Alaska Financial Literacy Standards

Unfortunately, when it comes to establishing standards for teaching personal finance knowledge, the Last Frontier State has a long way to go, according to Champlain College’s biannual research statistics. In 2015, Alaska received an “F” grade for its current requirements for teaching financial education in public schools. That grade was warranted because no personal finance curriculum – either as a stand-alone course or embedded in another class – is required for high school graduation.

The Center for Financial Literacy’s National Report Card compiled every other year describes Alaska’s current situation as having no personal finance guidelines for schools. While the state does have economics concepts in its government and citizenship standards, these concepts do not include personal finance topics. Alaska also has no personal finance criteria in its employability standards.

The Economic Education Council (CEE) summarizes Alaska’s situation as follows: no personal finance education is included in K-12 standards; no coursework is required to be implemented by school districts. No high school course is required to be offered or taken, and Alaska has no standardized testing for money management skills.

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.

National Financial Educators Council, State Financial Literacy Standards
National Financial Educators Council, State Chapters