1,500 High Schools Offer New AP Business Finance Course

The College Board introduced a new Advanced Placement course called Business with Personal Finance this school year. More than 1,500 high schools across the United States are offering the class for the first time. The curriculum combines management principles with personal finance instruction. It serves as a college-level alternative to traditional AP subjects like history, English, and chemistry.

At Hoover High School in Birmingham, Alabama, students are currently enrolled in the new course. The school is located in an affluent suburb of Birmingham. It has a student body of nearly 3,000 people. This makes it the largest high school in Alabama. The campus features wide green spaces and a layout that resembles a university.

Students in the class discuss real-world financial decisions during lessons. One junior, Darshan Parmar, explains that he invests his part-time job earnings in index funds. He cites specific funds such as S&P, QQQ, and VOO. His teacher, Gerri Kimble, confirmed that Parmar manages these investments independently. Other students in the semicircle share different strategies. One puts 70 percent of his income into a Roth IRA. Another contributes to a 401(k). A third student invests directly in individual stocks.

David Coleman, the CEO of the College Board, stated that the organization created the course in response to student surveys. Those surveys indicated that students wanted to turn their ideas into jobs. Coleman describes business as the constant learning of adaptation. He argues that the subject is a new part of the liberal arts. He considers it as important for student preparation as core areas like math and history. Coleman said this mix of practical and theoretical pedagogy could not be more useful today.

The course is designed for students who prefer a practical curriculum over a theoretical one. It offers an alternative to AP economics, which is already available at many schools. The curriculum includes lessons on management and finances. It also covers outside factors that affect businesses. These factors are political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. Senior Bramley Williams at Hoover High School called business a foundational piece of their learning.

High schools in the United States are increasingly including lessons on finance in their standard requirements. Thirty-nine states now require a personal finance class for graduation. This is four more states than two years ago, according to the Council for Economic Education. A Federal Reserve paper from a few years ago found that families in states with financial education requirements made better financial decisions. These families were more likely to use pandemic stimulus checks to pay down credit card balances. They also refinanced mortgages when interest rates were low.

Jennifer Steele, a professor of education at American University, noted that youth are good at using money responsibly when educated. She said, "When we educate youth about how to use money responsibly they're really good at doing so." At Hoover High, many students have college aspirations. They view the AP course as a way to improve their grade point averages. AP classes often carry more weight in GPA calculations than other courses.

Sophomore Damola Kukoyi at Hoover High School said the course boosts her GPA and teaches her about a topic she loves. The school also offers a four-year business academy. This academy includes classes in accounting and entrepreneurship. Senior Rachel Deschaine is enrolled in the AP business course. Her father owned a trucking company, and her brother is majoring in economics. Deschaine said the lessons apply to conversations at her dinner table. She stated, "There's a business in literally everything." She added that understanding how business works opens up opportunities for a person.

The new AP course allows students to take an exam at the end of the year. Passing the exam can earn them college credit. This credit can be applied to their future university degrees. The College Board manages and administers the SAT as well as these advanced placement courses. The organization serves public and private schools across the country. The Business with Personal Finance course marks a shift in how high schools approach practical education.