More US States Teach Financial Education in High School

An increasing number of American states are requiring that students receive personal finance education in order to complete high school. At the same time, states are hoping to improve math skills among students in the United States.

Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. has a course called Advanced Algebra with Financial Applications. The school has offered the math class for more than 10 years. The class provides students with basic knowledge about money management and helps them sharpen their math skills. Classes discuss credit, investments, and loans, for example, and connect these ideas with methods of math for calculating interest, budgeting and more.

The high school may be a leader in providing financial education, but in recent years, many others have offered similar courses.

Since 2020, nine U.S. states have passed laws or policies requiring schools to provide personal finance education before students can graduate from high school. The U.S. non-profit organization, Council for Economic Education, says 30 states now have such policies in place.