The Certification Test: Participating schools administer the Financial Literacy Certification Test in the fall and/or the spring to measure students' knowledge of personal finance. 

Students who pass this national test are awarded a Financial Literacy Certificate indicating that he/she has met current national standards for knowledge of personal finance.  In New York State the Test is reviewed by the New York State Education Department.  Students with a score of 95% or higher are awarded medals.  School-based test results are ONLY released to the designated contact person.

Blue Star Schools: Schools with 75% of students passing the Financial Literacy Test are awarded a banner for the distinction of being a Blue Star School, recognized on the Coalition?s website, moneypower.org, and celebrated with an award from the Financial Planning Association. Click here for the list of 2004 Blue Star Schools.

Professional Development, Materials, and Resources: Teachers are offered workshops aligned to the finance unit of the state curriculum, the Jump$tart Benchmarks for Financial Literacy, and the National Voluntary Standards for Teaching Economics. Instructional resources are distributed at workshops, including a detailed outline of the state standards, lesson plans, a directory of website sources, and other materials.

Website Support: this website provides access to practice tests and a feedback system for students in preparation for the Financial Literacy Certification Test. Teachers can provide interim benchmark testing while teaching each topic and monitor student progress toward the ultimate goal of formal certification.

Pretest: If requested on the Particpation Agreement Form, schools will be provided with a Pretest for teachers to have base-line data.  The outcomes will be compared to the results of the Financial Literacy Certification Test  (limited to 20 schools).

About w!se: The New York Financial Literacy Coalition is an initiative of w!se, an educational 501(c)3 not-for-profit with a mission to provide educational support services nationwide, build financial literacy, foster business and social entrepreneurship, and prepare students for college and the workplace.  w!se serves 15,000 students and educators each year.
(c) 2006 Copyright.  Working In Support of Education. All rights to this program are reserved.