Washington State Is Not Teaching Your Kids This Real World Skill

Concern about whether a Washington State student is prepared for the real world stretches back nearly a decade, if not longer.  In 2018, a survey of registered voters was conducted on that very topic and the results weren't exactly inspiring.  It was around that time that the Washington State Supreme Court decided the State was finally in compliance with their 2012 decision in McCleary vs Washington.

As the battle over the financing of Washington State schools continues to this day, the teaching of financial literacy by those same schools is woeful at best.  The gurus at Wallethub.com took a look at the States with the best (and worst) financial literacy instruction in public schools.  The Evergreen State doesn't rank high on the list when it comes to preparing your kids how to manage their green.

Get our free mobile app

How Bad Is It?

Washington State isn't dead last, but we are much closer to the bottom than we are to the middle of the pack.  Take a look for yourself by rolling over our State on the map below.

Where it gets more concerning is it isn't like Washington State is high in one category and low in another...we're bad in both categories.

Financial Education Performance & Access

Washington ranks 45 in this category which takes the following into consideration:

• Students Required to Take at Least One Personal Finance Course
• States Requiring Standardized Testing of Personal Finance Concepts
• States Requiring Standardized Testing of Economic Concepts
• Average Scores on National Financial Literacy Test
• High-School Financial Literacy Grade
• Share of High Schools Ranked in Top 10% Nationally
• Share of Public High School Students Who Are Guaranteed to Take at Least One Semester Course in Personal Finance Before Graduation
• Share of Eight Graders Proficient at Mathematics

Let's take a closer look at that last category, eighth grade proficiency in Math.  This is the latest from OSPI with regard to where public school students are in math.

As you can see, students begin sliding backwards in fourth grade and only 33.5% of eighth grade students are proficient in math.  It's scarier how bad it is in tenth grade.

Financial Education Growth

Washington State is 43rd in this category which includes:

• Projected High-School Financial Literacy Grade by 2028
• Change in the Share of Public High School Students Who Were Guaranteed to Take at Least One Semester Course in Personal Finance Before Graduation (2024 vs. 2022)

What should concern you more as a parent is that some legislators have been trying for years to get financial literacy classes required in order to graduate and the bills never get passed.

The Mission of One State Representative In Particular

Sklyer Rude (R 16th District, Walla Walla) has spent the last three years trying to get financial literacy classes required in high school through different pieces of legislation.  This most recent session he introduced House Bill 1285.  It would have required school districts to provide access to students in grades 9-12 access to the financial education learning standards whenever they wished (including n their own time if they choose).

It would have also required public school students (beginning with the graduating class of 2031) to meet the high school state financial education learning standards
to graduate.  School Districts would be encouraged to give credit towards graduation to all students who complete the financial education courses.  This go around it passed the State House on March 5th 94-3.  It went nowhere in the State Senate.

In a time where we rely on technology to do many of things for us, it is more important than ever for students entering the real world to have the ability to manage their finances.  For too many people the use of "Auto Pay" has replaced the need to watch your bank account.

That technology has also increased the chance of hackers and scammers getting access to your finances.  A basic understanding of managing finances will help your kids identify irregularities in their accounts and add another level of protection for their hard earned cash.  You can see the full study from Wallethub by clicking here.