Educational Organizations Promote Financial Literacy in Iowa
Educational Organizations Promote Financial Literacy in Iowa
Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge Kicks Off, Gives Participating High Schools Chance to Win $1,000
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (Dec. 5, 2013) — For a third school year, a partnership of educational organizations is providing an incentive for Iowa high schools to assess their students’ financial understanding. Schools have a chance at a cash prize by participating in the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge between now and Jan. 31, 2014.
Iowa Student Loan® — in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition, Junior Achievement of Central Iowa and the Iowa College Access Network — is sponsoring the Challenge and providing a chance for schools to win $1,000 for their participation.
The Challenge is intended to reward Iowa high schools that evaluate their students’ core financial literacy skills using an assessment test created and administered by Ednalysis, an Iowa educational research company. High schools that register and have students take the assessment by Jan. 31, will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win one of 30 cash prizes.
“A good understanding of finances is an essential skill for high school students who will soon graduate, take on college costs and learn to manage their day-to-day expenses,” said Christine Hensley, chair of the Iowa Student Loan board. “This program provides schools with an additional tool to evaluate the effectiveness of their existing financial literacy programs and identify critical areas where students need education to be financially successful.”
About the Drawing
Thirty winners will be randomly drawn from those who register online and have students take the assessment at http://challenge.ednalysis.com. Each $1,000 prize is intended to improve the school’s financial literacy programs and its scholarship fund.
About the Assessment
The Ednalysis assessment test allows high school teachers and administrators to see how well students understand essential financial literacy skills in five key areas:
- Achieving Financial Goals
- Managing Money Effectively
- Debt Decision-Making
- Investment and Asset Building
- Legal and Ethical Financial Behavior
The assessment is designed to be completed in a single 45-minute class period and might be used to determine the effectiveness of current financial literacy programs or students’ understanding of topics before participating in a financial literacy curriculum. The typical fee for schools to offer the test is being waived for Challenge participants, thanks to a special agreement between Iowa Student Loan and Ednalysis. Individual student results are not a qualifying factor for the Challenge drawing.
Special Scholarship for Seniors
The Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge expands this year with a special Senior Scholarship that will award 20 scholarships worth $1,500 each to college-bound seniors who register by Jan. 31, 2014, and complete two financial literacy tutorials and the Ednalysis assessment test. Interested seniors will receive emails highlighting financial literacy tips and reminding them to complete Student Loan Game Plansm and the ROCI Reality Check, two resources offered by Iowa Student Loan to help students realize their financial goals. For more information about the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship, visit www.studentloan.org.
Learn More
Educators who are interested in learning more about the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge can contact Matt Brown at Iowa Student Loan at (800) 243-7552, ext. 7656, or mbrown@studentloan.org.
