88% of adults want compulsory financial education in high school
When you ask adults, the answer is clear. In a National Endowment for Financial Education survey (NEFE, 2022), 88% of US adults said their state should require a financial education course to graduate from high school. It isn't a fringe demand: it's a generational one.
What PISA says about students' financial literacy
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses 15-year-olds every three years in maths, reading, science and, since 2012, financial literacy. Its 2022 round, whose results were published in 2024, covered 20 countries and economies.
The result: 18% of students across the OECD did not reach the baseline level of financial literacy.
Adult surveys complete the picture: those who didn't learn about money at school wish they had, and want their children to.
Why schools have a role nobody else can take on
Families pass on financial habits, but they also pass on their own biases and limits. A household facing financial hardship can hardly teach advanced budget planning. Either way, school is the only universal channel that reaches every student, whatever their background.
Behavioural economics research shows that financial habits form before the age of 20. Whatever isn't covered in that window has a measurable cost in adult life decisions.
Countries that have made financial education part of the curriculum show consistent results: higher saving among young adults, less unproductive consumer debt and better understanding of financial products. Australia, the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries have had structured programmes for more than a decade.
The financial skills the OECD sets out for secondary students
The PISA assessment framework sets out four content areas every student should cover before leaving compulsory education:
Money and transactions
Understanding the value of money, the different ways to pay and how everyday transactions work, including debit and credit cards and digital transfers.
Planning and managing finances
Being able to budget income and spending, set saving goals and plan for the short and medium term. This skill correlates directly with financial stability in adult life.
Risk and reward
Understanding that every financial decision carries some risk. Assessing basic investment products and spotting unrealistic promises of returns.
Financial landscape
Understanding the setting in which financial decisions are made: consumer rights, basic regulation and how the economy affects personal finances.
What this means for school leaders and teaching teams
This figure isn't just a statistic. It's a sign of the gap between what society expects from the education system and what the system currently offers on financial matters.
Schools that act now are responding to a clear social demand, getting ahead of regulations several European countries are already preparing, and giving their students tools they'll use for the rest of their lives.
The question is when. Schools that move early will have built their own approach instead of adopting one imposed on them.
Finomik designs financial education paths adapted to the curriculum and the age of each group. If your school wants to close this gap, we'll start with a no-commitment pilot.
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