Tue, 30 March 2021 | financial literacy
The National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) highlights results from its financial literacy testing data annually and has reported on 119,813 across the past decade.
Over the past year, the NFEC recently asked 7,246 people across all 50 US states to respond to a test measuring their current personal finance knowledge. The results were broken down into six age groups as follows:
Average score of those aged 10 – 14 years old: 57.41%
Average score of those aged 15 – 18 years old: 65.82%
Average score of those aged 19 – 24 years old: 71.11%
Average score of those aged 25 – 35 years old: 75.57%
Average score of those aged 36 – 50 years old: 75.44%
Average score of those aged 51+ years old: 76.54%
To read the full results, visit this link: https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/national-financial-literacy-test/
To take the test, visit: https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-literacy-test/
Notably, among the 15-18 age range, a proportion of 1.13:1 "failed" the quiz by earning a score lower than 70%, indicating significant room for improvement in youth and young adult financial literacy.
Test questions were designed to measure knowledge around the 10 topic areas covered in the NFEC's Financial Literacy Framework & Standards, the first national standards guiding money management education and educator training. The test evaluated three essential areas defining an individual's financial wellness: learning motivation, subject understanding, and identification of the first steps toward securing one's financial future.
"This nationwide test demonstrates that many Americans lack the basic financial knowledge they need to make informed financial decisions. This knowledge gap can have consequences that extend into many other areas of their lives." - Vince Shorb, CEO, National Financial Educators Council
The NFEC acknowledges that while testing represents an indicator of content knowledge, unlike other subjects typically taught in school, financial literacy requires more than just understanding content. Learners also must be able to modify their daily financial behaviors and possess enough confidence in their abilities to make qualified financial decisions.
SOURCE National Financial Educators Council