The College Board is launching a new Advanced Placement Business with Personal Finance course this fall, aiming to equip high school students with essential entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. This initiative responds to growing demands, as more than half of U.S. states now require stand-alone personal-finance courses for graduation.

Jennifer Mulhern, the College Board’s vice president for AP program access, stated that the curriculum is designed to better prepare students for college-level business studies while significantly boosting their personal-finance competency. The course covers business strategy alongside practical financial management, fulfilling requirements in many states and working toward compliance in others.

Bryan Outsen, a teacher at Huntington High School in Huntington, N.Y., emphasized the urgency of such education. He noted that too many students lack basic concepts regarding budgeting, saving, and supporting a household. His implementation of the new AP course highlights the focus on career-ready skills and practical financial stability.

To illustrate the course's rigor, sample questions involve scenarios like Jackson, a freelance web designer struggling with variable income and rising costs. Students must analyze his financial data to help him achieve goals such as building an emergency fund and reducing debt interest.