Why Kids Need to Learn About Money and Economics

Many people finish school without ever learning about money or economics. This is a big problem. In 2025, adults in the U. S. still struggle with basic financial questions. They only got about half of the answers right on a test about personal finance. This shows that financial education is not working well. To fix this, the Council for Economic Education (CEE) updated its guidelines for teaching economics in schools. These guidelines, called the National Content Standards in K-12 Economics, now include 260 benchmarks. They cover topics like income, inflation, business, and even technology. The new standards are not just for teachers. They also help schools and textbook writers. The CEE wants to make sure kids learn important economic ideas. For example, young kids learn about scarcity using simple examples. Middle schoolers learn about market economies. High schoolers learn about complex topics like minimum wage. The CEE recently updated these standards after 15 years. They added new topics like technology and international trade. They also made sure the standards are flexible. Teachers can use them in different ways. The CEE says economics is about making good choices. Kids need to learn how to make decisions with limited resources. This skill is useful for life. The standards help kids understand how to make the best choices for their situation.