Assessing and analyzing the level of economic understanding for eleventh- and twelfth-grade students in Southeast Ohio

The purpose of this study is to determine the level of economic understanding in grades 11 and 12 for eight counties in Southeast Ohio. The test instrument is the Test of Economic Literacy (TEL). The TEL is a nationally-normed, standardized test designed to measure a student's level of understanding in economics for grades 11 and 12. The questions on the TEL are categorized into four major economic areas or concepts as follows: Fundamental economic concepts, microeconomic concepts, macroeconomic concepts, and international economic concepts. There are 46 multiple-choice questions on the TEL.;The TEL was administered to 665 students in Athens county, Ohio in March 1995. The sample consisted of 374 eleventh graders and 291 twelfth graders. The sample scores from Southeast Ohio were then compared to the national norming data. Analysis of the data also included a comparison between students with at least one prior economics course and those with no prior economic instruction. Additionally, the study determined in which economic areas and subjects the Southeast Ohio students had the highest level of understanding and in which areas and subjects they had the lowest level of understanding.;Through this research, it was determined the eleventh grade students in Southeast Ohio had a significantly higher level of economic understanding than the national average for eleventh grade. However, the twelfth grade students' level of economic understanding in Southeast Ohio is significantly lower than the national average for twelfth grade. It was also determined that students with at least one economics course scored significantly higher than students with no prior economic instruction in Southeast Ohio.;Through this study it was also determined that of the four economic areas, students in Southeast Ohio understood microeconomics the best and international economics the least. Additionally, the study determined the students in Southeast Ohio scored highest in the following three subjects: money, types of economic systems, and competition. They scored the lowest in the following three subjects: scarcity of resources, market failures, and inflation.;This study provides many insights into the level of economic understanding in grades 11 and 12 for Southeast Ohio. Since this is the first known study of economic understanding in Southeast Ohio, its results and conclusions are both informative and interesting.