Americans Lag In Financial Literacy, But Riverside County Aims To Make Changes

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Financial literacy in the United States is relatively low compared to that of some other developed nations, and American schoolchildren are not receiving the education they need to improve these rates, according to data from the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index and the Pew Research Center.

The Riverside Office of Education announced last week that it is working to address the issue by introducing a new interactive online tool that provides free financial literacy lessons for Riverside County students.

Footsteps2Brilliance Financial Literacy is a bilingual, cross-curricular program that helps students in grades 4–8 build career-ready skills while strengthening reading, writing, math, and critical thinking.

While using the program, students explore careers, make informed financial decisions, and apply what they learn through interactive graphic-novel story adventures. With built-in AI writing support and real-time reports, teachers get the tools they need to drive engagement, according to the RCOE.

The program’s content can be integrated into both English and Spanish Language Arts instruction, summer learning initiatives, before- and after-school enrichment, reading intervention blocks, social studies courses, elective offerings, or career readiness pathways.

A pilot program earlier in 2025 revealed that students showed a 76.6% gain in financial literacy knowledge from pre-test to post-test, according to the RCOE.

Footsteps2Brilliance Financial Literacy is now available at no cost to all 4th–8th grade students and their families in Riverside County. Families can register today at footsteps2brilliance.com/riverside.

“I believe that financial literacy can be the great equalizer in our society, and I’m excited that the Footsteps2Brilliance team has accepted the challenge to develop an innovative tool to help our students succeed in school and in life,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez.

According to May data from the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, financial literacy remains at low levels, with U.S. adults, on average, correctly answering only 49% of index questions across eight key personal finance areas.

A 2023 Pew Research study found that fewer than 20% of survey respondents reported learning about personal finance during their K-12 educational years.