Grades K–12 Financial Literacy Resources

Foundations

Content Standards

California Career Technical (CTE) Model Curriculum Standards in Business and Finance (2013) (PDF)
These standards include concepts central to entrepreneurship and business operations, such as financial decision making, career planning, and budgeting.

CTE Model Curriculum Standards in Education, Child Development, and Family Services Industry Sector (2013) (PDF)
Includes the role of the U.S. economic system on personal finances, emphasizing personal financial management skills that would support a variety of life pathways.

California Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Literacy (PDF)
Instructional standards that stress critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills that are required for success in college, career, and life. Spanish translations are available on the Common Core en Español website .

California CCSS for Mathematics (PDF)
Standards that concentrate on a clear set of math skills and concepts, spread out over multiple domains related to financial literacy, such as measurement and data, and ratios and proportional relationships. Spanish translations are available on the Common Core en Español website .

History-Social Science (HSS) Content Standards (1998) (PDF)
California high school students are required to take one semester of economics to graduate. The content standards for grade twelve economics include topics that support financial literacy knowledge, such as cost-benefit analyses, the functions of financial markets, taxes, and labor policies.

Frameworks

HSS Framework (2016)
References financial literacy, including considerations for an elective grade nine financial literacy course (PDF) that districts can choose to offer students.

Mathematics Framework, Appendix A: Financial Literacy and Mathematics Education (PDF)
Offers instructional planning with strategies that support students in kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) in learning key financial literacy concepts for career and college success.

National Standards and Frameworks

Council for Economic Education (CEE) National Standards for Financial Literacy K–12
General standards that break financial literacy up into six major topics: earning income; buying goods and services; saving; using credit; investing; protecting and insuring.

CEE Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics
Standards designed primarily for curriculum developers. They include the 20 most important and enduring ideas, concepts, and issues, as well as benchmarks for financial literacy education.

Jump$tart National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education
These 2015 standards delineate financial literacy knowledge and skills for grades K–12, focusing on six topics: spending and saving; credit and debt; employment and income; investing; risk management and insurance; and financial decision making.

National Financial Educators Council Financial Literacy Standards for Educators, Learners, and Best Practices Educational Methodologies
Resources for individuals and groups seeking to create their own personal finance courses, including standards for financial coaching, a framework for teaching personal finance, and a guidebook on educational methodologies for personal finance. These resources are especially useful for educators of financial literacy seeking to improve their own familiarity with the subject matter.

Research and Reports

CEE Survey of the States: Economic and Personal Finance in our Nation’s School
This biennial report provides a comprehensive look into K–12 economic and financial literacy education in the United States.

NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF) State of Financial Education Report
NGPF publishes this annual report that uses a gold, silver, and bronze rating scale to evaluate the extent to which financial literacy is available to high school students nationwide.

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)
The PISA measures fifteen-year-old students' reading, mathematics, and science literacy every three years. The assessment includes a section on financial literacy.

A Review of Youth Financial Education: Effects and Evidence (2019) (PDF)
This report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Youth Financial Education provides an overview of evidence useful in guiding efforts to provide effective financial education.

Glossaries

CFPB Financial Terms Glossary
Contains terms educators may find useful when teaching financial literacy.

Federal Housing Administration Loan and Mortgage Glossary
Definitions for terms commonly found in mortgage and home financing circles.

Curriculum Support

Distance Learning Resources

Most of the resources listed on these pages are already available digitally, or can be adapted for distance learning. The below sites also provide specific ongoing support for teaching History-Social Science (HSS) subjects in a distance learning environment.

CDE Distance Learning
Aggregates guidance documents, webinars, and content-specific links to support distance learning in a variety of subjects.

CDE Social and Emotional Support in Distance Learning
Guidance and resources for educators, educational leaders, and families/guardians in K–12 schools to provide social and emotional supports during distance learning.

California’s COVID-19 Response
Contains comprehensive information about California’s response, including ways to become involved.

California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP) Resources to Support Student Learning
The CHSSP provides HSS resources for teachers and families to consider using in a variety of environments, including strategies, ideas, and inspiration for teachers designing distance learning and families helping children learn at home.

Financial Literacy Education Organizations

The below organizations have it all: lesson plans, curricula programs, student contests, professional development, research, and more. These resources span kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12), and many provide customizable support.

California Council on Economic Education (CCEE)
Founded as part of the California State University Foundation to provide economics and financial literacy training, the CCEE works with California teachers to support K–12 financial literacy education. They provide comprehensive economic and financial literacy resources for teachers and students, including lesson plans, student contests, and curricula programs.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Educator Tools
Tools and programs to encourage financial education and capability from childhood through retirement, including research , a searchable database of activities, and resources for servicemembers and veterans . The CFPB’s youth financial education website contains guides for educators and parents along with activities for grades K-12. The activities are based on the building blocks of financial capability , a research-based framework for helping students at different developmental stages to acquire the skills and knowledge associated with adult financial well-being.

EconEdLink
Free classroom resources, family resources, and professional development, including a searchable database of resources .

