1.
Students’ financial literacy:
results from PISA 2015
Andreas SCHLEICHER

2.
The PISA financial literacy test
• In 2015, around 48 000 students were assessed in financial
literacy, representing about 12 million 15-year-olds in the
schools of the 15 participating countries and economies
• Students in countries and economies that participated in the
financial literacy answered
– a two-hour combination of tasks in science, reading and mathematics
– A one-hour test in financial literacy (43 items) after the core assessment
– Questions about their experience with money such as discussing money
matters with parents, basic financial products and sources of money
(through a ‘money management questionnaire’)
… in addition to the standard questions about their personal background

3.
Some 56% of 15-year-olds in participating OECD
countries and economies have a bank account,
19% have a prepaid debit card
Young people are already financial consumers and will soon
encounter complex financial decision, like student loans
Some 64% earn money from some type of work
activity
56%
64%
But fewer than one in three students have the
skills to manage a bank account 31%

4.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Peru
Brazil
Chile
Lithuania
Russian Federation
Slovak Republic
China
Italy
Belgium
Poland
Spain
Canada
Netherlands
Australia
United States
Made payments online using the Internet Made a transaction using a mobile phone
Many young people use digital financial products
Source: World Bank Global Findex, 2014
Percentage of young people age 15-24 who have:
%

5.
• On average across participating OECD countries and
economies, 84% discuss money matters with their
parents at least once a month
• Students who do so tend to perform better in financial
literacy
Students acquire financial skills from their parents…
But up to what their parents can transmit them
• But financial skills are strongly related to the
socio-economic background of their family
• Advantaged students score 89 points higher in
financial literacy than disadvantaged students
84%
89 score
points

6.
Globalisation and digital technologies have made financial products
and services more widely accessible but also more challenging
• More challenging financial choices
– The spread of digital financial services opens up new opportunities for
financially excluded people to access the formal financial system…
– but also exposes consumers to new security threats and risks of fraud that
are compounded when low financial literacy is combined with poor digital
skills and low cyber security awareness
• More financial risks
– Increased life expectancy, less welfare protection, more “individualized”
pensions, and more uncertain economic and job prospects due to
digitalization, technological change, globalization
• Growing inequality

7.
Financial education is a complement
to financial consumer protection, inclusion and regulation
• More challenging financial choices
– The spread of digital financial services opens up new opportunities for
financially excluded people to access the formal financial system…
– but also exposes consumers to new security threats and risks of fraud that
are compounded when low financial literacy is combined with poor digital
skills and low cyber security awareness
• More financial risks
– Increased life expectancy, less welfare protection, more “individualised”
pensions, and more uncertain economic and job prospects due to
digitalisation, technological change, globalisation
• Growing inequality
Financial
literacy
Consumer
protection and
regulation

8.
Knowledge and understanding of financial
concepts and risks…
…and the skills, motivation and confidence to
apply such knowledge and understanding…
…in order to make effective decisions across
a range of financial contexts, to improve the
financial well-being of individuals and
society, and to enable participation in
economic life
Financial literacy in PISA

9.
What does financial literacy mean for the lives of 15-year-olds?
•…if they go to the cinema, will they still have enough money for the bus
fare home? Or would it be better to buy pizza and invite friends home?
Balance their priority and plan
what to spend money on
•…a games console will need new games, a motorbike will need fuel, tyres
and services
Remember that some of the
purchases have ongoing costs
• …Some emails that look like they came from their bank might not be
legitimate, they should know what to do if they are not sure
Being alert
to possible fraud
•…If their phone gets stolen, they should ask their parents if it is covered
by their household insurance
Knowing what risk is and what
insurance is meant for
•…they should know that if they buy a computer on credit they will have
to pay interest on the loan, on top of the advertised price for the
compute
Make an informed decision
about credit

10.
PISA framework for financial literacy
Content
Money and transactions
Planning and managing
finances
Risk and reward
Financial landscape
Processes
Identifying financial
information
Analyse information in a
financial context
Evaluate financial issues
Apply financial knowledge
and understanding
Contexts
Education and work
Home and family
Individual
Societal

11.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Italy
Spain
UnitedStates
Canadianprovinces
Chile
Australia
OECDaverage-10
SlovakRepublic
Russia
Lithuania
Poland
B-S-J-G(China)
Netherlands
Belgium(Flemish)
%
Working outside school hours (e.g. a holiday job, part-time work)
Working in a family business
Occasional informal jobs (e.g. baby-sitting or gardening)
Any work activity (working outside school hours and/or working in a family business and/or occasional informal jobs)
Some 64% of students earn money
from some formal or informal work activity
Table IV.5.15
Percentage of students who receive money from:

