Is a high school course with personal finance concepts required to be taken as a graduation requirement? Yes, each student is required to take a half-year economics course (plus a half-year U.S. government course) or a full-year problems of democracy course. Since July 1, 2010, each school district has been required to ensure that its curriculum for either the economics or problems of democracy course includes the following concepts of personal finance: (i) checkbook mechanics, including writing checks, balancing, and statement reconciliation; (ii) saving for larger purchases; (iii) credit, including credit card usage, interest, and fees; (iv) earning power, including jobs for teenagers; (v) taxation and paycheck withholdings; (vi) college costs; (vii) making and living within a budget; and (viii) mortgages, retirement savings, and investments. The Choice Ready Guidance indicates that this financial literacy education requirement may also be met by incorporating the concepts listed above into the curriculum for any of these courses: Economics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, Problems of Democracy, or Financial Literacy. Upon written request, the superintendent of public instruction may allow a school district to select courses other than economics or problems of democracy for purposes of exposing students to the concepts of personal finance.
No policy change is pending that would change North Dakota's grade.
North Dakota social studies standards has grades 6 to 12 economics standards that include financial literacy concepts. One of the seven standards is personal finance content. The economics standards consist of a total of 17 benchmarks, and five of them are personal finance in nature. We estimate that a half-year economics course would consist of about 18 hours of instruction. Since the personal finance high school education requirement in North Dakota can be delivered in multiple ways, it is impossible to estimate the number of instructional hours all students receive. In addition, state law requires each school to administer to students during their enrollment in grades 9 or 10 a career interest inventory.
North Dakota's Department of Financial Institutions has a clearinghouse of financial literacy resources that educators may use.
It is not clear how North Dakota measures student achievement in financial literacy or how the state monitors local school district implementation of the financial literacy education requirement.
2028