ERNA DC’s Public Comments on the Draft DC Financial Literacy Standards
ERNA DC’s Public Comments on the Draft DC Financial Literacy Standards
Thank you to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for allowing Education Reform Now Advocacy to submit a public comment on the November 2023 draft of the DC Financial Literacy Standards. Overall, the draft standards are vital as they infuse valuable local, modern, and culturally relevant perspectives on personal finance compared to the National Standards. Additionally, we believe it’s essential that every student takes a financial literacy course. This should be built into D.C.’s high school graduation requirements because they are vital skills in a student’s life, education, and career.
We have three recommendations to strengthen the standards.
1. The Earning Income standard needs to include guidance on the financial impact of higher education and career choices. Students must understand their options when considering earning income in the 21st century.
a. The Earning Income-4 or 5 standard should include comparing post-secondary education costs with the potential income increase for a career of choice.
b. The Earning Income-4 standard should explicitly name dual enrollment opportunities as a program that helps students pay for college.
c. The Earning Income-5 standard should include support with creating a resume. We’ve heard from schools that students should leave high school with one.
2. The Investing standard should include guidance on the role of behavioral finance/cognitive biases in investing decisions, the role of financial technology in investing, tax rules for retirement investing (Roth IRAs vs. Traditional IRAs, etc.), the impact of inflation on returns, index investing, and basics like the difference between saving and investing.
3. The Managing Risk standard should tackle financial decisions more relevant to high school students’ immediate lives, such as protection from fraud and scams while on social media and while shopping on mobile apps.
