Every three years, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (a coalition of some of the wealthiest countries in the world) coordinates a test of students around the world called the Program for International Student Assessment. The so-called PISA assesses 15-year-olds’ literacy in reading, math and science. It also includes an optional financial literacy section.
In 2018, 79 education systems, including 37 OECD countries, participated in the PISA. Just 20 education systems, including 13 OECD member countries, participated in the optional financial literacy assessment.
According to the results of the 2018 exam released on May 7, U.S. students scored behind five other countries including Estonia and Poland.
Since the financial literacy section was first offered in 2012, U.S. students have consistently performed in the middle of the pack. Most recently, the average score among all OECD countries was 505 and the average score among U.S. students was 506.
Estonia (547), Finland (537), Canada (532), Poland (520) and Australia (511) all reported average scores above the U.S.
“At a moment when Americans are facing tough financial decisions, we are reporting that we aren’t making progress preparing students for the realities of economic life as an adult in the modern age,” said Peggy G. Carr, associate commissioner of assessments of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the test in the U.S., said in a statement. “These are fundamental life skills that are absolutely essential for all Americans, but the study shows that many of our students — roughly one-fifth overall — don’t have the skills they need to make prudent decisions about their personal finances and struggle with everyday tasks, like determining the best value between two products at the market and knowing how to respond to a phishing email that looks like it’s coming from their bank.”
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