Fewer high school students study finance

Published 11:23 pm Sunday, May 3, 2009

LYNNWOOD — Tien Ly never saved money. Like most teens, she spent it as she got it — at the mall on clothes and restaurant food.

Then she enrolled in an economics class at Lynnwood High School and her money habits changed. In class, she learned about budgets and planning for the future. Now the senior saves more and spends less.

“The economy is going down, so I want to save some money for my life and to support my family,” she said.

Ly is among the dwindling minority of Washington students who take personal finance classes in school.

With the national economy tanking, financial literacy is becoming an increasingly hot topic for politicians and educators. There aren’t any federal laws mandating that financial literacy be taught in schools, but 20 states require that students take classes that involve some personal finance instruction. Washington has no requirement.

With school budgets tight everywhere and electives under the gun, the number of Washington students taking financial literacy classes is declining, said Kathleen Lopp, the state’s assistant superintendent for career and college readiness.

“This is a practical math that students can take into the future,” she said. “We’re really saddened it’s on the downswing — especially in today’s economic times when people are facing so many problems with mortgages and cars being repossessed.”

The vast majority of students at Lake Stevens High School graduate without studying personal finance, said consumer science teacher Kathy Hahn. She has taught a class called “Living on Your Own,” which includes instruction on budgeting, credit cards and house hunting. Because of budget cuts and enrollment issues, the class may be dropped next year, Hahn said.

Many high school students can breeze through algebraic equations, but don’t know how to balance a checkbook or evaluate the risk involved with credit cards.

“It’s just common sense skills kids are lacking,” she said. “Maybe when they’re out trying to be consumers buying more, they’ll pick up those skills, but it’s kind of scary. They’re spending money.”

According to a 2007 study by student loan company Sallie Mae, more than half of college students ring up more than $5,000 in credit card debt while in school, with one-third tacking on more than $10,000 in credit card debt. Just 19 percent of students graduate without credit card debt.

Earlier this year, several Snohomish High School government students traveled to Olympia and lobbied state lawmakers to sponsor bills they wrote that would require financial education is schools. Lawmakers listened, but the money needed to pay for more financial literacy classes kept them from seriously considering the students’ proposals.

However, a bill to boost financial literacy classes in schools by funding an agency focused on the issue passed the Legislature in late April. Lawmakers decided to give the partnership between business leaders, teachers and legislators $75,000 a year to study how best to teach kids about money.

In March, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced a bill that would give schools throughout the country $250 million in grants annually to support financial literacy.

Lynnwood High School senior Marney Mason learned how to create a budget, understand her paycheck and pay for college by participating in the school’s Junior Achievement program. Through that experience and other economics classes, she taught elementary school students about money and met with local business people who helped her apply for college scholarships and navigate the financial landscape.

She believes more students should take financial literacy classes.

“I really felt it was the most vital time for me to take these classes,” she said. “I’m on my own. I’m going off to college and I have to pay my way. It’s stressful, very stressful, especially if you’re intimidated by the fine print.”

Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292, kmanry@heraldnet.com.