Australian students may be falling in their performance in mathematics, reading, and science against global benchmarks, but they remain competitive when it comes to financial literacy.
The 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study has ranked Australia fifth among 15 countries in terms of 15-year-olds’ financial literacy and ability to understand and apply knowledge to financial questions, according to an
ASIC statement.
Australia only lagged behind China, Belgium, Canada and nations grouped as the Russian Federation in the financial literacy performance ranking.
ASIC deputy chair
Peter Kell welcomed the results, noting that 15% of Australian students were high performers compared to the OECD average of 12%; but conceded that another 20% were low performers compared to the 22% OECD average,
Financial Standard reported.
Kell said financial literacy and the ability to operate conceptually around money and financial products, including insurance, will actually be more crucial as Australia increasingly becomes a cashless society.
PISA defined financial literacy, not as equivalent to mathematical literacy, but the ability to deal with information about financial products and make informed choices regarding its risks and opportunities.
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