A new national survey released by the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) provides strong data-driven support for its Make Financial Education a Core Subject (#MakeFinEdCore) campaign, revealing that high school graduates overwhelmingly view financial education as equal to - or more important than - traditional academic subjects for real-world success.

The survey, conducted between February 26 and March 3, 2026, included 1,281 high school graduates age 18 and older. Respondents were asked to compare financial education to thirteen core academic subjects using the prompt:

"On a scale of importance for real-world adult success, financial education is:"

The results were decisive.

Across all subjects evaluated, financial education was rated as equal to or more important 88.77% of the time, with no subject outperforming it in overall importance ratings.

• 51.32% rated financial education as more important
  
  
• 37.46% rated it about equally important
  
  
• Only 11.23% rated other subjects as more important

View Full Results at: https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-education-vs-core-subjects-survey/

"The data reveals a clear disconnect between how schools prioritize subjects and what adults say actually matters in real life," said Vince Shorb, CEO of the National Financial Educators Council. "When nearly nine out of ten graduates place financial education at or above core disciplines, it signals that it's time to Make Financial Education a Core Subject."

Financial Education Outranks Many Core Subjects

Graduates consistently rated financial education as more important than several traditional subjects:

• 70.74% rated it more important than Algebra 2
  
  
• 70.62% more important than Foreign Language
  
  
• 69.67% more important than Chemistry
  
  
• 68.68% more important than Geometry
  
  
• 63.53% more important than Algebra 1
  
  
• 55.03% more important than Biology

By contrast, very small percentages of respondents rated core subjects as more important than financial education:

• Chemistry: 3.98%
  
  
• Biology: 7.75%
  
  
• Algebra 1: 7.77%
  
  
• Geometry: 9.90%

Subjects such as English, civics, and economics were most often rated as "about equally important," reflecting overlap in real-world application.

Implications for Education Policy

The findings reinforce a central premise of the Make Financial Education a Core Subject campaign: financial capability is a foundational life skill that directly affects independence, stability, and long-term success.

Despite this, financial education is often treated as a secondary subject - frequently limited to short courses or minimal instructional time - while core subjects are delivered with structured standards, qualified educators, and accountability systems.

The survey results suggest that aligning financial education with the same academic standards as core subjects would better reflect students' needs and priorities as they transition into adulthood.