Montana Financial Literacy Standards
In the Treasure State, improvements to educational criteria for personal finance may be indicated, as Champlain College gave Montana a “D” grade for those standards in 2015. Champlain compiles its National Report Card every other year. Because Montana has no requirements for high school students to take personal finance training, and schools are not required to offer such coursework, the College deemed that Montana merited the “D.”
Students in Montana high schools must take two years of social studies, but the specific courses to be taken are not specified. The six economics content benchmarks (3% of all social studies standards) indicate what all students should know upon graduation, and one of those benchmarks includes personal finance concepts. However, it’s unclear how achievement in these areas is measured.
No standards for K-12 financial literacy instruction are in place, and no high school course is required to be offered and/or taken in the state of Montana, according to the Economic Education Council.
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.
