Why can't Johnny understand
inflation? Attorney General Henry McMaster wants to know.
The SC Council on Economic Education, in conjunction
with McMaster's office and Merrill Lynch, earlier this
year gave a 20-question quiz on economic principles to
529 students at 10 high schools.
The average score: A woeful 53 percent. Average scores
by schools ranged from 38 percent to 61 percent, which
McMaster's office says indicates "students even in the
best scoring schools are still receiving an 'F' for their
economic understanding on a traditional grading scale."
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The average ninth-grader
correctly answered 7.9 of the 20 questions. For seniors,
it rose to 11.4 percent.
Helen Meyers, president of
the state's economic education council, said scores might
improve as economics education continues to be linked
with Social Studies standards taught in S.C. public schools.
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