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Thinking back to graduating high school I thought I was well prepared for life after. Not only because of school, but from my dad giving me certain tips to help me beyond just going to school. I had a scholarship from basketball and fafsa to help pay for school and housing. Also, from working I was able to save up a couple thousands before leaving for school. Fast forward just a couple of months and I had already been faced with numerous challenges. I lost a roommate in the middle of my first year, money and clothes stolen, and family changes for the first time in a decade. All of this, yet I was able to stay afloat, barley. I start this off by telling you about that time because I wonder now if I didn't have a parent to help set me up apart from the schooling aspect, who would have? What if someone doesn't go to college and is thrown into the real world with no plan or skills on how to build th\eir financial resume. Is there more the educational system could implement into their learning curriculum to achieve higher financial preparedness for graduating students?

There is more the educational system could implement into their learning curriculum to achieve higher financial preparedness for graduating students. With many different studies done that proves financial literacy courses and knowledge being linked to better quality of life, it is a growing subject that is trending for a reason. Some may say that there are different alternatives and that school does not have enough time nor teacher preparedness to teach these courses. However, the flaws that exist in already implemented courses are being held accountable and actively improving. While the world is becoming more complex, our school systems cannot stay stagnant, the future generations rely on what is implemented today.

A lack of financial knowledge is dangerous in today's world, and even more dangerous with a sense of overconfidence. With multiple studies showing that Americans have stayed stagnant, shows why financial courses need to be provided and taught to our youth. A yearly evaluation called the P-in index helps track financial literacy among U.S adults that contains 28 questions. Hovering around 50% has been the average for America. However with a growing, more complex financial world this evaluation has shown no improvements and actually a dip of 2% in just the past 2 years, we are clearly moving in the wrong direction. To compound this information, Professor Olivia Mitchell designed a 3 question test that was called the Big three. "In 2021, just under30% of Americans answered all of them correctly... the fact that this knowledge gap was compounded by a false sense of financial knowledge by survey respondents, who gave themselves an average rating of 5.1 out of 7."( Meineke P3) This shows that these adults are not only lacking in financial knowledge but in self awareness as well.Research also shows surveys accumulating more "I dont know" and no answers.Carly Urban and Olivia Valdes talk about research that has been done and tracked from 2009 to 2021. The research called NFCS is a survey of questions that was built to assess Amercans levels of financial literacy. Since 2009, it has shown a decrease in financial knowledge. More increasingly in some areas, such as women and people of color. The NFCS has tracked a large increase in "dont know" answers, mainly older white males, others dropped in the number of correct answers significantly. These two studies show glaring problems in our growth and a huge reason we can not stay stagnant and need to constantly fight to improve for our future generations. As we look into why and who influences students' financial preparedness the most. The school system would be the most consistent and efficient for all kids.Based on a study, there are 3 main sources that contribute to students' financial preparedness. Parents, secondary school counselors and teachers, and higher education institutions' websites and other Internet sources. However, disparities exist across race,ethnicity, income, and education level in terms of whether parents have high financial information. Moreover, low resourced schools have worse ratios and less prepared teachers and counselors to relay financial information, this also affects those of different ethnicity and income levels more negatively. Lastly the internet and higher education websites can be useful but can be like a second language for those who don't have the proper in depth guidance to understand the financial information, therefore not comprehending or retaining any of the information.

Movements that have shown quality financial courses work are the amount of states changing and passing legislation to require financial courses to graduate high school. As well as the support and interest of teachers to get more and better training. On the lawmaking side of thingsDr. Gladys I. Cruz talks about the complexity of today's financial world and how the basic math and english skills taught will not compute any longer. With 30 states now requiring a personal finance class to graduate, this has proven worthy already as states like Texas have already reported higher credit scores and lower relative delinquency rates for those students. Adding to that, theCal Department of Education research shows that students who have access to financial education have better financial situations, meaning less debt and are able to live a better life than those who do not. The California Department of education is now teaming up with a non profit, where 1.4 million dollars was secured to professionally develop high school teachers so that they can teach financial literacy.Using platforms that already exist can also be used for teaching basic financial skills. Grocery shopping with parents or using math class to incorporate basic financial knowledge will go a long way when it's done consistently.

With a new wave of teachers comes a new wave of teaching. Especially after COVID, there have already been major changes in the system for old and new teachers that the virus shed light on. A piece byPatricia Levesque talks about and brings more attention to lawmakers and the trends they are following. 10 states strengthened or changed their policy to improve math and reading instruction. As we move forward from COVID we look at the adoption of electronics in the classroom and the proper use of artificial intelligence. The focus on improving and developing high quality teachers is also a need that has brought more awareness over the years. As well as having more of a choice when it comes to the educational path, students and parents would have somewhat of a choice on what they want to learn. When it comes to supporting financial courses specifically,Wendy Way and Karen Holden helped play a part in a major study done in March 2009. It included K-12 teachers in 4 major regions of America. This study pointed to the fact of lack of funding or teaching, rather than a lack of wanting to teach these courses. Most teachers do not feel qualified to teach financial classes up to state standard. Yet over of teachers reported that they would "very likely" want further financial education training. 89% of teachers in the study supported the idea of implementing financial courses that are required for graduation. If we want to teach the youth financial education, it first must start with the teachers.

