More states earn an ‘A’ in financial literacy education

Half the 50 states are projected to get an “A” grade in financial literacy education for their high school students by 2028, according to a Champlain College report.

Champlain College, with pro bono legal research by the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, presented its 2023 national report card on state efforts to improve financial literacy in high schools. The presentation was made during Tuesday’s meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissions’ Life Insurance Workstream of the Special Committee on Race and Insurance.

John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College, said LFAA believes financial literacy education is a social justice issue. “They believe that everyone should have access to financial literacy education in school,” he said.

Pelletier ran down the requirements for the letter grades assigned to each state in the national report card. They are:

Each state was assigned two grades: one based on the state’s status at the time of the report, and one based on whether that was any pending policy change.

Change is happening slowly, Pelletier said, with only five states receiving an A grade in 2017 and seven states reaching A status by 2023. However, change is on the way.

Pelletier said so many states are in the process of mandating financial literacy education that 25 states are projected to hit an A grade by 2028. Fourteen states are projected to attain a B grade by that time, while six states will be graded a C. Eight states are projected to be graded a D or an F by 2028.

What does success in high school financial literacy look like? Pelletier described the four keys:

One challenge in conducting successful high school financial literacy programs is the need for trained teachers, Pelletier said. He predicted that by 2028, more than 32,000 educators will be needed for the states that are projected to reach A or B status.

“We need teachers,” he said. “We must get substantive, high-value training to teachers and hopefully make it free.”

In a related issue, Mike Humphreys, Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, discussed a proposed policy statement that will put NAIC on record as supporting state legislation to require financial literacy courses as a prerequisite to high school graduation.

“In discussing financial literacy education, particularly in high schools, there’s no such thing as being too early to teach financial literacy,” he said.

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on X @INNsusan.

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