"I'm Cooked": Financial Literacy, Policy Optionality, and Educational Inequity in Massachusetts High Schools

Financial literacy has emerged as a critical determinant of economic stability, mobility, and resilience, yet access to formal financial education in U.S. high schools remains uneven and largely discretionary. This paper examines the case of Massachusetts—a state that consistently ranks first in overall educational performance but receives failing marks for financial literacy—to assess whether optional, non-mandated approaches to personal finance education can deliver equitable outcomes. Drawing on national empirical literature, state-issued policy reports, and a localized case study, this paper argues that policy optionality is the central mechanism through which financial literacy efforts in the Commonwealth have stagnated and declined. Indeed, this paper further concludes that a standalone financial literacy graduation requirement represents the most effective and evidence-based mechanism for translating existing efforts into universal access, particularly as the Commonwealth reconsiders graduation frameworks in the post-MCAS era.