The mission of the Idaho Financial Literacy Coalition is "to improve the quantity and quality of personal financial information and educational programs of Idahoans by providing resources and education to teachers, youth leaders and others in need of assistance or at financial risk." It was observed that improving the Idaho State Standards of learning was essential to changing the future financial and economic outlook in Idaho. By including a financial literacy course of study at an early age, young people will be better prepared to make personal money management decisions and be more successful in careers requiring finance skills.

The Idaho State Standards committee has also introduced the Idaho Math Initiative, which is aimed at preparing students for a higher level of math in middle school, high school, post-secondary school and future workplace settings. The initiative educates the students about basics of standards based learning in Math. The personal finance requirement can be met by using a financial literacy curriculum in Business Math.

Personal finance is one of the topics in the Economics course requirements. The topic is covered in Family and Consumer Sciences, Business and Math classes. The effectiveness of personal finance education also depends on the teacher's knowledge, motivation and interest in teaching. Even following the Idaho State Standards will not guarantee that the objective of financial literacy can be met. A powerful tool to cover this challenging subject must be employed to effectively achieve the goals of the revised Idaho State Standards.

It is important to equip young people with the ability to make smart financial decisions, which can be achieved by these changes to Idaho State Standards. The TimeMAPS Money Management and Life Skills Program from Realityworks has been adopted in the state of Idaho for Family and Consumer Sciences-Economics. This means that TimeMAPS is an approved curriculum by the State Department of Education and that curriculum funds may be used to purchase TimeMAPS.

TimeMAPS interactive software and curriculum can help administrators, teachers and students work toward a common goal. TimeMAPS stands for Time Management for Achieving Personal Success and is a 21st Century solution that can be effectively used to teach personal finance and life skills in the classroom. TimeMAPS can be included in grades 9-12 school curriculums to meet the high Idaho State Standards of learning.

Students live, work and play in a technologically-rich environment outside of school. They use digital media and computers to run sophisticated interactive game solutions, send emails, send text messages and browse the Internet. An average high school student spends 3-6 hours each day on computers and using other technology products outside of school. The students' familiarity with and enjoyment of computers and technology can be tapped into by introducing TimeMAPS interactive software to teach Personal Finance. Besides bringing technology into the classroom, it successfully transforms passive textbook-based learning into a dynamic learning session with examples and exercises using real life scenarios. The interactive learning immerses students in essential life and money management skills. They are not only reading and learning, but actively participating in lessons, experimenting with inputs and analyzing results to draw important conclusions about personal finance.

TimeMAPS software can be introduced in students' core curriculum from 9th grade on. Lack of knowledge about personal finance can lead to accumulation of huge debt during college and beyond. This can be avoided by introducing TimeMAPS in 9-12 school curricula and exposing young people to the basic principles that can save them a lifetime of digging out from under a load of debt. TimeMAPS covers 54 Personal Finance lessons on 13 of the most important financial concepts that are necessary to master in order to be successful in life and money. By introducing TimeMAPS at the high school level and making it a graduation requirement, educators, parents and economic leaders in Idaho can be assured that young people will manage their money, handle debt and credit responsibly and become active and accountable participants in the state's economy.

TimeMAPS not only helps students learn the basics of personal finance, but prepares them for actual challenges in the real world. A comprehensive career exploration lesson exposes students to the many choices they have for life after high school, complete with geographically-specific salary, cost of living and tax information to inform their decisions. Work environment, skills required and information regarding prerequisite education is provided for more than 1400 job titles.

The TimeMAPS online testing system makes it easier for teachers to meet the Idaho State Standards while introducing 9-12 grade students to the complex subject of money management. The user-friendly, easy-to-navigate system helps instructors create a test or survey in less than a minute with a pre-loaded set of questions. It is also possible to design a test with a single lesson's questions or combine multiple lessons' questions. Teachers can also customize tests by editing and deleting existing questions to align more closely to their core curriculum requirements and Idaho State Standards for personal finance. This flexible and time-saving assessment tool provides instant grading for an immediate view of how well learning objectives are being met.

The Idaho State Standards emphasize that students should receive basic economic and personal finance education at an early age. A better understanding of personal finance will produce knowledgeable consumers and prudent money managers. Personal financial literacy will be improved not only to meet Idaho State Standards but to improve the quality of life for young people ready to embark on a lifetime of financial decisions.

For more information about how TimeMAPS can help you meet Idaho State Standards, economics or business math standards, please contact us today.