Survey results from a large sample of economics departments describe offerings for principles courses, coursework requirements for economics majors, and program augmentations such as capstone courses, senior seminars, and honors programs. Findings are reported for all institutions, and institutions are subdivided into six different categories…

The "National Standards for Financial Literacy" describe the knowledge, understanding, and skills that are important for students to learn about personal finance. They are designed to guide teachers, school administrators, and other educators in developing curriculum and educational materials for teaching financial literacy. In this…

High school transcript data were used in this study to estimate the percentage of high school graduates who complete an economics course, and to examine course-taking trends in economics from 1982 to 2009. In 2009, 58 percent of high school graduates took an economics course, up from about 45 percent from 1990 to 2005. The increases in economics…

Interest is growing at the precollege level in computer testing (CT) instead of paper-and-pencil testing (PT) for subjects in the school curriculum, including economics. Before economic educators adopt CT, a better understanding of its likely effects on test-taking behavior and performance compared with PT is needed. Using two volunteer student…

The Teaching Innovations Program (TIP) was a six-year project funded by the National Science Foundation that gave economics instructors the opportunity to learn interactive teaching strategies for use in undergraduate economics courses. TIP participants first attended a teaching workshop that presented various teaching strategies. They then could…

In this article, the authors explain the purpose and context for the 2009 International Symposium on Economic Education that was the source for articles on four nations with relatively developed systems for economic education: Australia, England, Japan, and Korea. The authors highlight several key comparisons from the four articles that appear in…

Survey data from PhD-granting economics departments are used to assess the teaching preparation of graduate students in economics. The results show that relatively few departments require graduate student instructors to take a credit course in teaching before teaching their own course or leading a recitation section. Although more graduate student…

A significant event for the advancement of economic education in the schools is the development of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in economics. For the first time, national data from a representative sample of students are available to measure the achievement of high school students in economics. The achievement results are…

The essay test has great potential to assess the higher levels of student understanding of economics. The problem is that most instructors fail to exploit the significant advantage of this testing method and to avoid its pitfalls. The author highlights the advantages and pitfalls to essay testing in economics and gives instructors many practical…

In Australia, the authors learned it is common to ask one or more conference participants to summarize and assess the conference in a final "closing" session. They found the experience of serving as "closers" strangely similar to what students are asked to do in providing an overall assessment of a course or instructor at the end of a semester. By…

Investigates whether International Economic Exchange Program (IEEP) seminars for teachers had a beneficial effect on the economic understanding of their students. Shows a larger increase in the economic understanding of students of teachers who participated in the IEEP seminars compared with students of teachers who did not. (RLH)

Discusses seven issues affecting assessment: (1) selection of texts, (2) use of oral and written assignments, (3) characteristics of grades and evaluation, (4) opportunities for self-assessment, (5) retention of learning, (6) psychology of students, and (7) the development of new tests. Suggests ways that economics faculty can improve assessment…

Investigates trends in the percentage of high school graduates taking economics using data from the "1994 High School Transcript Study" (HSTS) that analyzes the transcripts of approximately 25,000 students who graduated in 1994. Indicates that about 44 percent of high school graduates took a course in economics in 1994. (CMK)

Argues that teacher education in economics is essential if high school students are to have an opportunity to learn economics. Presents results from a study that shows that a three-year master's degree program in economics has beneficial effects on the understanding of both the participating teachers and their students. (DSK)

Presents the results of a study suggesting that economic knowledge, whether measured by a general score or knowledge of a particular issue, is the most consistent and influential factor affecting public opinion. Surveyed a broad range of participants concerning five complex issues of economic policy. Includes questions, tables, and statistics.…