Washington — April 2
Nearly half of U.S. high school students say they do not know how to establish good credit, according to new research released by EverFi Inc., an education technology company that teaches, assesses and certifies students in skills like financial literacy.
April is Financial Literacy Month, and a survey of high school students between ages 13 and 18 revealed that the state of financial literacy among the nation’s youth is grim.
According to the survey, more than a quarter of students believe they will be unprepared to manage their finances upon high school graduation. In addition, students surveyed demonstrated that they do not understand basic financial facts and concepts.
For example:
• On average, students surveyed believe that a good credit score is about 500 or more; a third believe that a good credit score is 300 or less.
• 41 percent of students surveyed think they are entitled to receive all paid taxes back upon filing a federal income tax return, or that they do not have to pay federal income taxes at all.
• Most interestingly, students want parents and educators to intervene: Sixty-three percent of students surveyed say their parents are responsible for educating them about money management. Meanwhile, the Networks Financial Institute reported that only 26 percent of parents feel prepared to educate their children.
In addition, 83 percent of students believe that personal finance should be mandatory in schools. However, only four U.S. states require at least a semester-long course devoted to the topic, and less than half of states require personal finance education to be integrated into other subject matter.
The survey was conducted by ORC International from March 21-25. It included a sample of 505 U.S. high school students between ages 13 and 18. Because the sample is based on students who initially self-selected for participation, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated.
Source: EverFi Inc.
