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MISSISSIPPI

GRADE

B

SUMMARY OF GRADE

  • Significant Accomplishments: High schools required to offer Personal Finance elective; College and Career Readiness Course containing personal finance instruction required for graduation; Some K-8 financial literacy standards

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  • Needs Improvement: Needs to implement K-8 financial literacy standards

AN IN-DEPTH LOOK

As of 2019, all Mississippi high schools were required to offer a one-half credit Personal Finance elective. Public high schools may offer a one-half unit in Financial Technology, Resource Management, or National Endowment in lieu of Personal Finance. Personal Finance, which is an elective that can be taken during 9-12th grade, has standards that robustly cover financial literacy. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has also developed a curriculum guide for the Mississippi Personal Finance elective, which is aligned to both national and Mississippi standards.

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In the 2022 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for the Social Studies, there is an economics strand for each grade, K-12. The guide explains that the strand, which integrates economic reasoning and some elements of personal finance into the K-12 curriculum, helps students in “demonstrating an understanding of economics and financial literacy in order to make informed financial decisions throughout their lives.”

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Beginning with the 2022 graduating class, the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Course will be required for graduation. Included in  the curriculum is a one semester personal finance course. The unit is based on the Council for Economic Education National Standards for Financial Literacy as well as the Jump$tart National Standards and was developed with the help of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education.


In 2025, members of Mississippi’s legislature attempted to pass a bill (SB 2147/HB 1527) that would require financial literacy curriculum beginning in grade 6. This bill was publicly supported by the state’s Attorney General, but it failed in committee.

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Mississippi receives a “B,” as it ensures personal finance instruction for all graduating students through the CCR course. In order to raise its grade, Mississippi needs to create financial literacy standards for K-8.

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