"Gender and Student Achievement in Personal Finance: Evidence from Keys to Financial Success"

In this paper, we examine the performance of male and female students participating in a unique and successful high school program called Keys to Financial Success. Using the Financial Fitness for Life High School Test (FFFL-HS) results from 965 students enrolled in a one-semester Keys course, we discover no gender gap at the overall pretest level. We find, however, a significant gender gap favoring female students at the overall posttest level, a result that is also consistent with the overall performance of students participating in the norming of the FFFL-HS Test. We conclude by suggesting that the use of a carefully designed personal finance course, taught by instructors trained on the specific curriculum covered in that course, is essential for providing equal learning opportunities to both male and female high school students.