School Curriculum: Economics
This page is designed to enable parents to understand what their child should be learning, when they should be learning it, and what degree of mastery the child should have attained (at a median level) by a certain grade level. For Homeschoolers, we hope that this page will serve as a valuable asset in establishing a baseline curriculum. For parents whose children attend public or private schools (or for the inquisitive student) this page should give some guidance as to whether or not the school curriculum and methods are providing students with an adequate standard of education.
What is meant by "Economics," why is it important, and how is it approached ? Below is a description of the core discipline and its components, and the answers to why-how-when these components are taught. Economics components have median level goals to be attained by the end of Grade 2, by the end of Grade 4, by the end of Grade 8, and by the end of Grade 12.
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A. Economic
Literacy, B. Economics
and Society
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STANDARD 6.5 (ECONOMICS) ALL STUDENTS WILL ACQUIRE AN UNDERSTANDING OF KEY ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES. |
Descriptive Statement: Economics is the study of human behavior in relation to scarce resources. It is also about responsible citizenship. Effective economic decisions within the roles of consumer, producer, saver, and investor are more likely to be made if students understand economic concepts and their applications. The understanding of economic principles, concepts, and analytical tools is also essential for career development and financial success in the 21st century. Our students live in a world of increasing global interdependence.
Students also need to understand that the economic decisions of institutions, governments, and individuals can have immediate and far-reaching impacts. Another goal of this standard is to provide students with the necessary economic knowledge and skills for a full understanding of political, social, and historical events. These events are often incompletely or inadequately understood without a firm grasp of their economic components. For example, no modern election is without economic aspects and, in fact, economic issues have dominated many recent elections. Therefore, it is essential that schools provide all students with a strong foundation in the social science of economics.
This standard addresses two strands across grades K-12:
A. Economic Literacy
B. Economics and Society
Strands and Cumulative Progress Indicators
By the end of Grade 2, students will:
A. Economic Literacy
1. Identify the basic goods and services a family needs for everyday life.
2. Explain how the products individuals eat, wear, and use impact their health and safety and the environment.
3. Identify various forms of currency (e.g., penny, nickel, quarter, dollar).
4. Explain what it means to "save" money.
B. Economics and Society
1. Identify various jobs and explain how workers in these jobs receive income for their work.
Building upon the knowledge and skills gained in the preceding grades, by the end of Grade 4, students will:
A. Economic Literacy
1. Distinguish between goods (e.g., objects) and services (e.g., activities).
2. Distinguish between a want and a need and explain how to choose needed goods and services.
3. Explain the three functions of money in the economy.
Medium of exchange (e.g., buying)
Measure of value (e.g., price comparison)
Store of value (e.g., saving)
4. Discuss how natural, human, and capital resources are used to produce goods and to provide services.
5. Explain that prices are the money value of goods and services and that prices change as a result of supply and demand.
6. Define consumers as buyers and producers as workers and sellers.
7. Explain that people can improve their ability to earn income by gaining new knowledge, skills, and experiences.
8. Describe how to earn and save money in order to purchase a needed or desired item.
B. Economics and Society
1. Explain that some essential goods and services are provided by the government, such as roads, schools, parks, police, and fire protection.
2. Describe products and services that are developed, manufactured, or grown in New Jersey.
Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:
A. Economic Literacy
1. Discuss how needs and wants change as one ages and the impact of planning, spending and saving.
2. Explain the law of supply and demand.
3. Compare ways to save money, including checking and savings accounts, stocks and bonds, and the relationship between risk and return in investments.
4. Describe the role credit plays in the economy and explain the difference in cost between cash and credit purchases.
5. Discuss the economic growth of a nation in terms of increasing productivity, investment in physical capital, and investment in human capital.
6. Describe how private industry acquires material and energy resources, provides jobs, raises financial capital, manages production processes, and markets goods and services that create wealth in order to meet consumer and industrial requirements.
7. Discuss how innovation, entrepreneurship, competition, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement in productivity are responsible for the rise in the standard of living in the United States and other countries with market economies.
8. Compare and contrast the characteristics of the three basic economic systems: traditional or barter and trade, market capitalism, and command (e.g., communism).
9. Explain what taxes are, how they are collected, and how tax dollars are used by local, state, and national governments to provide goods and services.
B. Economics and Society
1. Discuss how meeting the needs and wants of a growing world population impacts the environment and economic growth.
2. Describe the many ways federal, state, and local governments raise funds to meet the need for public facilities and government services.
3. Discuss how societies have been affected by industrialization and by different political and economic philosophies.
4. Describe how inventions and innovations have improved standards of living over the course of history.
5. Compare and contrast various careers, examining educational requirements and costs, salary and benefits, longevity, impact on society and the economy, and demand.
6. Analyze and give examples of how business and industry influence the buying decisions of consumers through advertising.
7. Discuss the need for ethical behavior in economic decisions and financial transactions
Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 12, students will:
A. Economic Literacy
1. Describe different types of local, state, and federal taxes such as sales, income, and social security, discuss how deductions, exemptions, and credits reduce taxable income, and explain the difference between a progressive and regressive tax.
2. Describe the purposes of social security and Medicare.
3. Explain and interpret basic economic indicators, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI) the rate of economic growth, the poverty rate, the deficit and national debt, and the trade deficit.
4. Identify entrepreneurs in the community and describe the risks and rewards of starting a new business.
5. Discuss how a market economy experiences periodic business cycles of prosperity and recession and that the federal government can adjust taxes, interest rates, spending, and other policies to help restore economic health.
6. Analyze federal and state budgets, and discuss the proportional share of government spending to major elements such as education, social programs, public safety, military, foreign aid, and welfare.
7. Analyze the impact of supply and demand on market adjustments and prices (e.g., real estate and interest rates).
8. Define basic terms associated with international trade such as imports, exports, quotas, embargoes, tariffs, and free trade.
9. Compare and contrast forms of insurance that protect individuals from loss or damage (e.g., life, property, health, disability, personal liability, bank deposits).
10. Explain how changes in exchange rates impact the purchasing power of people in the United States and other countries.
B. Economics and Society
1. Compare and contrast the roles of the United States government and the private sector in the United States economy (e.g., Federal Reserve System, United States Mint, Stock Exchange).
2. Evaluate international trade principles and policies.
3. Analyze labor and environmental issues affecting American citizens raised by economic globalization and free trade pacts.
4. Discuss the value and role of free and fair competition versus the social need for cooperation and how business, industry, and government try to reconcile these goals.
5. Analyze the importance of economic issues to politics and be able to distinguish the economic views of different political parties.
6. Analyze the connections and potential effects of the widening gap between the rich and the poor in the United States, the decline in labor union membership since 1950, rapidly advancing technology, globalization, and problems of public schools.
7. Compare and contrast the causes and consequences of discrimination in markets, employment, housing, business, and financial transactions.
8. Evaluate the activities and impact in various countries of major international institutions including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.
9. Describe how clearly defined and enforced property rights (e.g., copyright laws, patents) are essential to a market economy.
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