AP Business Finance: 1,500 Schools Adopt New College-Level Course

The College Board launched a new Advanced Placement course titled Business with Personal Finance this academic year, placing the curriculum in more than 1,500 high schools across the United States. This marks the first time the specific business finance syllabus has been available to secondary students. The organization, which also administers the SAT, developed the course in response to survey data indicating that students wished to apply their academic learning to career creation.

At Hoover High School in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb, students are among the first to take the class. The school, which has a student body of nearly 3,000 and is the largest high school in Alabama, offers the course alongside its existing AP economics program. Students in the new class study management, financial planning, and the external factors that influence business operations, including political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal elements.

David Coleman, CEO of the College Board, described the subject as a new component of the liberal arts. He stated that the discipline involves the constant learning of adaptation and that this pedagogy, which blends practical application with theory, is highly useful today. Coleman argued that business is as essential for preparing students for the world as traditional core subjects like mathematics and history.

In the classroom, students discuss how they manage income from part-time jobs. Junior Darshan Parmar said he invests his paychecks in index funds such as the S&P 500, QQQ, and VOO. He confirmed that he handles the investing process himself without parental intervention. Other students in the class contribute to Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, or individual stock purchases. Senior Bramley Williams described the material as a foundational piece of business education.

The introduction of the AP course aligns with a national trend toward mandatory financial literacy. According to the Council for Economic Education, 39 states now require a personal finance class for high school graduation. This represents an increase of four states compared to two years ago. A Federal Reserve paper from a few years ago found that families in states with financial education requirements made better financial decisions during the pandemic, such as using stimulus checks to pay down credit card balances and refinance mortgages.

Jennifer Steele, a professor of education at American University, noted that youth educated on responsible money usage tend to apply those lessons effectively. At Hoover High, sophomore Damola Kukoyi said the AP course allows her to boost her grade point average while studying a topic she enjoys. The school also maintains a four-year business academy that includes accounting and entrepreneurship classes.

Senior Rachel Deschaine, whose father owns a trucking company and whose brother is an economics major, said the class helps her see financial interactions in daily life. She stated that business knowledge is present in everything and that understanding it opens up opportunities for individuals.