Texas - 2023

Final Grade

B

Projected Grade

B

Graduation Requirements

Is a high school course with personal finance concepts required to be taken as a graduation requirement? Yes, Texas requires students to take a half-year course in economics for graduation.

Projected Grade Narrative

No policy change is pending that would change Texas's grade.

High School Education Standards

Texas requires students to demonstrate proficiency in 3 credits of social studies that includes a half-credit that must be selected from the following: (i) Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits or (ii) Personal Financial Literacy and Economics. There are 17 essential knowledge and skills identified for the Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits course; 14 are economic concepts and three are personal financial literacy concepts. Based on this information, we estimate that students taking this course receive approximately 11 hours of instruction in personal finance. There are eight essential knowledge and skills identified in the Personal Financial Literacy and Economics course (PFLE), two with economics concepts and six with personal financial literacy concepts. The PFLE course was added as an option in response to a law that was passed in 2021. The law required that high schools offer an additional economics course with 75% of the course content dedicated to personal financial literacy topics. Based on this information, we estimate that students taking the PFLE course receive approximately 45 hours of instruction in personal finance. Starting with the 2016–2017 academic year, each high school must offer students a Personal Financial Literacy course as a half-credit social studies elective course.

Extra Credit

Beginning with students enrolled in 12th grade during the 2021–2022 academic year, each student must do one of the following in order to graduate: (i) complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), (ii) complete and submit a Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA), or (iii) submit a signed opt-out form (by the student if 18 years of age or older or if younger by the student's guardian; the school counselor may also authorized the student to decline for good cause). School districts are required to report the financial aid application graduation requirement for each student to the Texas Education Agency. The Texas Department of Education provides a list of approved resources for teachers of personal finance. Since 2012, Texas schools have also offered a Mathematical Models with Applications elective course, which includes personal finance concepts.

Caveat

It is not clear how Texas measures student achievement in financial literacy.

Year Of Projected Grade

2028