Financial Literacy Month: Helps teach young Americans about save, budget, invest

by 04/22/2011

WASHINGTON – As part of an ongoing effort to mark national Financial Literacy Month, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of the Treasury today recognized the 1,438 North Carolina students and 67 North Carolina educators who participated in the National Financial Capability Challenge for the 2010-11 school year. The Challenge, which includes a voluntary online exam for high school students, helps teach young Americans about saving, budgeting, investing, and other important skills critical to building a secure financial future.

A total of 245 North Carolina students scored in the top 20 percent nationally and seven North Carolina students received perfect scores. State-by-state results and sample questions from the exam are included below and at www.challenge.treas.gov.

"It’s critical for our young people to develop smart financial skills," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "If we’re going to prepare our students for 21st century success, we have to teach them about earning and spending, saving and investing. Otherwise, they’re going to learn the hard way: by making mistakes. I’m encouraged to see the steps that teachers and states are taking to make basic financial education a priority and congratulate these students on their great work."

"Empowering students with the knowledge they need to make good decisions about saving, budgeting, and investing is critical to helping them build secure financial futures," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin. "I want to congratulate these students on their achievements and thank them for serving as examples to their peers about the importance of financial education."

Education Secretary Duncan and Treasury Deputy Secretary Wolin honored top-scoring students today at a national awards ceremony today at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. Nationwide, more than 84,000 high school students and 2,500 educators in all 50 states, as well as in U.S. Department of Defense schools for children of military members around the world, participated in the 2010-11 Challenge. Students who scored in the top 20 percent nationally and those who were among the top scorers in their school will receive official award certificates.

The Challenge is one of many important steps the Obama Administration has taken to help empower Americans through improved financial capability. In November, the Administration unveiled a new coordinated National Strategy for Financial Literacy to help guide the ongoing efforts of the federal government and private organizations to empower Americans with the financial skills they need to strengthen their long-term economic security. Additionally, the Administration established the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to provide advice on how to maximize the effectiveness of existing private and public sector efforts, and to identify new approaches to increase financial capability.

State-by-state results from the 2010-11 Challenge are included below:

StateState Average ScoreParticipating StudentsPerfect ScoresStudents Who Scored in the Top 20%Participating Educators in the State
Alabama66.26%1,712526443
Alaska70.28%1542327
Arizona65.14%900113326
Arkansas68.61%656211725
Armed Forces (Europe)73.59%11003211
Armed Forces (Pacific)74.46%1650515
California66.12%1,8011336881
Colorado68.13%1,4761535544
Connecticut72.32%1,6751346962
DC56.33%2170224
Delaware65.25%3480299
Florida69.51%4,47747102485
Georgia64.60%1,6121326854
Guam75.29%14043
Hawaii73.62%17145812
Idaho80.82%1001447
Illinois71.17%1,9892656771
Indiana68.21%2,1861847963
Iowa70.02%2,541957471
Kansas70.26%455112122
Kentucky67.75%607912723
Louisiana67.69%3671559
Maine74.14%23457215
Maryland66.83%2,9551953371
Massachusetts69.06%2,6421957771
Michigan70.51%1,8351751466
Minnesota70.88%1,1041629038
Mississippi67.00%1231189
Missouri71.81%2,0612056860
Montana68.23%32317720
Nebraska72.02%567314225
Nevada64.38%1,276617119
New Hampshire70.28%655517724
New Jersey66.49%4,87618882106
New Mexico66.04%1571269
New York69.11%4,29620936143
North Carolina66.22%1,438724567
North Dakota70.26%39939413
Ohio67.57%4,51323827134
Oklahoma67.03%1,057016329
Oregon75.60%22927724
Pennsylvania68.33%7,155401563200
Rhode Island61.72%794312017
South Carolina67.50%654412829
South Dakota76.28%14505412
Tennessee69.32%1,602835338
Texas66.02%4,32621762128
Utah73.35%631715722
Vermont79.88%1455807
Virginia69.07%7,328471521180
Washington71.43%1,8301644953
West Virginia61.51%813212021
Wisconsin73.23%4,399441280123
Wyoming69.55%770237

Example questions from the Challenge’s online exam include the following:

1. Carolina has $5,000 saved from working at different jobs. She puts her money in a savings account that pays 4 percent per year in interest. How much money will be in her account at the end of the first year and at the end of the second year?
A. End of first year: $5,100; end of second year: $5,400.
B. End of first year: $5,200; end of second year: $5,400.
C. End of first year: $5,200; end of second year: $5,408.
D. I don’t know.
(Answer: C)

2. Marco went to the grocery store to buy a box of cereal. The type of cereal he liked came in three different brands and three different size boxes. To select the brand and the box with the lowest unit cost, he should look at the:
A. largest cereal box on the shelf.
B. most popular brand of cereal.
C. price per ounce of cereal in each box.
D. I don’t know.
(Answer: C)

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