The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) conducted extensive research into the barriers that prevent schools from implementing financial education. This research consisted of focus groups and in-depth interviews with teachers, parents, students, and experts. It was further complemented by a thorough review of existing research on financial education.

Young people drive our economies—and our future—but most of them have never learned to save, manage, and invest their money. A financial education program is one of the most effective ways to teach money management at an early age and lay a foundation for success later in life.

To be free from financial worry is one of life’s great aspirations. That’s where financial literacy comes in. You can use it to your advantage every time you make a decision about money.

Pioneers in the field of financial literacy designed three simple questions that measure the ABC’s of financial literacy, known as the Big Three. Many people find the questions challenging. How about you?

Every three years, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)—an initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)—surveys 15-year-olds around the world. Since 2012, this survey has measured, among other things, their financial literacy with an eye on one simple question: How well-prepared are young people for the new economic environments that are becoming more global and more complex?

The answer received every three years is troubling. Many teenagers are not prepared.  As for U.S. students, they do about average compared to other young people around the world. But average isn’t good enough.