“Reading Makes Cents” – A Financial Literacy Pilot Program In Maryland

1. “Reading Makes Cents” – A Financial Literacy Pilot Program In Maryland Kathy Gordon, 4-H Youth Development Educator Lacie Ashby, 4-H Youth Development Educator Shante’ Stokes, 4-H Youth Development Educator Pilot Testing The Problem • University of Maryland Extension Educators belonging to the Money Smart Impact Team completed IRB approval to conduct and evaluate a pilot program using this curriculum. • During the past year, three diverse pilots were conducted, both geographically and demographically. • Pilot venues consisted of: • An afterschool program within a school • An in-school enrichment program • A summer day camp program Americans are currently experiencing unusual financial strains. Unemployment rates have soared, and other economic indicators show that the American economy has been in a serious recession. According to the 2010 Kids Count Data Book, 10% of Maryland’s children and youth live beneath the poverty line. There is a great need and push to integrate financial literacy education in standard education requirements so that youth begin to develop essential life skills that allow them to manage their personal finances and prepare for the future. The Program Reading Makes Cents, developed by Penn State University and reviewed and recommended by the National 4-H Council, is an excellent resource that promotes financial literacy education. Reading Makes Cents teaches youth in grades 3-5 about the history of money, how to earn money, and the difference between needs and wants. The curriculum is unique in that it outlines literature selections that reinforce each lesson objective. The books explore ideas and strategies that help youth learn how to earn, save, share, and spend money. In addition, the books provide a rich diversity of settings, people, income levels, relationships, ethnic backgrounds, cultures, religions, holidays, intergenerational friendships all related to money messages and learning. With evaluation questions and family activities included, Reading Makes Cents is the perfect guide for any youth development practitioner or teacher that is looking to prepare youth for the future by increasing their financial literacy knowledge and skills. “It takes a really good program to make kids want to come do this and skip gym and the pool.” ~ Day Camp Supervisor

2. Evaluated on areas related to money, youth showed improved scores in the following categories. • Following the lessons: • 80% of participants said they would have a spending goal based on needs and wants most of the time • 80% will set savings goals for things they want to buy most of the time • 90% said most of the time, they will think about whether they really need something before they buy it • 92% of participants can describe the difference between needs & wants most of the time Pilot Outcomes Based on the pilot evaluation data, the curriculum achieved the intended positive outcomes. Participating pilot sites gave positive feedback on the lessons and activities. In addition, instructors reported that the curriculum was easy to use and that the youth responded positively to the activities and literature. The pilot also demonstrated that the program can easily be replicated in different geographical areas and settings. Conclusion Reading Makes Cents Financial Literacy Education is a small step in the right direction to helping our youth become financially fit. This program not only teaches youth important financial concepts, but it also provides guidance to families by incorporating interactive family lessons and activities, so that parents can model and reinforce learned skills at home. If we want to ensure that our youth have an opportunity to achieve the “American Dream” and have a prosperous future, they must understand what money is and the importance of it, how to balance expenses with their personal income, live within their means, develop financial goals, and save money to achieve those goals. Money is and will always be part of everyone’s life, and we as Educators’ must start instilling the basics in our youth and not wait until they are grown and possibly already on the road to financial peril. Meets Standards Reading Makes Cents has been reviewed to meet the National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education. In addition, the UME pilot team has also closely compared Reading Makes Cents to the Maryland State Curriculum for Personal Financial Literacy Education, finding the majority of lessons match one or more indicators required by Maryland State Board of Education regulations. University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.