News
Students from top ten schools earn “F” grade on financial literacy assessment
Quiz results expose worrying gaps in personal finance knowledge among the country’s brightest minds
NEW YORK, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Goalkeeperan award-winning spending and savings platform focused on family financial education, today released the findings of its latest study, “Are you financially smarter than a 12th grader?”, a revealing look at the state of financial literacy among students at top universities in the United States. Quiz results revealed a widespread deficiency in understanding key personal finance concepts, with students scoring an average of 51% on the quiz.
Goalsetter, an award-winning spending and savings platform focused on family financial education, today released the findings of its latest study, “Are You Financially Smarter than a 12th Grader?”, a revealing look at the state of financial literacy for students in the United States. best universities. Quiz results revealed a widespread deficiency in understanding key personal finance concepts, with students scoring an average of 51% on the quiz.
The assessment, conducted by Goalsetter, assessed the financial literacy levels of 1,065 undergraduate students at three of the top ten universities through an online questionnaire mapped to the high school financial literacy standards from Jumpstart.org and the Economic Education Council (CEE). The results exposed a surprising gap in basic financial knowledge, indicating a pressing need for improved financial education initiatives for U.S. teens and young adults.
Do the test or Download the report
Before taking the questionnaire, 55% of students believed they had “a solid understanding of the basics of personal finance.” After answering the 15 questions in the questionnaire, the percentage of students who felt confident about their knowledge dropped to 30%.
Key findings from the assessment include:
Below average scores: On average, students scored 51% and seniors scored even lower at 48%, both of which would be considered failing grades.
Budgets and savings: Not surprisingly, 93% of students surveyed have a debit card, indicating their familiarity with spending. However, only 48% understood the power of compound interest and only 47% knew the 50/30/20 budget rule.
Credit and Debt Management: Although 70% reported having a credit card, most do not understand recommended strategies for managing credit card debt.
Investment and Retirement: Of the 1,065 students who responded to the questionnaire, 58% plan to retire early, but only about half of those who do so understand what an IRA is.
“The results of this study underscore the critical need for advance preparation when it comes to financial literacy,” said Tanya Van Court, CEO of Goalsetter. “When we put debit and credit cards in the hands of children as teenagers but don’t teach them basic concepts of saving, investing and budgeting, we are teaching them to be proficient ‘senders and spenders’ of money rather than savers and investors.” No socioeconomic group is immune to the danger posed by a lack of financial literacy. Cultivating a financially literate future generation contributes to ensuring our nation’s economic security.”
Goalsetter quiz results are in line with 2022 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index, which found that when testing adults on their financial literacy, on average, they could only answer about 50% of the 28 basic money questions that were used to assess their knowledge. Most importantly, approximately (23%) got seven or fewer questions correct, the worst results of any year in which the survey was administered.
“When we don’t prepare our children with the financial knowledge they will need to make everyday decisions, we prepare them to learn through trial and error, leaving them susceptible to costly mistakes,” Van Court said. “Furthermore, we prevent them from starting their salaried years with the foundational knowledge that is essential to building wealth. Time is a critical component of the wealth-building equation. Every year that they lack financial knowledge is a year that they will likely harm your eventual net worth Learning concepts at age 28 that you should have learned at age 18 is a costly delay.
As part of its advocacy, Goalsetter is leading efforts to provide game-based financial education built into debit cards for teens, including features like “Learn Before You Burn,” which freezes kids’ debit cards if they haven’t done so. financial literacy test for the week yet.
Goalsetter also offers weekly financial literacy quizzes for kindergarten through college, mapped to national financial literacy standards published by the Council on Economic Education and Jumpstart.org.
Lastly, Goalsetter partners with banks, credit unions and wealth management institutions to provide its next-generation banking and education solution to children across the country. The Goalsetter platform allows financial institutions to provide a white-label banking product for young people and also sponsor a robust suite of middle school, high school and community college curricula.
The curriculum covers basic concepts like budgeting, savings, interest rates, and debt management, as well as investing, retirement planning, and building long-term wealth.
For more information on the topic “Are you financially smarter than a 12th grader?” questionnaire and to access the full report, visit https://goalsetter.co/financial-literacy-quiz/.
About the Goalkeeper
Founded in 2016, Goalsetter affiliate companies are family-friendly savings, investing, financial education, and smart spending platforms that make it easy for the whole family to stay cashless while teaching them how to be money smart. Centered on fun, relevant and engaging financial education content, the Goalsetter companies’ smart money platform for families offers users an FDIC-insured savings account; an investment platform developed by Goalsetter Advisors, LLC (an SEC registered investment advisor); the Cashola Mastercard debit card for teens and tweens with parental controls and game-based financial literacy quizzes; the “Learn Before You Burn” parental control feature on the debit card and the “Learn to Earn” financial rewards program; as well as the latest cybersecurity features to protect user privacy. Goalsetter was founded by former Nickelodeon and Discovery Education children’s digital programming executive Tanya Van Court. For more information about Goalsetter, visit www.goalsetter.co.
Goalsetter is a financial technology company and not a bank. Banking services are provided by Webster Bank, NA, Member FDIC.
Cashola Prepaid Debit Mastercard® is issued by Pathward, NA, Member FDIC, pursuant to license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard and the circle design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.
Goalsetter Advisors, LLC d/b/a Goalsetter Gold is an SEC registered investment advisor and an affiliate of Goalsetter. Investment advice is provided by Goalsetter Gold and investments in your Goalsetter Gold account are NOT FDIC INSURED, NOT BANK GUARANTEED and MAY LOSE VALUE
Media Contact:
Sonia Diaz
[email protected]
SOURCE Goalkeeper