Teaching kids about money: The play's the thing
MADISON, Wis. - A recently released study found that middle school
students who watched a live performance on responsible spending and
saving significantly increased their financial literacy knowledge, with
the most dramatic improvements coming from students in the lower grades.
The Googolplex@school Demonstration Project was sponsored by CUNA to see
whether the intervention of a live play offered the potential to
significantly change student knowledge, attitudes, or behavior toward
saving. Students viewed a four-act improvisational performance -
delivered by actors from the National Theatre for Children (NTC) - and
were given identical pre-tests and post-tests to measure the program’s
effectiveness.
The tests were designed by Lewis Mandell, Ph.D., professor of finance
and managerial economics and former dean in the School of Management of
the State University of New York, Buffalo. Mandell, who is a well-known
researcher in the area of youth financial literacy, was also responsible
for the program’s scientific evaluation.
A total of 1,880 students took the pre-test and 1,384 took the post
test. Results showed significant, positive differences between the pre-
and post-tests for 12 of the 17 knowledge questions asked. Overall,
students in grades 6 through 8 answered 64.1 percent of the questions
correctly on the pre-test and 68.9 percent correctly on the post-test,
which is equal to an improvement of 7.5 percent from the base score of
the pre-test. While knowledge increased in all grade levels, students in
grade 6 appeared to learn the most, as they posted an 18.8 percent test
score increase.
CUNA received a $25,000 grant from the National Credit Union Foundation
and a $1,000 grant from the Illinois Credit Union Foundation to fund the
project.
Googolplex@school was developed by CUNA, NTC, and the National Youth
Involvement Board. For more information, go to www.cuna.org and select
the “Thrive by Five/Youth Education,” link, located under the “CUNA
Initiatives” banner. From there, choose the “middle school savings
program” link.
# # #
With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union
National Association serves more than 90 percent of America’s 9,000
credit unions, which are owned by more than 87 million consumer members.
Credit unions are not for profit cooperatives providing affordable
financial services to people from all walks of life. For more
information, visit www.cuna.org.