1 in 5 American students do not exceed a baseline of proficiency in applying their financial knowledge to everyday situations. In other words, young Americans struggle to understand the most basic of financial concepts, documents, and transactions that are central to personal financial management. 

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) recently revealed findings from a financial literacy assessment of 15 year olds from around the world; 18 countries and economies participated in the assessment, which sought to establish a global baseline for financial literacy amongst the young.