Financial Literacy in High Schools Down

According to a recent report by the Council for Economic Education, educators are making little progress in regards to financial literacy in schools across the U.S.

The Council takes a biannual survey of economics and finance education across 50 states – 22 states offered economics courses in 2011, though only 14 required the classes, down one state since the 2009 survey.

Schools blame teacher shortages, and less than 20% of the educators queried stated they felt comfortable teaching personal finance. Lack of funding for curriculum materials was also cited.

Students aren’t gleaning any financial tips from home, either. One-third of parents claimed to find it easier to discuss smoking, drugs and bullying than to talk about money. Likewise, one third of teens aren’t friends with their parents on Facebook. A seperate study has shown that parents also have difficultly regarding “the talk” when it comes to mobile device security.