Mathematics of Personal Finance
Core Code Alignment
Mathematics
Other Mathematics
07070000020: Mathematics of Personal Finance
Other Mathematics
07070000020: Mathematics of Personal Finance
Recommendation
Recommended Primary
Evaluation
Our review of Pearson’s Mathematics of Personal Finance found that the materials generally align with state standards and do not appear to violate any laws. The curriculum provides sufficient practice for procedural skills and fluencies, with lessons focused on the Major Work of the grade and accessible through the online platform. However, there are gaps in coverage, particularly regarding career-focused content and task-based reasoning opportunities, and most lessons rely heavily on procedural questions with limited practice in reasoning. While the materials reference familiar brands and include diverse scenarios, a few examples may portray certain groups negatively, and assessment variety could be improved. Overall, the curriculum can serve as a useful resource, but supplemental materials would be necessary to fully support reasoning skills, diverse assessment types, and career-related content.
Educators Using These Materials
No educators found.
Material Categories
Comprehensive
Rubric : Mathematics 2025
Compliance with State Law (Required)
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensitive Materials and Prohibited Submission 53G-10-103, R277-628 | Does Not Violate Law | NA | NA | May Violate Law | ||
| We have not found any evidence to indicate that Pearson’s Mathematics of Personal Finance curriculum is in violation of any state laws. | ||||||
| Prohibited discriminatory practices 53G-2-103-5, 53B-1-118 and 67-27-107 | Does Not Violate Law | NA | NA | May Violate Law | ||
| We have not found any evidence to indicate that Pearson’s Mathematics of Personal Finance curriculum is in violation of any state laws. | ||||||
| Maintaining constitutional freedom in the public schools. 53G-10-202 | Does Not Violate Law | NA | NA | May Violate Law | ||
| We have not found any evidence to indicate that Pearson’s Mathematics of Personal Finance curriculum is in violation of any state laws. | ||||||
| Free from advertising, e-commerce, or political interest | Contains none of the listed items. | NA | NA | Contains one or more of the listed items. | ||
| The text includes frequent references to various brands and corporations. While these references do not constitute explicit advertising, certain brand names are used repeatedly throughout the material. Additionally, Pearson includes promotional content for its own app and study tools associated with other courses. | ||||||
Focus and Coherence (Non-Negotiable)
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-negotiable materials must focus coherently on the Major Work of the grade in a way that is consistent with the progressions in the standards. 1- Student and teachers using the materials as designed devote the majority of time to the Major Work of the grade. 2- Supporting Work enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by also engaging students in the Major Work of the grade. 3- Materials follow the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards. Content from previous or future grades does not unduly interfere. 4- Lessons that only include mathematics from previous grades are clearly identified. Materials that do not meet the non-negotiable requirements for Focus and Coherence will not be recommended as primary resources. Please continue with the review to determine if the materials may be recommended for supplemental use. | Meets all non-negotiable requirements | NA | NA | Does not meet the non-negotiable requirements. *see narrative for determination of which requirement(s) was not met | ||
| The alignment document indicates that the materials do not address all required standards. In particular, we observed a notable gap in coverage related to career-focused content, which limits the curriculum’s coherence with the full scope of the intended standards. | ||||||
Rigor and Balance
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The materials support the development of students’ conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts, especially where called for in specific standards or cluster headings. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| The materials sufficiently support the development of students’ conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts, and we did not identify any additional concerns in this area. | ||||||
| The materials are designed so that students attain the fluencies and procedural skills required by the Standards. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| We found that the curriculum and accompanying online platform provide sufficient opportunities for students to develop the fluencies and procedural skills required by the Standards. | ||||||
| The materials are designed so that teachers and students spend sufficient time working with applications, without losing focus on the Major Work of each grade. (Are there single and multi-step contextual problems that develop the mathematics of the grade, afford opportunities for practice, and engage students in problem solving?) | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| The materials maintain a strong focus on the Major Work of the grade, providing ample opportunities for practice and application. Lessons are well-structured, and the resources are straightforward for teachers to use and implement effectively. | ||||||
Standards for Mathematical Practice
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials address the practice standards in such a way as to enrich the Major Work of the grade; practice standards strengthen the focus on Major Work instead of detracting from it, in both teacher and student materials. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| The materials effectively integrate the practice standards in a way that enriches the Major Work of the grade. The content is well explained and thoughtfully scaffolded, making it accessible and supportive for students across a range of skill levels. | ||||||
| Tasks and assessments of student learning are designed to provide evidence of students’ proficiency in the Standards of Mathematical Practice. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| Pearson’s online platform provides clear insights into students’ proficiency, allowing teachers to see which knowledge and skills students have mastered and where additional support is needed. | ||||||
| Materials support the Standards’ emphasis on mathematical reasoning. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| The problem sets and case scenarios are primarily procedural, offering little practice that requires mathematical reasoning. As a result, students are unlikely to develop reasoning skills using the curriculum alone without additional supplemental resources. | ||||||
