Personal Finance Simulation for Middle and High School Students

Junior Achievement Worldwide (JA) chose Enspire to create a simulation that could teach budgeting and personal finance skills to middle and high school students.

Challenge

JA is an international nonprofit organization with a wide array of programs that teach young people about financial literacy. One of these programs, JA Finance Park, provides middle and high school students with a comprehensive curriculum and rigorous in-class instruction about “personal financial planning and career exploration.” A handful of local JA offices have built brick-and-mortar “Finance Parks,” which serve as on-site capstone experiences wherein students receive new identities and make a month’s worth of budgeting decisions based on their imagined incomes and family obligations.

However, few local JA offices have the resources to construct these physical “Finance Parks.” Enspire was tasked with creating a virtual environment that offered a similarly rich and immersive experience. Conceptual learning is a critical component of financial literacy, but JA recognizes the value of letting students model real-world scenarios that require them to predict and adapt to changing circumstances. The simulation had to convey the importance of accurate calculations and careful decision making while maintaining the interest of middle and high school students.

Solution

Using the in-person JA Finance Park capstone as a model, Enspire developed a dynamic digital experience in which students are asked to put their learning to the test. Each student receives a random life situation that includes a career, salary, family information, and tax obligations. They must then determine their net monthly income, visit a series of stores, purchase items appropriate for their lifestyle, and balance their budget in a timely manner. In addition, students manage a stock portfolio whose value rises and falls in real time.

The simulation was designed to appeal to both students and their teachers. The visual design includes a motion graphic animation that introduces the experience, a cityscape of a busy town, and 19 illustrated characters. Enspire incorporated a number of gaming-inspired features, including customizable avatars, a scoreboard, interactive message boards, and option for students to increase their scores by searching the city for hidden opportunities. Teachers and administrators can access a sophisticated interface with detailed performance data about each user, allowing them to measure class progress and target students who need extra assistance.

Outcome

Over a two-month period, JA engaged a consulting firm to conduct pilot testing that gauged the impact of Finance Park. Over 1,000 students from more than 80 classrooms in 14 local JA offices participated in the pilot, and the results were overwhelmingly positive:

  • 93 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they “liked using a computer during the simulation sessions”
  • 89 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “the simulation sessions taught them valuable lessons for their financial future”
  • 86 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “the simulation sessions taught them valuable lessons for their work future”
  • 84 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the simulation portion of JA Finance Park was “fun”
  • 75 percent would recommend the simulation to a friend

The consulting firm also collected written responses from student participants. One raved, “I really liked how easy it was to use the program. Everything was explained really well and it was simple to do every task.” Another appreciated “how realistic this simulation was,” and said that the virtual JA Finance Park helped her understand how she would “finance [her] life in a few years.”

The teachers who led in-class pilot testing sessions were similarly impressed:

  • 96 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “the simulation sessions accommodated a range of students’ abilities in terms of using a computer-based program”
  • 91 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “the simulation sessions were easy to navigate”
  • 91 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “the simulation sessions provided clear instructions”

The simulation will be made available to students across the country enrolled in JA programs each year, along with public users who register for a limited trial version.