High school students guess what happens to money deposited into checking accounts

Raymond Chen

In August 2007, the results of the first nationwide high school economics graduation tests were released. (Download the report [pdf].) It appears that the results were better than expected, but let’s not celebrate too quickly: The results were that 42% of students rated “Proficient” and 3% “Advanced”. And only 52% of the students could answer this multiple-choice question correctly:

What happens to most of the money deposited in checking accounts at a commercial bank?

1. It is used to pay the bank’s expenses.
2. It is loaned to other bank customers.
3. It is kept in the bank’s vault until depositors withdraw the funds.
4. It is paid to owners of the bank as return on their investment.

I guess 48% of the students have never seen It’s a Wonderful Life.

Raymond Chen

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