Access to the Standards for All Students
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support for English Language learners and other special populations is thoughtful (evidence-based) and helps those students meet the same Standards (and rigor) as all other students. The language in which problems are posed is carefully considered. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| The e-textbook includes a link to Google Translate, allowing students to translate sections of text into various languages. However, there are no pre-existing resources or assessments available in other languages within the materials. | ||||||
| Materials provide scaffolding, differentiation, intervention, and support for a broad range of learners with gradual removal of supports, when needed, to allow students to demonstrated their mathematical understanding independently. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| There are accessibility tools embedded within each lesson, including features such as text-to-speech, adjustable font sizes, and interactive supports that help accommodate a range of learners. Pearson’s platform also provides differentiated practice opportunities, guided examples, and optional enrichment tasks to meet varying student needs. While the materials include built-in scaffolding to support understanding, the design also allows for the gradual removal of supports to promote independent demonstration of mathematical understanding. | ||||||
| Design of lessons incorporates strategies such as using multiple representations, deconstructing/reconstructing the language of problems, providing suggestions for addressing common student difficulties, etc. to ensure grade-level progress for all learners. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| While some lessons include multiple representations, there could be greater variety in explanations and visual models to enhance understanding. The materials do incorporate useful tools, such as Desmos calculators and GeoGebra activities, to support student engagement and exploration of mathematical concepts. | ||||||
| Ethnic Studies- (Ethnic studies in core standards and curriculum should be a narrowly tailored incorporation of age-appropriate opportunities that naturally arise through education without pretextual effort in courses, programs, or activities where ethnic studies is not a primary focus. The material should incorporate a curriculum of people and cultures that reflect the state’s various demographics without commentary that seeks to violate the neutrality standard established in codes: 53B-1-118, 53G-2-103, 53G-2-104, 53G-2-105, 67-27-107, | In addition to the content outlined in “Adequate,” this material offers multiple evidence-based supplemental resources and opportunities for learning about various forms of cultural philosophies and epistemologies from Utah, the United States, and worldwide. The materials provide cultural backgrounds, contemporary real-life experiences, and contexts that are relevant to local students. Some examples may include people with disabilities, various body types, and ages. | This material demonstrates respect for diverse socio-cultural identities. The material provides opportunities to acknowledge and integrate the histories, cultures, contributions, and perspectives of people from the United States and worldwide. The material accurately represents the cultures, languages, traditions, beliefs, values, and customs of people from diverse backgrounds through a variety of texts, examples, scenarios, imagery, and applications. | The material has limited themes of social and cultural histories within the United States and globally. The material provides limited examples of inclusive or cultural real-life experiences and does not include diverse characters. | The material does not meet the requirements within the ethnic studies core standards and curriculum requirements. (53E-4-204.1). | ||
| While the materials include references to diverse groups, some content appears to portray certain groups in a negative or ridiculing manner, specifically references to overweight individuals | ||||||
| Shared Values and Character Traits | The material extends beyond the content outlined in "Adequate", it includes elements that connect Utahns to the world. The material offers multiple evidence-based supplemental resources and opportunities for cultivating character traits in students. The material offers multiple evidence-based supplemental resources and opportunities for cultivating character traits in students. Some examples may include characters with a variety of personalities, education, income, occupation, or behaviors that illustrate character traits. | The material focuses on the shared values of diverse people and communities, the common elements that unite Utahns, and displays some character traits in its imagery and content. It aims to cultivate character traits in students, such as courage, leadership, intelligence, integrity, honesty, respect, morality, civility, duty, honor, and service, along with principles found in the Constitution. | The material lacks a sense of shared values or common elements that unite Utahns. Furthermore, the material has limited resources addressing civic and character education. | The material does not meet the requirements within the ethnic studies core standards and curriculum requirements (53E-4-204.1) and civic and character education. (53G-10-204) | ||
| Due to the nature of the course, the materials include scenarios that are relevant and relatable for high school students across Utah. The content incorporates familiar brands and products, helping students connect the lessons to real-world experiences. | ||||||
Assessment
| Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple measurements of individual student progress occur at regular intervals ensuring success of all students. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| More variety in assessment types is needed to fully capture student understanding. The materials include preset quizzes and tests, and the platform allows teachers to create additional assessments using the question database, but additional diverse assessment options would strengthen measurement of individual student progress. | ||||||
| Assessments measure what students understand and can do through well designed mathematical tasks and applications. | Meets | Partially meets | N/A | Does not meet | ||
| The assessments are largely procedural and include fewer task-based or application-oriented questions. However, because teachers can create their own questions using the platform’s database, this limitation can be partially addressed. | ||||||
UTAH STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807