AP Business Course: 1,500 Schools Launch New Finance Track

The College Board launched a new Advanced Placement Business with Personal Finance course this academic year in more than 1,500 high schools across the United States. The program marks the first time the organization has offered a business-specific AP track, moving beyond traditional subjects like history and chemistry to focus on practical financial skills.

David Coleman, CEO of the College Board, stated that the new course responds to student surveys indicating a desire to turn ideas into jobs. Coleman described business as a new component of liberal arts, arguing that the discipline is as important for student preparation as core areas like math and history. He noted that pedagogy mixing practical application with theoretical study is highly useful in the current environment.

At Hoover High School in Birmingham, Alabama, students are among the first to take the class. The school, which has a student body of nearly 3,000, offers the course alongside a four-year business academy that includes accounting and entrepreneurship. Students in the AP class study management and finance, learning about external factors such as political, economic, and legal conditions that impact businesses.

The curriculum includes personal financial planning. Students in the class discuss how they handle part-time job income. One junior, Darshan Parmar, stated that he invests in index funds, specifically S&P, QQQ, and VOO, and performs the investing himself. Other students reported putting 70 percent of their earnings into a Roth IRA, contributing to a 401(k), or buying individual stocks.

The AP course is part of a wider trend in high school finance education. Thirty-nine states now require a personal finance class for graduation, a number that is four higher than two years ago according to the Council for Economic Education. A Federal Reserve paper found that families in states with financial education requirements made better financial decisions, such as using pandemic stimulus checks to pay down credit card balances and refinance mortgages.

Students at Hoover High School cite academic benefits for taking the course. AP classes are often weighted higher in grade point average calculations. Sophomore Damola Kukoyi said the course allows her to boost her GPA while studying a topic she enjoys. Senior Rachel Deschaine, whose father owned a trucking company, said the lessons help her understand how people and companies interact financially. She described the business knowledge as opening up opportunities for individuals who understand how the system works.