My Classroom Economy Evaluation: An Experiential Approach to Building Youth Financial Literacy 

Join the Center for Financial Security (CFS) for a webinar featuring findings of our recent evaluation of the My Classroom Economy (MCE) financial education program. The evaluation was funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Empowerment Innovation Fund. J. Michael Collins of CFS will be joined on the webinar by Treasury officials and Aaron Standish of the School District of Palm Beach County, the site of the evaluation.

MCE is an experiential program designed to teach financial knowledge and skills in school classrooms. Students learn financial lessons through direct experience. For example, students earn classroom “dollars” for jobs they perform, and they use this currency to pay for classroom services such as to rent their desks. Students also recieve bonuses and are subject to fines as determined by their teacher. The MCE materials are available free of charge from myclassroomeconomy.org.

Overall, the evalutaion offers compelling evidence of MCE's effects. The findings suggest that experiential financial learning may have positive educational effects on par with more formal financial literacy efforts. The evaluation uses rigorous techniques to examine the effect of MCE on third through fifth grade students’ financial knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. CFS worked with the School District of Palm Beach County to evaluate the program in 115 classrooms across 24 schools during the 2015-2016 school year. For more in-depth background on the project and to access findings from the evaluation, go to: go.wisc.edu/5vxlz5