12.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Chile
Poland
Russia
Italy
Lithuania
SlovakRepublic
B-S-J-G(China)
Spain
UnitedStates
OECDaverage-10
Belgium(Flemish)
Canadianprovinces
Australia
Netherlands
%
Students holding a bank account
Students holding a bank account who perform below proficiency Level 4
Often two out of three of the students who hold a bank
account do not have the skills to manage such an account
Table IV.5.13b
At Level 4, students can
apply their understanding of
complex financial concepts,
interpret and evaluate
financial documents such as
a bank statement, and make
financial decisions taking into
account longer-term
consequences, such as
understanding the overall
cost implication of paying
back a loan
Students who have a bank
account but do not reach
proficiency Level 4

13.
Students using basic financial products or earning from work
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Netherlands
Australia
Canadian
provinces
Belgium
(Flemish)
OECD
average-10
Italy
United
States
Spain
B-S-J-G
(China)
Russia
Slovak
Republic
Lithuania
Chile
Poland
%
Student has a prepaid debit card but no bank account Student has a bank account but no prepaid debit card
Student has both a bank account and a prepaid debit card Student earns money from a work activity

14.
• Percentage of students in Australia at bachelor’s,
master’s or doctoral levels who had a public
student loan in 2013/14
79%
• Percentage of bachelor’s-degree students in the
United States who had a public student loan in
2013/14
62%
• Average amount of debt students graduate with
in the Netherlands
USD
18 000
• Average amount of debt students graduate with in
Canada
USD
12 000
In some countries, students nearing the end of compulsory
education will soon decide whether to take a student loan
Source: Education at a Glance 2016
0 20 40 60 80 100
Australia
United States
Netherlands
Participating
Canadian
provinces
%
Percentage of 15-year-old students
who perform at Level 4 and above

15.
Countries vary in how well they prepare
students for the financial world
…and in how quickly they improve outcomes

16.
B-S-J-G (China)
Belgium (Flemish)
Canadian
provinces
Russia
Netherlands
Australia
United StatesPoland
Italy
Spain
Lithuania
Slovak Republic
Chile
Peru
Brazil
380
400
420
440
460
480
500
520
540
560
580
Mean performance in
financial literacy
Mean financial
literachy score
Figure IV.3.2
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
Russia
Italy
UnitedStates
Belgium(Flemish)
OECDaverage-7
Spain
SlovakRepublic
Australia
Poland
Three-year
score-point
difference
Change between 2012 and 2015

17.
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
Lithuania
SlovakRepublic
Poland
Australia
Spain
Brazil
OECDaverage-10
Netherlands
Canadianprovinces
Peru
Russia
Belgium(Flemish)
UnitedStates
Chile
B-S-J-G(China)
Italy
Before accounting for performance in other subjects
After accounting for performance in mathematics and reading
Few gender differences in mean scores…
Figure IV.4.4
Score-pointdifference
Girls perform better
Boys perform better
Gender differences in
financial literacy may be
related to different
opportunities for learning,
different contexts in
which men and women
grow up and live, and to
a possible variation of
these factors across
generations.
Difference between boys and girls

18.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Peru
Brazil
Lithuania
Chile
SlovakRepublic
Spain
Italy
Poland
Russia
UnitedStates
OECDaverage-10
Australia
Netherlands
Canadianprovinces
Belgium(Flemish)
B-S-J-G(China)
Boys
Girls
…but more boys than girls are low performers
Figure IV.4.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Boys
Girls
Studentsbelow
Level2
Studentsat
Level5
%
%

19.
Relationships matter
Parents have a significant role,
but not all parents can play this role

20.
420
440
460
480
500
520
Students who discuss
money matters more
often with friends than
with parents
Students who discuss
money matters equally
often with parents and
friends
Students who discuss
money matters more
often with parents than
with friends
Scorepoints
Relationships matter:
Financial literacy, family and friends (after accounting for social background)
Figure IV.5.2

21.
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
SlovakRepublic
Russia
Italy
Poland
Brazil
Lithuania
Spain
Canadianprovinces
OECDaverage-10
Chile
UnitedStates
Peru
Netherlands
Australia
Belgium(Flemish)
Oddsratios
Increased likelihood of socio-economically disadvantaged students to be low performers in financial literacy
Even after looking at students with similar math and reading
performance, disadvantaged students are about twice as likely as
advantaged students to be low performers
Table IV.4.25a

22.
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
Peru117
Brazil78
Chile103
SlovakRepublic80
Lithuania71
Spain79
UnitedStates97
OECDaverage-1089
Italy60
Poland73
Australia107
Netherlands104
Belgium(Flemish)110
Russia46
Canadianprovinces77
B-S-J-G(China)132
Scorepoints
Wealthiest quarter (ESCS)
Third quarter
Second quarter
Poorest quarter
Difference
between students
in the top quarter
and students in
the bottom
quarter of this
index
Socio-economically advantaged students score 89 points higher
than disadvantaged students, on average across the OECD,
equivalent to more than one PISA proficiency level
Table IV.4.11
Mean score, by quarters of the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS)

