What are the Content Standards in Economics for Grades K-12?

Standards help fulfill the promise that all high school graduates will be prepared to take their places in and contribute to society. Standards provide a nonpolitical, nonpartisan voluntary guide for states and local school systems to plan and teach what children should learn. They are statements of what we believe is important.

Economics is one of nine subject areas in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994, demonstrating its importance as a core subject in American schools. The National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) was designated by the United States Department of Education to develop the standards in economics. Funding came from the Calvin K. Kazanjian Foundation for Economics, the AT&T Foundation, and the Foundation for Teaching Economics.

The Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics provide a guide to educators -- what children, kindergarten through grade 12, should learn about basic economics and the economy as they go through school so that they will be better informed producers, consumers, savers, investors, citizens, and participants in the global economy. The document consists of 20 content standards. Each standard has four parts:

  • Content Statement--an essential principle of economics--the most important ideas, concepts, and issues of the discipline.
  • Essental Reasoning and Decisionmaking Skills--a statement of what a student should be able to do with that knowledge.
  • Rationale--an explanation about why it is essential for students to understand that standard.
  • Benchmarks--expected achievement levels for grades 4, 8, and 12.

The economics standards for grades K-12 in Rhode Island are part of the effort by the Rhode Island Skills Commission to develop a Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) for the schools of the state. Economics is included as one area of the Social Studies Standards, along with Civics/Government, Geography, and World and United States History.

There are five economics standards, each containing the broad content statement, a rationale, several component student understandings, and sample benchmark activities for grades 4, 8, and 10. These standards are an adaptation of the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics developed by the National Council on Economic Education.

Economics standards for Rhode Island at this time are in a preliminary and unofficial draft form.
This draft is not for publication or citation.