Biography:

Ethan Wind is a high school junior passionate about finance, entrepreneurship, and educational equity. He founded the Personal Financial Literacy Club, where he mentored 10 other students to help in 10 separate workshops, reaching 150+ students. As the New York State DECA Financial Literacy Project champion, Ethan developed NextGenBN.com, a YouTube-based platform with 2,400+ subscribers and 6,800+ views, featuring interviews with DECA finalists and judges to help students navigate the business world. He also built CalhounDECA.com to build a stronger Calhoun DECA community. In AP Research project, he used natural language processing to evaluate state financial literacy standards. He has completed pre-college programs at Harvard, Yale, and Vanderbilt, and is set to attend The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton’s Global Youth Finance program. In the future, Ethan aims to become an investment banker while continuing to bring communities together with financial education.

Abstract:

This study analyzes how state-mandated high school financial education standards are aligned with national standards set forth by the Council for Economic Education (CEE). With the number of states requiring financial literacy classes as a prerequisite for high school graduation rising, the research aims to identify particular learning objectives that are generally overlooked at the state level. Using a Natural Language Processing (NLP) platform, the research directly compares state standards to the CEE’s national standards, enabling objective identification of gaps in the curriculum. Gaps are especially evident in topic areas that cover modern financial topics such as digital banking, identity theft, and financial technology. These findings point to the necessity for states to update and enhance their financial education curricula to encompass comprehensive, real-world financial skills that will better equip students for the financial demands of adulthood.