Back to School Survey: 68% of Teens Would Be Likely to Take a Financial Literacy Course, but Only 31% Say Such Courses are Offered at School

 Tulsa, OK – As students head back to school, research by Junior Achievement and research firm Big Village, records 68 percent would “likely” take a class on financial literacy (money management, personal finance) if offered to them, yet only 31 percent say they have access to these kinds of courses in school.

In research from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) for Junior Achievements reveals the lack of financial literacy among adults costs the United States nearly half a billion dollars a year. The survey of 1,002 teens between the ages of 13 and 17 was conducted by Big Village between July 9 and 14, 2024.

“When you ask adults what they wish they learned in school but didn’t, it usually involves topics like understanding how money works,” said Shannan Beeler, President of Junior Achievement of Oklahoma in a release today. “These findings show that most teens today would like access to this kind of information, but many may not be getting it.”

Junior Achievement offers learning experiences to students in grades K through 12, plus to young adults 18+, that focus on financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship. JA programs are available at low or no cost to schools and reach more than 4.4 million students in the United States each year.

Other findings from the survey include:

• 60% of teens would “likely” take courses in work and career readiness and entrepreneurship if offered at school.
• 41% of teens would “likely” take courses on paying for college if offered.
• A year ago, 44% of teens said they would likely use AI to do their schoolwork but this year only 30% say they have actually used it for that purpose.
• 54% of teens think using AI to do schoolwork instead of doing it themselves is “cheating,” down from 60% a year ago.

Methodology

This Youth CARAVAN survey was conducted by Big Village among a sample of 1,002 13-17-year-olds. This survey was live on July 9-14, 2024.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to multiple sources of error, including, but not limited to sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. It is nationally representative with set quotas based on census data. The 1,002 completes are all who qualified and completed based on the demographic quota requirements. The MoE is +/- 3.1%.

Junior Achievement (JA) of Oklahoma is a business-integrated education partner with expertise in experiential learning that successfully develops key mindsets and skills for students to lead meaningful and successful lives. JA’s high-impact programs drive long-term outcomes in areas of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship, and are all delivered by corporate and community volunteers. JA of Oklahoma offers multiple programs, including in-class programs, JA BizTown, JA Inspire, and JA Finance Park. JA of Oklahoma serves over 40,000 students statewide in an average year. JA of Oklahoma has offices in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. For more information, visit www.jaok.org.