Take a walk around our school and ask 10 seniors how much they know about tax forms, how to handle a paycheck, or how to budget their money. Chances are, they won’t be very knowledgeable. I did exactly that, and the results were very telling. When asked how confident they were on a scale from 1-5 when it came to financial literacy, 80% of students rated their confidence at a score of 3 or lower. On the flip side, only 1 student rated their confidence at a 5/5.
Most of us will graduate knowing how to solve a math equation, identify different rhetorical devices, and tell you about the water cycle, but what about the things that matter? We are being taught how to do things that most of us won’t use outside of high school, but I can confidently say that most students will go into adulthood without knowing how to pay a bill, understand how to build credit, or handle their own taxes.
Right now, most schools are focused on preparing students for the next step, whether it be college or going directly into the workforce. But no matter which option you choose, you will be subject to paying taxes eventually. According to a 2026 report from the National Financial Educators Council, high schoolers scored an average of only 67.4% on a national financial literacy test, which is a score that doesn’t even meet the passing score of 70%. If school is supposed to get us ready for the future, shouldn’t it teach us how to use the money that we’re working so hard to earn? Without these skills, we’re just stepping into the world ready to earn money but clueless on how to actually manage it.
Similarly, when you get older, this is just as important. Once you enter the workforce, spending all night studying for a test isn’t a skill you will need to have, but understanding money is something you will. This lack of knowledge has serious consequences. According to a study by the National Financial Educators Council, a lack of financial literacy costs the average American somewhere between 948 and 1,819 dollars in lost money due to bad financial decisions.
Students who go out of their way and take the time to learn about financial literacy early often end up doing better in the future. A study from FINRA shows that those who learn financial education earlier are more likely to have higher credit scores and stay away from high-interest debt as young adults. If you just take a little bit of time every week to strengthen your financial literacy, you’ll be way ahead of your peers and can turn money into a strength rather than a weakness.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how high your GPA is, how impressive your extracurriculars are, or what prestigious colleges you get into if you aren’t able to understand your own bank account or pay your bills and rent. Schools need to stop treating financial literacy as an option and start treating it like a necessity.
Dollar bills stacked on top of each other. Photo by Kayla Linero via Pexels