Jump$tart
This national nonprofit coalition consists of more than 100 organizations that share a commitment to “financial smarts for students” by providing resources and training to support financial literacy education, including resources to support online learning aimed at educators and adult learners. Their clearinghouse is a database of personal finance resources available from a variety of education providers such as government, business, and nonprofit organizations. Check out Jump$tart CA for resources geared specifically towards California educators, students, and families.

Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF)
NGPF provides a wide variety of up-to-date resources for teachers, students, and families. Resources include games (for both students and instructors), free curriculum units customizable by course length (for both middle and high school), case studies, Questions of the Day , a video library, blog, and podcast.

Curricula for Kindergarten through Grade Twelve

California CareerZone
Includes an online budgeting exercise called “Make Money Choices” that enables students to build a budget that supports the lifestyle they would like to achieve as adults, and then links those budget choices to occupational and educational options.

Consumer.gov
This website provides consumer protection basics to help everyone manage and use money wisely, use credit and loans carefully, and protect identities. Their Toolbox is a public education website of the Federal Trade Commission, which offers resources focused on educating high school students and adults about managing income, credit, loans, debt and scams and identity theft.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Learning Bank
Explains the history of the FDIC, how banks operate, and deposit insurance for consumers.

Financial Beginnings
General financial literacy resources for teachers, students, and other stakeholders, including guides for both educators and participants, as well as ready-made presentations, activities, in-class materials, and Spanish versions of most curricula.

FoolProof Academy
Free, online curriculum for middle and high school students and teaches financial literacy critical thinking skills. The curriculum includes group activities and individual assignments for time-saving classroom implementation.

High School Financial Planning Program Curriculum
Designed primarily for in-person use, this curriculum includes a student manual, an instructor’s guide, and other resources to support financial literacy education. They also provide modules geared towards student use inside and out of the classroom.

Illustrative Mathematics
Provides several free curricular resources to support Common Core-related skills and activities in mathematics and financial literacy, including setting goals, delayed gratification, and saving money.

Invest in What’s Next: Life After High School
Offered by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco , this program includes interactive lessons for students in grades nine through twelve, will develop personal finance knowledge and skills to implement a career and/or education path after high school.

Kiddynomics: An Economics Curriculum for Young Learners
Set of lessons offered by the St. Louis Fed designed to introduce young children to the economic way of thinking.

Knowledge@Wharton High School
Video glossary, articles, and other resources to support high school teachers, students, and families in deepening their understanding of financial literacy.

MindTreasures ABCs of Wealth
Character-based curriculum that addresses the spiritual, psychological, emotional, and technical aspects of finances, in addition to traditional content. The full ABCs of Wealth curriculum is available for free educator download, including workbooks, facilitator manuals, and supplemental materials.

Money As You Learn
Provides tools to help educators integrate personal finance into teaching the Common Core. Search for aligned texts, lessons, and tasks that connect the Common Core to real life applications that also emphasize financial literacy skills. Includes resources for both Mathematics and English.

Money Counts: Young Adults and Financial Literacy is National Public Radio’s central location for stories, podcasts, and other resources to support teaching financial literacy through current events and commentary.

Money Math: Lessons for Life
This four-lesson curriculum supplement is designed for students in grades seven through nine to learn math concepts using real-life examples from personal finance. The downloadable book features a teacher’s guide with lesson plans and student reproducible activity pages.

Money Smart for Young People
Pre-kindergarten through twelve curricula from the FDIC that includes an educator guide and student guide for grades three through twelve, PowerPoint slides, and a parent/caregiver guide with activities to support classroom learning at home. The Teacher Online Resource Center includes videos, articles and links to useful websites. The Youth Banking Resource Center offers updated financial literacy learning, while the Youth Employment Resource Center offers tools to connect financial education to workforce programs.

Money Talks for Teens
This University of California resource, available in both English and Spanish, helps teens to become more fiscally responsible. Topics include appropriate banking and saving practices, proper credit use, and employment tips.

$ave USA
Interactive lessons that focus on insurance and risk, helping students understand risk, insurance terms, and what kind of insurance is most beneficial.

Smart About Money
This program provides free customizable online courses, tools, articles, frequently asked questions, values quizzes, and other resources to help people improve financial literacy knowledge and skills.

Stock Market Game
Gives students the chance to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in an online portfolio. The program optionally culminates in the InvestWrite challenge, a national essay competition.

The U.S. Courts
The Federal Court system offers financial literacy activities for students in high school, college, vocational programs, and early-career jobs. Designed for judges and lawyers to use with students in the courtroom or classroom, each lesson guides students in understanding the facts surrounding bankruptcy and making wise financial choices.

Student Challenges and Competitions

California Finance Challenge
Part of the National Personal Finance Challenge , this is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge of personal finance by connecting with other students from across each state in an online competition.

Capitol Hill Challenge (CHC)
The CHC matches Members of Congress with middle or high school students, teachers, and schools to participate in a personal finance and economics competition. CHC features the Stock Market Game™ Program, in which student teams manage a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, impact investments and cash.

National Economic Challenge (NEC)
The NEC tests micro and macroeconomic principles as well as knowledge of the world economy. Teams of three-to-four high school students compete on a state level, and then can proceed to a national competition.

