I start with a bias that far too much of public education is focused on academia as the only route to success and that far too many students are pushed into a college track when it really isn't even close to being appropriate for them at all or at least at that point in their lives.

The sort of practical education implied in this financial literacy curriculum should be adopted and expanded upon and applied to about ten or twenty other areas as well.

on point:
The questions asked reminded me of 5th grade math word questions. Is this indicative of what needs to be taught at the high school level? Are the students truly unable to apply (presumably) already acquired math skills to these?

Financial literacy and education should start earlier than high school. Elementary math has the ability to incorporate simple everyday tasks such as saving for a purchase rather than charging it and paying later.

I guided both of my children to taking a personal finance class in their freshmen year of college because they weren't taught that in high school (or any other time for that matter). I did what I could as a parent to try to teach them financial responsibility. They know that if they use a credit card it needs to be paid in full. We do have open lines of communication about their finances so that I can help them stay out of financial trouble as they navigate themselves through this materialistic world and through the temptations thrown at them, especially while they are still in school. I can only hope that if they get through college debt free then they should be well on their way to finacial independence and success.

I have always been an advocate of practical financial education for all students. I had to learn it on my own by making mistakes when I was young but I know those mistakes weren't necessary and were a result of my own ignorance and lack of financial education when I was young. Fortunately, I learned from my mistakes. I can only hope that I passed on what I learned to my children so they don't have to learn those same lessons.

Financial knowledge is one of the most powerful tools we can give our kids and every child deserves to be armed with that knowledge for a successful future.

I learned nothing about personal finances at school, and money wasn't spoken of at home. It was an eye-opener to me when I stumbled across the Rule of 72s in my mid-30s. To determine how long it will take your investment to double in value at any annual rate of return, divide that rate into 72. At an annual return of 8 percent your money will double in 9 years, then, of course, double again in another 9 years. Conversely, to determine what rate you would need to double your money in a certain number of years, divide that number of years into 72. If you want your money to double in 4 years, you need an annual return of 18 percent. If you're earning 2 percent a year, as many now are, your money will double before you're 306. To fight crime, it would probably make sense for state government to invest a dollar a day in accounts in each prisoner's name. If the money earned a decent return, as money might in a few years, prisoners could get out with tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in their pockets. Prisoners serving 30-plus years, might emerge as millionaires. The slight problem with that scheme is that it would be deemed to make crime pay. Still wealthy cons would be less likely to commit crimes than dead-broke ones, and they might inspire noncons to invest.

There should be strict requirements for the people who are going to be teaching personal finance in the schools. At least one course in Economics and another course in the subject area (including the topic of financial scams). Also, the teachers should be required to undergo continuing professional education to maintain their expertise.