The National Financial Educators Council helps organizations conducts surveys and pre & post testing.  The information provided below will share practical tips that can help you conduct your own financial literacy survey and will share the results of our past surveys.

In the most recent survey conducted by the NFEC, it was found that the majority of adult survey respondents were not given a financial education.  This is also true of college-age participants - most have not been provided any form of money management training.  Many of the problems people are experiencing today correlate with level of financial education they have received.

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There are several financial literacy surveys the NFEC can provide or conduct on behalf of your organization.  The full service option is for those organizations that want all the details handles.  The NFEC creates the financial literacy survey, administer it and then deliver results.  Our self hosted programs allow you to administer the financial literacy survey designed by the NFEC.

Conducting a financial literacy survey before and after your participants enter your financial education course allows you to measure the results thereby increasing the possibility of receiving financial literacy funding (of course, assuming that your program results are positive).

To get more information on the NFECs’ financial literacy survey simply fill out the form on the ‘Solution Center’ page or contact us.

Conducting your own Financial Literacy Survey Questionnaire

Paul Yates, Financial Education Consultant

People are becoming increasingly aware that we are in need of financial education courses to be delivered to our children.  The recent financial literacy surveys have shown a dismal understanding of basic money management skills, and this has raised the concern of our government and education officials.

Financial literacy surveys have helped raise awareness about this matter and the ongoing administering of these tests will continue to drive the push for personal finance training. Until the day that surveys start showing positive results the financial education movement needs to keep moving forward in full force.

For those that want to administer their own financial literacy survey, there are some resources available to you.  Of course, working with a professional organization that has experience in conducting surveys is always preferred but sometimes budgets don’t allow of that option.  This article will focus on how you and administer tests and surveys yourself for a minimal investment of time.

Your first step is to decide what you want the focus of your financial literacy survey to be about.  Do you want to measure knowledge levels, emotional responses or measure their motivational levels?  Deciding on the theme of your survey will help you through the rest of this process.  Furthermore, if you are conducting a financial literacy survey after your financial education course be sure the survey questions are addressed in your coursework, otherwise you may get skewed results.   

Once that is decided upon then write out some questions and the response choices.  It is best if you can share these Q & A’s with a group that can help you develop your financial education survey.  Other people may help you to flush out questions that aren’t clear or hard to comprehend.

Sample financial literacy survey questions can include things from rating your financial confidence level to specific questions designed to measure their knowledge.  You can design a questionnaire that best meets your goals and remember to ask yourself ‘what is it that I want to find out’.

It is important that all your survey questions and answers are clear and written so your audience can understand what is being asked.  Studies show that most people have a junior high reading level so leave out the colorful words and instead opt for clear and concise questions.

Once you have the questions squared away you can use a free service like Survey Monkey to conduct your financial literacy survey.  This company, and others like it, allows you to create a survey and gather the data.  You can post this survey on a website or event email it out.  They track the results of your financial literacy survey, and many have options to help you evaluate the results.

Just like setting financial goals, conducting financial literacy surveys allow you to know when to celebrate.  Set big yet achievable goals for your financial education course and continue to grow your program each year.  Hopefully, your survey results will continue to improve year after year. 

Administering a financial literacy survey is an excellent suggestion for anyone who wants quantitative data or just a better understanding of those they touched.   Leverage existing financial literacy survey questionnaires or create one yourself.  If you need help with this contact the NFEC and our solution expert will be in touch.