Finance Curriculum: New AP Business Course Launches

High school students in the United States began taking a new Advanced Placement Business with Personal Finance course this year. The College Board introduced the class at more than 1,500 schools, marking the first time the subject appears in the AP lineup.

The curriculum shifts focus from traditional core subjects like chemistry or history to practical financial skills. Students learn about management and the external factors that influence business performance. These factors include political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal conditions. The course also covers personal finance topics such as investing and budgeting.

At Hoover High School near Birmingham, Alabama, the class features students like Darshan Parmar, a junior who manages his own investments. Parmar places his part-time job earnings into index funds, specifically S&P, QQQ, and VOO. Other students in the class allocate 70 percent of their income to Roth IRAs or contribute to 401(k) plans. Some students invest directly in individual stocks.

David Coleman, CEO of the College Board, states that the organization created the course because students expressed a desire to turn ideas into jobs in AP surveys. Coleman describes business as the constant learning of adaptation. He argues that the subject is a new part of the liberal arts and is as important as math or history for preparing students for the world. He notes that this mix of practical and theoretical pedagogy is highly useful today.

The new AP course aligns with a wider trend in state education requirements. Thirty-nine states now require a personal finance class for graduation, a number that is four higher than two years ago according to the Council for Economic Education. Hoover High School, which has nearly 3,000 students and is the largest high school in Alabama, also offers a four-year business academy. This academy includes classes in accounting and entrepreneurship.

Students report that the AP class is more challenging than other courses, which can help improve their grade point averages due to weighted grading. Sophomore Damola Kukoyi says the course helps her boost her GPA while studying a topic she enjoys. Senior Rachel Deschaine notes that the lessons apply to real-world family financial discussions. Her father owned a trucking company, and her brother studies economics. A Federal Reserve paper found that families in states with financial education requirements made better decisions, such as using stimulus checks to pay down credit card balances.