23.
Financial literacy skills is more than reading and math
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
Lithuania
Spain
SlovakRepublic
Poland
Chile
Italy
OECDaverage-10
Netherlands
Brazil
Australia
UnitedStates
Peru
Canadianprovinces
Russia
Belgium(Flemish)
B-S-J-G(China)
Score-pointdifference
Students’ performance in
financial literacy is lower
than the performance of
students with similar scores
in mathematics and reading
Students’ performance in
financial literacy is higher
than the performance of
students with similar scores
in mathematics and reading
Figure IV.3.12
Difference between the actual financial literacy score and the score predicted by students’
performance in mathematics and reading
Highest performing
countries/economies

24.
Learning by doing
Students develop financial and economic understanding, skills and
habits not only through talking to parents and observing their
behaviour, but also via personal experiences and learning by doing

25.
On average, students who hold a bank account perform better in
financial literacy than students of similar socio-economic status
who do not have a bank account
Figure IV.5.5
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
SlovakRepublic
Russia
Lithuania
Poland
B-S-J-G(China)
Chile
UnitedStates
OECDaverage-10
Italy
Belgium(Flemish)
Australia
Spain
Canadianprovinces
Netherlands
Score-pointdifference
After accounting for socio-economic status Before accounting for socio-economic status
Difference between students who have a bank account and students who do not

26.
Students who receive pocket money for
doing chores at home, those who earn
money from part-time jobs or in a family
business score lower in financial literacy
Students who receive gifts of money
score higher in financial literacy.
Gifts may be related to higher financial literacy if they provide an
occasion for students to think about their saving and spending
decisions, but also if high-performing students receive money as a
reward for school performance
Sources of money and financial literacy

27.
• Boys are more likely than girls to be involved in regular work
activities, and to receive money in exchange for work, while girls in
some countries and economies are more likely than boys to receive
money in the form of allowances or gifts
• Socio-economically advantaged students are more likely to receive
money from occasional informal jobs, such as babysitting or
gardening, and from gifts than disadvantaged students.
Disadvantaged students are more likely to earn money by working
outside of school hours than advantaged students
Other findings

28.
Financial literacy and
forward-looking thinking
On average across countries, high-performing students are more
than three times as likely as students without baseline financial
skills to say they would save rather than buy the item anyway
Hypothetical spending behavior is not associated with gender and
only weakly with social background

29.
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
Try to borrow money
from a family
member
Try to borrow money
from a friend
Save up to buy it Not buy it
Oddsratio
Level 2 or 3 Level 4 or 5
Students' financial literacy is associated with understanding
the value of saving (after accounting for math and reading and social background)
Figure IV.6.2
High performing students are
more than three times as likely
as low-performing students in
financial literacy to choose the
statement "Save up to buy it"
rather than "Buy it with money
that really should be used for
something else“, after
accounting for performance in
mathematics and reading and
other characteristics.

30.
Financial literacy and student motivation
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
I want to be able to
select from among the
best opportunities
available when I
graduate
I want top grades in
most or all of my courses
I see myself as an
ambitious person
I want to be one of the
best students in my class
I want to be the best,
whatever I do
Score-point difference
Before accounting for performance in other domains
After accounting for performance in mathematics and reading

31.
Financial
literacy
skills for
all
students
Address the
needs of low-
performing
students
Tackle socio-
economic
inequalities
early on
Provide equal
opportunities for
learning to boys
and girls
Help students
make the most of
available learning
opportunities at
school
Target parents at
the same time as
young people
Provide young
people with safe
opportunities to
learn by experience
outside of school
Evaluate the
impact of
initiatives in
and outside of
school
A multifaceted policy agenda

32.
• Over 50 countries have or are developing a financial
education strategy that…
– recognizes the importance of financial education – including
possibly through legislation – and defines its meaning and scope
– involves the co-operation of different stakeholders as well as the
identification of a coordinating body
– establishes a roadmap to achieve specific and predetermined
objectives within a set period of time
– provides guidance for individual programmes in order to efficiently
and appropriately contribute to the national strategy
National strategies for financial education

33.
• Several countries started introducing financial literacy
elements in the school curriculum into existing subjects,
built teacher capabilities and developed instructional
materials
• Some examples for evaluating financial education in
school (Brazil, Italy, Spain, US)
Initiatives in school

34.
• Videos, competitions, interactive tools, events (money
weeks, savings day), museums, serious games
…complementary to school initiatives
…can reach out-of-school young people
… participation of non-profits and private sector can bring
resources, but also up-to-date experience on financial issues
…needs to be integrated in national strategies
Out of school initiatives

35.
Find out more about our work at www.oecd.org/pisa
– All publications
– The complete micro-level database
Email: Andreas.Schleicher@OECD.org
Twitter: SchleicherOECD
Wechat: AndreasSchleicher
Thank you