Vermont - 2023

Final Grade

C

Projected Grade

C

Graduation Requirements

Is a high school course with personal finance concepts required to be taken as a graduation requirement? No, taking a course with personal finance concepts is not a graduation requirement. High school graduation requirements are determined by each local school district. The Education Quality Standards (EQS) are state regulations. The EQS indicates that the requirements for graduation are met when a student demonstrates evidence of proficiency in the required curriculum content areas

Projected Grade Narrative

No policy change is pending that would change Vermont's grade. If bill H. 228 became law, Vermont could receive a grade A. This bill would require a stand-alone course in financial literacy as a graduation requirement. In April 2023, the Agency of Education (AOE) testified to the Senate Education Committee and indicated that it opposed this bill, noting that passage of the bill would be "highly disruptive, divergent from current education regulation, responsibilities, and delivery systems, and thus incredibly destabilizing to the public education system."

High School Education Standards

The EQS requires that districts deliver curriculum in global citizenship, which includes economics concepts (including personal economics). In January of 2018, the State Board of Education (BOE) adopted the Jump$tart National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education. The BOE determined that financial literacy curriculum could be taught in a multidisciplinary manner as part of social studies, math, business, family and consumer sciences, as well as through flexible pathways and career and technical education. The AOE indicates that local school districts are expected to instruct and assess financial literacy concepts based on these standards, but how that is accomplished is locally determined.

Extra Credit

In 2015, the legislature created the Vermont Financial Literacy Commission that existed for three years. The Commission recommended in 2017 that the BOE adopt national financial literacy education standards. The AOE has a variety of financial literacy resources and tools on its website for educators.

Caveat

In high school, local districts may offer personal finance content either on a stand-alone basis or embedded into another course offering. It is not clear how Vermont measures student achievement in financial literacy or how the state monitors local school district implementation of the multidisciplinary financial literacy education requirements to ensure equitable access to this content knowledge.

Year Of Projected Grade

2028