Average Grade on Students'
Financial Knowledge—F

An article in the June Collector regarding high school seniors' financial intelligence is rather disheartening. Dr. Lewis Mandell, University of Buffalo, has administered nationwide surveys of high school students in 1997, 2000 and now in 2002. The surveys were sponsored by the Jump$tart for Personal Finance Literacy. In response to the 2002 survey, the seniors correctly answered only 50.3 percent of the questions. Under the typical grading scale of high schools, this would be a failing grade. If there is any trend, it is downhill. The average score in 1997 was 57.3 and in 2000, 51.9 percent. Males scored slightly higher than females, but the difference was possibly not statistically significant. Other average scores were: Caucasian students, 53.7 percent; Asian Americans, 50.6 percent; Hispanics, 44.8 percent; African-Americans, 42.1 percent; and Native Americans, 45.5 percent.