High Personal Financial Literacy

Module 01 - Education, Careers, and Income

• goals beyond a high school education
• job-related costs and benefits
• factors that impact the earnings of workers
• gross and net income
• the relationship between demand for goods and worker wages
• productivity of workers • changes in economic conditions
• effects of a recession on the unemployment rate
• direct and indirect taxes
• progressivity of taxes
• purpose and use of taxes
• purpose of creating a budget

 

Module 02 - A Time to Spend, A Time to Save

• factors influencing consumer decisions
• researching goods and services
• ways retailers express prices of products in order to influence consumers
• donating to charitable and non-profit organizations
• differences between savings and checking accounts
• services available through financial institutions
• reasons people choose immediate spending over saving
• employer benefit programs
• inflation's impact on society
• relationship between inflation, nominal interest rate, and real interest rate
• ways the government protects consumers from fraud
• government's role in the investment market

Module 03 - Understanding Credit

• types of credit
• annual percentage rate (APR)
• credit options
• fixed and variable interest rate
• down payments and collateral
• secured and unsecured loans
• common types of mortgages
• significance of credit scores and reports
• negative effects of failing to repay a loan
• ways to receive a credit report
• ways those in debt can seek assistance
• benefits and costs to filing for bankruptcy
• consumer protection laws for credit
• government regulation of credit card companies
• goals of fiscal policy (Honors only)
• how changes in fiscal policy affect the national budget (Honors only)

Module 04 - Managing Risk

• real return on an investment
• costs associated with investments
• how buyers and sellers determine the price of financial assets
• how interest rates affect investments
• how economic conditions affect investments
• how investor actions, the U.S. economy, and the global marketplace impact the rate of return on investment
• level of risk associated with investments
• the term of investments affects the rate of return
• factors that determine a person’s willingness to take financial risk
• importance of diversification in investing
• how insurance policies work
• different types of insurance available
• ways to avoid identity theft
• assistance for victims of identity theft

Calculator recommended

Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, the course guides students to reflect on their learning and evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of practice lessons, multiple-choice questions, writing assignments, projects, research papers, oral assessments, and discussions. This course will use the state-approved grading scale. Each course contains a mandatory final exam or culminating project that will be weighted at 20% of the student’s overall grade.***

***Proctored exams can be requested by FLVS at any time and for any reason in an effort to ensure academic integrity. When taking the exam to assess a student’s integrity, the exam must be passed with at least a 59.5% in order to earn credit for the course. 

To achieve success, students are expected to submit work in each course weekly. Students can learn at their own pace; however, “any pace” still means that students must make progress in the course every week. To measure learning, students complete self-checks, practice lessons, multiple choice questions, projects, discussion-based assessments, and discussions. Students are expected to maintain regular contact with teachers; the minimum requirement is monthly. When teachers, students, and parents work together, students are successful.