More than 100 elementary, middle and high school students from 55 schools across Maryland have won the statewide personal finance and economics competitions coordinated by the Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE). The winners were honored on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at an awards ceremony at Towson University.
The competitions, described below, provide a fun, competitive atmosphere for learning personal finance and economics - topics often not taught in schools. More than 20,000 students from 20 Maryland counties participated in MCEE’s competitions this school year - the highest student participation in MCEE’s annual programs in more than 13 years.
Highlights of the awards are a team from Severn School in Anne Arundel County winning the Personal Finance Challenge National Championship, two teams from Mount Hebron High School in Howard County winning the Economic Challenge National Championships, and a Howard County student earning 5th place in the national Investwrite essay competition.
Awards were presented to winners in:
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Stock Market Game™ (SMG): A semester- or year-long simulation challenging teams to create and manage an imaginary $100,000 portfolio to build the highest return on investment. Participants learn about the stock market, and the American and global economy while developing skills in math, reading, research and critical thinking.
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InvestWrite Essay Competition: A national writing competition that reinforces the economic & financial education concepts students learned by participating in the Stock Market Game™.
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Maryland Personal Finance Challenge: An academic competition where high school teams learn and demonstrate knowledge and application of personal finance concepts featuring case studies and quiz rounds. The Challenge is sponsored by M&T, WesBanco, State Farm, Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union, First Financial Federal Credit Union, and Towson University.
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The Maryland Economics Challenge: A one-day event in which teams of high school students exhibit their knowledge of micro and macroeconomic principles and the world economy.
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Personal Finance Poster Competition: Students demonstrate their understanding of economic concepts through original art.
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Financial Education Poetry Contest: This celebration of Financial Education month invited students and educators to create original poems about personal finance topics.
These competitions are coordinated by the Maryland Council on Economic Education, the nonprofit that helps Maryland's children graduate high school with the economic and financial knowledge and decision-making skills they need to succeed as adults. MCEE also works with educators by coordinating professional development experiences and creating lesson plans that incorporate financial education into any subject and for all grades. MCEE supports more than 2,000 teachers each year who reach over 228,000 Maryland students.
Said Julie Weaver, MCEE Executive Director, “The winning students from these statewide competitions should be proud of these wonderful accomplishments. They have creatively shown their understanding of personal finance and economics concepts and demonstrate how important this kind of learning is for all children.”
Click here for the full list of winners.
