Could You Beat a High-Schooler on the New AP Personal-Finance Test?

Elyse Goncalves and Veronica Dagher:

Personal-finance classes are expanding across U.S. high schools, and the subject’s importance is getting a nod of recognition this fall.

The College Board is rolling out a new Advanced Placement Business with Personal Finance course in a number of schools this coming school year. The course, announced last year, will cover entrepreneurship and business strategy alongside topics devoted to personal finance.

More than half of U.S. states now require students to complete a stand-alone personal-finance course to graduate. Business has been the most popular undergraduate degree for years, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Jennifer Mulhern, the College Board’s vice president for AP program access, said the new course is meant to better prepare high-schoolers for college business courses while also helping boost their personal-finance competency.

AP Business with Personal Finance fulfills the personal-finance requirement in many states, and Mulhern said the AP is still working to meet it in others.