop the first and only national standards for financial educators – The Framework for Teaching Personal Finance – to define optimal educator skill sets and performance levels. The framework also identifies the financial educator responsibilities empirically proven to produce highest gains in participant test scores. This framework is used in all 50 states, including California.