With the number of students choosing alternative routes and not going to college, students are relying more heavily on their high school education to prepare them for the real financial world. Champlain College believes it is beneficial to start teaching financial literacy in early ages beginning in elementary. In 2015 31% of students did not enroll in college immediately following high school, meaning they are depending on their high school education to help them navigate all of early adulthood. A 2016 survey indicated that only 31% said their high school education did a good job on teaching them good financial habits. This leads to a very large portion of the young adult population to accumulate debt. Those in college whose degree is not financially driven, also are given very brief classes that end up not sticking. These students also end up with a very large amount of debt.

One of the biggest flaws in implementing financial courses is the proof of no improvements in financial discipline. Many people think financial knowledge and financial discipline are intertwined and go hand and hand, they do not. Just because one might know or understand the knowledge does not mean they will apply it when necessary. For example, I know what I have to do to get better at basketball, but I still have to have the discipline to go to the gym and do the things I know will get me better. An experiment was conducted on undergraduate students in Singapore that showed the test group showed increases in financial education and prevalence of financial planning, although this did not impact the financial discipline of these students. "In particular, students receiving financial education showed an 11% improvement in financial knowledge scores and a 16% increase in the prevalence of financial planning. Course participation did not, however, change measured financial discipline.."(Barua at al. 5) Teaching young students financial education will help them understand financial literacy but there has to be a pairing course to correct bad habits and comprehend financial risk and discipline. This will be the biggest downside to implementing courses in school, that it doesn't necessarily lead to good financial habits. Although it's still a positive because now they have the knowledge, they just need the experiences and extra guidance to use the knowledge.

Another counter argument that is often brought up is that kids in high school do not want nor are able to retain the information, as well as taking away focus from the core classes. Although there has been more recent and bigger studies done, a study in 2009 examined high school students who had taken a personal finance management class. The results of this study raised many questions on whether or not financial literacy should be taught to high schoolers. The difference between those who did not take the course was little to none, and actually those who did not take the course scored a percent higher. It also showed little to no affect toward the financial attitudes or behavior for the students taking the course. Further studies do need to be done on the approaches and and different formatting for these courses, but as of now, the ability for teachers to teach and form a proper curriculum for financial literacy courses is in question.

Daniel Buck writes a paper after yet another state passes legislation to require a financial course for graduation. He argues against this by saying schools are achieving very little in going through great lengths to implement these courses, and are taking away from core classes. With 6.5 hours on average and a variety of core classes as well as art and physical activity, there is no time for these schools to squeeze in more. It's not all wasted effort, as numerous studies have shown more likelihood of higher asset accumulation and more likely to open a bank account. Although life experiences, access to financial knowledge, and personal habits play a bigger role in influencing students, all which the school has little to no power over.

In his article "The Argument Why is Financial Literacy Not Taught in Schools,"Micah Okuneva claims the idea of financial literacy should not be taught to high schoolers. While he does not ignore the fact that financial literacy is important, he does argue against teaching it in high school. Okuneva continues by stating that a one size fits all approach is still more efficient for the high school level because of the standardized testing and the diversity of backgrounds. He then adds that the opportunity cost and the potential of undermining the core objectives would take away from more essential academic and life skills. Although he is against adding financial literacy into the school curriculum, he does mention alternatives that students could access if they have the desire. Okuneva concludes the article by stating once again that financial literacy is important, but the automatic solution should not be implementing it into the school system.A piece of the article argues that the theoretical practice and knowledge of personal literacy does not translate to the students being able to apply the knowledge. Although he does not put any statistics in, the survey provided earlier in text proves this knowledge vs discipline theory correct. Aside from this point, his claims seem to be biased and somewhat untrue, with alternatives and solutions to the problems he's suggesting. With many sources and research pointing to the fact that financial literacy in high school does correlate to better quality of life.

Now many of the concerning issues that arise out of this argument are directly correlated to the level of which students are able to receive this financial education. An article published by the New York Times touches on the trend that states are heading. As of now just seven states received an A on their "report card" meaning they students take a semester-long personal finance course, or its equivalent. Looking forward to 2028 a report said 23 states are projected to receive an A grade, when additional programs recently approved by state legislatures are in place. Working to close the discrepancy gap for low income and people of color is an ongoing battle that is growing in awareness. Concerns of the effectiveness of these financial classes were mentioned but a recent report done by Champlain College found research that the classes help improve credit scores, lower loan delinquency rates and reduce the use of risky services like payday lending.

With various studies showing that implementing quality financial courses correlates to better financial preparedness, schools are visibly already taking action and requiring such classes for graduation. As we continue to improve in areas that need work, such as teacher preparedness and finding ways to always improve financial discipline within the classes. Its a topic that is no longer in the dark and has spread awareness across the U.S so that teacher support and funding are larger than ever. A brighter future awaits this next generation as they will have more access to financial literacy to help than along their journey. With expectations of a wealthier generation or at the least a more prepared one.

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