Standards and Assessments in Financial Literacy
Financial literacy education supports young people in developing the skills they need to make informed financial decisions. However, in many states, limited cohesion exists among governmental agencies and institutions of education, commerce, and banking that might support the development of financially literate citizens.
Financial literacy education must be approached systemically to address the limited cohesion among states and build young people’s proficiency in this area. At AIR, we address this need by working with clients on a wide range of projects, including the creation or revision of high-quality financial literacy standards, analysis of curriculum, and evaluation of the connections to post-secondary readiness and financial literacy. Our experts in financial literacy assessment also track how students are doing across the nation and the world. AIR seeks to provide support and guidance through research and evidence-based practices so that, together, we can ensure all students receive the resources they need to become financially literate citizens.
25 SEPT 2024 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Financial Literacy Skills for the 21st Century: Results from PISA 2022
Please join AIR, the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for a webinar to discuss the latest Financial Literacy results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international assessment of 15-year-olds. Register now
Project Highlights
AIR’s Standards and Assessment ecosystem provides a cohesive and comprehensive structure to guide the development of financial literacy standards-based systems.
Explore our project highlights below for examples of how we've supported clients through our ecosystem.
In 2021, the New Mexico Department of Education updated its social studies standards. As part of this work, AIR worked with the state education agency to determine whether there was a need for including financial literacy in the social studies standards...
Following the decision to include financial literacy, AIR shared compiled research and resources for personal financial literacy to inform New Mexico’s social studies standards which include financial literacy standards at each grade level.
In 2023, on behalf of Pennsylvania’s State Department of Education, AIR conducted a landscape scan, facilitated a committee of educators to review the current K-12 Career Education and Work, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Economics Standards, and created a process to revise the standards...
This lead to the development of new Academic Standards for Personal Finance.
In partnership with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, AIR developed and conducted specific evaluation activities to measure the implementation and effectiveness of the Military Financial Readiness Project and Investor Protection Campaign initiatives.
Working with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, AIR conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the impact of playing the Stock Market Game on the financial literacy and mathematics achievement of students in grades 4–12...
AIR measured teachers’ implementation of the game and students’ level of engagement with it.
AIR has been supporting the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in developing the Highlights of PISA U.S. Results on financial literacy for four PISA cycles, starting in 2012 and most recently in 2022...
AIR also conducted data analyses using the PISA 2015 Financial Literacy U.S. data for a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an organization that supports the NCES administration of PISA Financial Literacy Assessments in the U.S. Based on the follow-up analysis using PISA 2018, AIR has published an NCES blog post that discussed the importance of young adults’ conversations with their parents on financial matters.
In 2023, AIR provided written expert testimony to the DC State Board of Education for evaluating, supporting, and implementing financial literacy standards...
Additionally, AIR was invited to participate in the National Governors Association roundtable on financial literacy. AIR shared its knowledge and expertise to discuss questions surrounding financial literacy, including, but not limited to, understanding the current challenges with state financial literacy, the scope of financial literacy, unpacking “financial wellness,” and engaging targeted populations/demographics.
AIR supports financial literacy assessment for the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and survey questions for the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)...
AIR is currently working on a report on financial literacy based on data from the PIAAC background questionnaire. The report will be released in 2025.
