Oklahoma Financial Literacy Standards
So far, Oklahoma gets a grade of “C” for its academic guidelines supporting financial education, states the National Report Card compiled by Champlain College. As of 2015, Champlain says, Oklahoma had no criterion stipulating that high school students must take a money management course in order to graduate. However, the Sooner State did require students to demonstrate competency in 14 areas of personal finance.
Oklahoma takes a “passport approach” to graduation requirements, meaning school districts get to decide which grades and which courses in which to embed the personal finance standards. They could be included in a variety of courses offered between 7th and 12th grades. Oklahoma gets additional credit for providing online financial education resources to which districts and teachers may refer.
Although the Sooner State includes personal finance in its K-12 standards and says they must be implemented by districts, no specific high school-level course must be offered or taken and no standards for testing are in place.
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.
