Payoff of cash class is debated

Board weighs financial literacy as a new graduation requirement

"I agree with Mr. Hiltz that we need to look at it in a different approach, but we need to implement it," he said.

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

Financial Literacy

A sampling of questions from a national survey of high school seniors:

1. Doug must borrow $12,000 to complete his college education. Which of the following would NOT be likely to reduce the finance charge rate?

a) If his parents took out an additional mortgage on their house for the loan. b) If the loan was insured by the federal government. c) If he went to a state college rather than a private college. d) If his parents cosigned the loan.

2. If you had a savings account at a bank, which of the following would be correct concerning the interest that you would earn on this account?

a) Sales tax may be charged on the interest that you earn. b) You cannot earn interest until you pass your 18th birthday. c) Earnings from savings account interest may not be taxed. d) Income tax may be charged on the interest if your income is high enough.

3. If your credit card is stolen and the thief runs up a total debt of $1,000, but you notify the issuer of the card as soon as you discover it is missing, what is the maximum amount that you can be forced to pay according to federal law?

a) nothing b) $50 c) $500 d) $1000

Answers

1) C. 30.4% of students correctly answered. 2) D. 22.7% correctly answered. 3) B. 15.1% correctly answered.

[SOURCE: The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy]