Nearly nine out of 10 U.S. adults strongly support financial education being taught in high schools, according to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the American Bankers Association Foundation, a nonprofit organization helping bankers provide financial education.
Twenty-seven states guarantee a standalone personal finance course for all high schoolers. Of those, 10 have fully implemented youth financial education while 17 are in the process of implementing, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.
“The survey results make clear that Americans understand the value of a solid financial education and the benefits it can have on their long-term financial well-being,” Lindsay Torrico, foundation executive director, said. “Unfortunately, access to financial education isn’t universal.”
The majority of survey participants (72 percent) said they would be better off financially had they learned personal finance basics at an earlier age.
The survey found that 38 percent of participants learned about money/financial concepts from family members, 15 percent learned at school, 11 percent learned from social media, and the remainder learned from either their bank, books/magazines, other, television or friends, or were unsure.
The average American scores 48 percent on a financial literacy test, according to the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center.