My Project

QUICK SUMMARY

How can we effectively teach financial literacy to Ontario high school students?

In summary, for the results of my genius hour I suggest;
1. The PISA student questionnaire for financial literacy be applied in a study across Ontario (and Canada) to better assess our student's current financial literacy knowledge.
2. Continue to make changes to the curriculum in line with the recommendations of the Ontario Ministry of Education's "A Sound Investment: Financial Literacy in Ontario Schools" and the "Canadians and Their Money: Building a brighter financial future"
3. Begin changes in assessment of financial literacy (section on report card) as well as creation of a mandatory course ("Personal Finance" half credit in high school).

FINDINGS EXPLAINED

I was looking to answer the question with a proposal of a new solution, but discovered the lack of knowledge about our current situation. There are many tools developed to push financial literacy throughout the student's school career, but a lack of studies done on their effectiveness. As my solution I would like to offer a document produced by the OECD, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, that is a questionnaire to measure student's levels of financial knowledge.

The Program for International Student Assessment conducted this study in 2012. Information about the study can be found on the OECD website. It is the first large-scale international study to assess the financial literacy of young people. The following is a video that showcases the findings of this study.

The questionnaire was offered to students 15 years of age as part of a bigger mathematics study. Canada was not included in this study of financial literacy. Here is the document that I propose be used to help assess Canada's situation:

FURTHER EXPLORATION

I believe in continuing to follow the advice of the Ontario Ministry of Educatoon's "A Sound Investment: Financial Literacy in Ontario Schools" and the report "Canadians and Their Money: Building a brighter financial future".

I suggest a section of the report card in both elementary and secondary schools be dedicated to assessing a student's grasp of the financial literacy elements in the curriculum. This keeps teachers and students accountable.

I also suggest a mandatory half credit in a course designed around personal finance issues for young adults. This course would be administered in secondary school and would fill a gap in knowledge that I believe exists currently.