Rhode Island Adopts National Financial Literacy Standards

Rhode Island has just become the fourth U.S. state to adopt and recommend the Council for Economic Education’s standards as the basis for financial literacy education. The Rhode Island Council for Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously endorsed the Council’s Standards, which many believe will help drive greater uniformity and efficiency in teaching financial education throughout the state.

Amid the significant rise in awareness of the importance of financial education, there has been a corresponding growth in the wide range of philosophies and methods in teaching financial concepts and themes designed to boost the levels of financial literacy and capability. The Council for Economic Education’s (CEE) standards were rolled out in an effort make teaching financial education more uniform.

Among the attributes of the CEE’s standards that have been praised within financial literacy industry circles include its inclusion of six college and career-readiness topics; namely, earning income, buying goods and services, using credit, saving, financial investing, and protecting and insuring. Many contend that these six themes comprise the highly relevant skills necessary for individuals and families to become better decision-makers with respect to their personal financial affairs.

The adoption by Rhode Island of the national standards came after an eight month effort by many constituencies possessing a shared mission of improved financial education among the state’s citizenry. The coalition driving this movement included RealEdRI, Rhode Island Jump$tart, Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, and 2014 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year Patricia Page.

As more states adopt the CEE standards and as the results of implementation become more readily availability, industry observers believe that broader state adoption will follow. This, in turn, they say will further enhance the uniformity, effectiveness and success of financial literacy education in schools throughout the nation.