• Bridge the gap between the business sector and educators and work together to ensure that our schools have the resources to teach economics successfully;
• Identify strategies for improving economic and financial literacy in Hawai`i;
• Increase awareness in Hawai`i about the importance of economic and financial literacy; and
• Further strengthen relationships and deepen commitments made at the last conference.

Each year the Hawai`i Council on Economic Education (the "Council") organizes and funds original research on economic education in the State of Hawai`i for presentation at the Learning for Life Conference. In 2004, the Council, in cooperation with the Hawaii State Department of Education, conducted a survey to assess the economic and financial literacy of seniors in Hawaii's public high schools. Students were asked to answer 20 multiple-choice questions on a variety of topics central to either microeconomics or macroeconomics. Question topics ranged from the effects of inflation to the functions of money to the definition of an entrepreneur.

Results were compiled from 521 student surveys encompassing 19 public high schools. Schools from each of the seven public school districts were represented in the survey. Overall, the average score on the exam was 10.7 of 20 questions or 54 percent. When the sample is separated into students who have completed a semester of economics and students who have not, we found that taking a semester of economics marginally improves student performance in our survey. Students completing a semester of economics register an average score of 11.43, while students without a full semester of economics register an average score of 10.26.

While these results imply that a course in high school economics improves students understand of the topic, the relatively small gain in score was cause for concern. There was also great variation in performance across and within schools. Using the data on student and school quality that was acquired from the original survey, it was not possible to fully explain the variation in scores. The question that arose from this work was the following: what makes for a successful Economics course? Is it the teacher, the student, the school's budget, a particular textbook, or something else?

This year, in coordination with the University of Hawai`i Economic Research Organization (UHERO), the Council conducted follow-up research to delve deeper into the matter and try to figure out the determinants of a successful Economic course. The project was called "Economic Education Case Study Project: Lessons from the Field."

Following the video welcome (read text) from U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Dr. Denise Konan, Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, provided background on the Economic Education Case Study Project and introduced its lead researcher, Michael Kimmitt to present the results.

Download the 2004 Survey Take the Survey Yourself

Following the research presentation, Howard Dicus, Web & Broadcast Editor for Pacific Business News, moderated a Panel Discussion that provided feedback in response to the presentation. Panelists included Larry Fuller (Pacific Business News), Jeanne Skog (Maui Economic Development Board), Securities Commissioner Corrina Wong (Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs), Dennis Tynan (Nanakuli High School), and Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland (Hawaii State Legislature). Howard encouraged participation from the conference attendees. Key points that came out of the discussion included but were not limited to:

• Economic & Financial Literacy are critical. There was not a consensus on how to implement a successful course -- partially because Not everyone defines economics in the same way.
• Many felt that economics should be taught at a more personal and less global level.
• Many felt that personal finance should be taught in the context of economics for optimum results.
• The survey used to test student economic knowledge may not have tested for certain concepts that are imperative to understand and may have tested for concepts that are of lower priority to the high school student.

The afternoon sessions were specifically designed for teachers but all conferees were welcome. The first session was a presentation of the Council's grassroots plan to ensure that every high school student in Hawaii take an effective economics course prior to graduation. Teachers gave crucial feedback which the Council plans to incorporate into the plan over the next several months.

Following the feedback session, teachers were able to choose from two concurrent sessions:

• Open & Operating:
  The Federal Reserve Responds to September 11
  Jody Hoff, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
  
  
• Hawaii Stock Market Simulation:
  Brush-Up on your Investing Basics
  Mark Brookshire , STOCK-TRAK
  George Kaluhiokalani, Merrill Lynch