We recently reviewed Linda VanDeWeghe's class report card that we send at the end of the simulation. Her class showed an immense amount of progress throughout their 10-week simulation and we wanted to acknowledge her class's success.
Overall VanDeWeghe's students demonstrated an impressive average engagement of 90%. This boasts well for her classroom management skills. Our analysis has found unequivocally that high engagement leads to high student performance.
Our new pre/post tests on the material are valid and reliable but also difficult. Many adults would struggle to answer a majority correctly. That said, Mrs. VanDeWeghe's students are doing something right because their pre/post performance improved by 51%! When past studies of widely used financial literacy programs showed single digit and sometimes no improvement, that is certainly something to celebrate!
VanDeWeghe's students averaged 3.7 and 4.5 trophies of the six which is very good. We consider a student earning three to have demonstrated excellent student level financial capability. Trophies aren't something a student can "cram" to get. It requires considering trade-offs, timing, impact on other goals, etc.
Finally, by her own student’s self-evaluation, they believe they avoided an average of 2.8 mistakes in the future as a result of their participation. We love sharing with teachers their tangible success in the classroom. In addition, here is what a student said anonymously on the final survey.
How has participating in Budget Challenge affected your feelings toward financial management (i.e. do you feel more confident in your ability to manage your finances, do you feel more knowledgeable)?
I used to be very scared to manage a budget and money but now I feel that as long as I keep up with bills and budget wisely, I will be fine. I feel as though my confidence in money management is now supported by experience.
View Report Card