Beginning in 2022, Mississippi high school students are required to take a Mississippi College and Career Readiness Course with a financial literacy component in order to graduate.
Mississippi is one of seven states to receive an A grade in the 2023 National Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools released this month.
That news came Friday morning from the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and Governor Tate Reeves.
The report was produced by the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College in Vermont. According to the study, the center issued A grades to states that require personal finance instruction as a graduation requirement.
Mississippi and Iowa were the two new additions to A grade list this report. Other states receiving A grades were Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.
“This is another big win for education in Mississippi,” said Governor Tate Reeves in a statement announcing the recognition. “We recognized the importance of personal financial literacy, and that’s why we enacted subject requirements that will better equip students with the life skills they need upon graduation. I’m thankful that this policy is having a positive effect on our state and that its impact is being highlighted in this way.”
Beginning in 2022, Mississippi high school students are required to take a Mississippi College and Career Readiness Course (MCCR) with a financial literacy component in order to graduate.
MDE says the MCCR course was developed to support the vision and mission that all students who graduate from high school are prepared for college, career and active citizenship.
As noted in the report, the Mississippi Council on Economic Education developed a Master Teacher of College and Career Readiness (MTCCR) course that hundreds of teachers have gone through in the past year and hundreds more will go through in the future.
The Center for Financial Literacy, established in 2010, is nationally known for its work to increase the financial capability of the nation through its research, advocacy and financial literacy educator training programs. Previous reports were issued in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Mississippi received a C grade in 2017.
According to the report, “financial literacy is linked to positive outcomes, like wealth accumulation, stock market participation, effective retirement planning, and avoiding high-cost alternative financial services.”
“Sixteen states are in the process of implementing policy changes that are projected to increase the number of states requiring a standalone personal finance course as a high school graduation requirement, from seven states for the Class of 2023 to 23 states for the Class of 2028—that’s a whopping increase of 229% in half a decade,” the report notes.
Magnolia Tribune
