Results from the latest round of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), show that 22 percent of 15-year-old students in the U.S. lack basic financial literacy skills. Results from the latest round of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), show that 22 percent of 15-year-old students in the U.S. lack basic financial literacy skills.
The assessment tests 15-year-old students on their knowledge and understanding of fundamental elements of the financial world — including financial concepts, products, and risks — and their ability to apply what they know to real-life situations involving financial issues and decisions.
The average score for 15-year-olds in the U.S. has remained unchanged since 2012, the first time the PISA financial literacy assessment was conducted.
“These are fundamental life skills, absolutely essential for all Americans, but the study shows that many of our students — approximately one-fifth overall — do not have the skills they need to make sound decisions about their personal finances,” said Peggy G. Carr, acting commissioner of the NCES. “We also observed significant gaps among students in the United States. Only 3 percent of students from low-income schools, for example, performed at a high level in financial literacy, compared to 45 percent of students from high-income schools. Conversely, 38 percent of students in low-income schools performed at a low level, compared to 16 percent in high-income schools.”
The combined average score for four provinces of mainland China — Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong (B-S-J-G) — was the highest average score among the 15 participating education systems. Students from the Flemish Community of Belgium, the seven Canadian provinces (combined score), the Russian Federation, the Netherlands, and Australia also had, on average, higher scores than students in the U.S.
“PISA shows how our 15-year-olds perform compared to their peers in a very diverse group of participating systems,” Carr said. “And PISA is especially valuable because it is the only nationally representative study in the United States that measures the applied financial literacy skills of young people; these are the skills that students need to prepare for the financial challenges they will face as young adults.”
Students from Spain, Lithuania, Slovakia, Chile, Peru, and Brazil had lower average scores than students in the U.S. The average score for the U.S. was comparable to the average scores for students from Poland and Italy.