Students and Families

The below resources support financial literacy education efforts outside of the classroom.

Apps and Games

Bite of Reality
Simulates the financial realities of the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household necessities, day care, and other needs. Teens will experience financial decisions that give them a better understanding of preparing and living on a budget.

MassMutual FutureSmart
Simulation-based app that focuses on daily financial decisions and positive financial behaviors. Available in English and Spanish.

Money Fit My Life Choices Student Edition
A game of financial choice and consequence geared at middle and high school students, as well as college students.

Financial Literacy Information and Tools

America Saves
National campaign seeking to motivate, encourage, and support low-to-moderate-income American households to save money, reduce debt, and build wealth.

California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
Provides brochures, videos, publications, and other resources to provide consumers with tools to make smart financial decisions.

Consumer.gov
Users will find information on consumer protection basics to help everyone manage and use money wisely, use credit and loans carefully, and protect identities.

Credit.org
This site provides courses on budgeting, credit, and identity theft prevention. The courses offer pre- and post-tests, videos, and other resources in improving personal financial literacy, including an eBook library with educational material available for free download.

FutureSmart
Collection of interactive resources to help parents and students become more financially knowledgeable and confident. Resources include worksheets, flashcards, an app, and articles.

Jump$tart Reality Check Income and Expense Calculator
This tool is useful when exploring cost-of-living and budgeting skills.

Money as You Grow: Help for Parents and Caregivers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides these tools to help parents, families, and caregivers understand and talk about the basics of financial literacy. Resources include a tracking tool for children’s age-appropriate money milestones, guidelines for talking to children about money, and recommended books to help families practice financial literacy skills. Hard copies of these publications are also available for order .

Money Counts: Young Adults and Financial Literacy
This National Public Radio (NPR) page is a central location to find NPR’s news stories, podcasts, and other resources that focus on financial literacy issues for young people.

MyMoney.gov
This federal government site provides basic financial education information, including buying homes, balancing budgets, and planning for retirement.

National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
NEFE offers a variety of financial literacy self-help resources for use at home and in the community. Their Money Basics online course is geared towards adult learners, while their CashCourse.org is primarily meant for young adult learners. They also offer a life values quiz, interactive calculators, and financial decision aids and worksheets.

Pigly
Wide variety of calculators (including a history of the calculator itself), and extensive Kids’ Guide to Emergency Savings .

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Resources for learning about privacy rights, including background checks, credit reports, debt collection, and identity theft.

Sallie Mae Paying for College
Scholarship and grant search tool, college planning calculator, webinars, and extensive information on the Free Application for Student Aid and financial aid.

Podcasts

Planet Money
This National Public Radio (NPR) podcast series uses storytelling to break down the economics and financial literacy concepts that form the basis of current issues in our society in a way that is engaging and informative.

Next Gen Personal Finance Podcast
Weekly podcast featuring interviews with educators, authors, advocates, students, entrepreneurs and others about a wide variety of financial literacy topics.

Professional Learning

The below organizations provide training and support for financial literacy educators. Many programs offer certifications or micro-credentials. Please keep in mind that some of these certifications have associate fees, some of which can be off-set by grants. Many certifications also offer an opportunity to purchase Continuing Education Units.

California Association of School Economics Teachers (CASET)
Organization of educators promoting the effective teaching of economic principles for kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12). CASET also provides teacher curriculum design resources , hosts the Economics for Empowerment Summer Seminar , and facilitates the California Exceptional Economics Teacher Certification opportunity.

Certified Personal & Family Finance Educator (CPFFE)
The CPFFE Program, offered by the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences, is assessment-based and consistent with the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Education Core Competencies and National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education created by the Jump$tart Coalition.

Council on Economics Professional Development
The National Council on Economics offers training through EconEdLink . They provide live webinars, on-demand webinars, and local professional development options.

Institute for Financial Literacy Annual Conference on Financial Education
This conference is a showcase for financial literacy strategies, tips, techniques, and resources attended by representatives from credit unions, banks, kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) education, social services, debt management, government, and military.

Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators (J$FFE)
The J$FFE is a model that arose out of a collaborative initiative to standardize teacher training in personal finance. J$FFE was designed to ensure consistency and rigor in national teacher training programs. The model is free, complements many existing training programs, is suitable for teachers in grades K–12, and includes customization options.

Jump$tart National Educator Conference (NEC)
The Jump$tart NEC offers professional development for teachers of grades Pre-Kindergarten through grade twelve who want to incorporate financial literacy into the curriculum. For teachers, it is an all-scholarship event, offering tools and information they can use in their classrooms as soon as they return to school.

Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF)
Provides a variety of training options for educators. Teachers can earn free NGPF certification , participate in online professional development, access a toolkit, and sign up for Fincamps. NGPF also provides an extensive grant and partnership program to individuals and institutions seeking to promote high quality financial literacy education in a variety of learning environments.

W!se Personal Financial Certification for Educators
Program aims to help high school students graduate as financially capable young adults. Participating high schools teach a course or unit on personal finance and then administer a national, standardized Financial Literacy Certification Test.