Earlier this year, the Ontario government announced a new financial literacy component for students as part of Grade 10 math, starting in 2025 part of a larger suite of educational reforms.
The province says students will "be required to score 70 per cent or higher to meet the financial literacy graduation requirement," with their "first attempt to be taken during their Grade 10 math course." Like the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test the only other standardized assessment students must write to graduate with a diploma those who fail will get another attempt.
Financial literacy is widely considered a necessary life skill. But tying it to a pass/fail graduation requirement is counterproductive. Given that the goal of financial literacy education is to further financial well-being, it is bad policy to implement this in a way that could negatively affect students' ability to graduate and, in turn, their future earning power.
To be ready for a 2025 launch, the province should start envisioning how this content can be meaningfully and effectively integrated into Grade 10.
