State- High schoolers' money knowledge poor

Missouri education department wants personal finance class to become mandatory.

Arming students against the dangers of credit cards, payday loans and other financial pitfalls is an important part of Donna Lute's finance class at Scott City High School.

Unfortunately, 23 percent of the 340 or so students at the high school ever take the class, which is not currently required for graduation. Other students either learn from their parents or figure it out the hard way -- a problem that has state education officials and the Missouri Legislature concerned.

This month, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education plans to ask the State Board of Education to require students to take a course in personal finance economics before graduating from high school.

The recommendation comes after a study commissioned by the state legislature in 2002 showed severe deficiencies in Missouri students' knowledge of personal finance and a recent update indicated that the issue is not improving.

"I think it's awesome. Every senior should have that class," Lutes said. "It's too easy for kids to get into big credit-card debt and not realize how long it takes to dig out."

A 2005 House resolution supports not only a required high school course but integration of the subject into kindergarten through 12th-grade curriculum, the Missouri House of Representatives pointed out that Missouri students scored a failing grade of 53.8 percent on a national survey of finance knowledge.

According to DESE director of public information Jim Morris, the finance course requirement proposal will go through a public comment period before a final decision is made by the board this fall.

Though the draft for the proposal is not yet complete, Morris said he believes it will recommend a separate course worth half a unit toward graduation requirements. If passed, the requirement would probably apply to this year's eighth-graders, or the graduating class of 2010.

"There's a range of opinions about the personal finance topic. Some school districts already have requirements of their own," Morris said.

One concern is that requiring the course limits the electives students can select. Over all, though, Morris said there has been considerable support for such as a class.

Central, Jackson and Scott City high schools all offer classes that cover personal finance issues, though officials in those schools said they're not sure if their courses would meet the requirements of DESE's proposal.

Central High School principal Dr. Mike Cowan said his school requires half a unit in either consumer education, finance management or business law for graduation. Cowan said he supports an official state requirement for personal finance education.

"Research has been clear for several years that there's a need for that kind of information," said Cowan.

Jackson High School principal Rick McClard said his school offers three finance-related courses -- practical business, agriculture economics and management and business economics. Students are required to take one of those courses, in which they learn about finance-related issues such as checkbooks, insurance, rent and cost of living, McClard said.

"It's a shock for some students. They think they're going to go out and make $1 million. They don't realize how much it takes just to survive," McClard said.

cmiller@semissourian.com

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